Page 7

“Yeah, and it’s also supposed to turn you around the moment you attempt to approach it,” Brynne hissed, coming to stand beside them. “Either the magic doesn’t work on ogres, or they figured out how to get past it.” She pressed something into Arabella’s hands.

Glancing down, Arabella’s eyes widened. “Where did you get my swords?”

She hadn’t had her blades since she’d left Shadowbank and gave herself to Elias as his next offering.

“Brought them with,” Brynne said. “When Elias came to get us from Shadowbank.” She removed a few of the smaller blades stashed in her jacket before sheathing them in some of Arabella’s empty ones.

“Thank you,” Arabella managed, sudden emotion tightening her throat.

They weren’t as heavily armed as they’d normally be. But at least they now all had their swords and some daggers and throwing knives.

Brynne nodded. “How much time do we have?”

Footsteps sounded from around the bend in the castle. Moments later, Breckett appeared, moving so fast as he turned a corner that he slid and nearly fell. But he managed to remain upright as he ran toward them.

“Ogres!” he called. “Dozens of them just beyond the ward.”

Arabella tilted her head back, closing her eyes as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

She, Jessamine, Cora, and Brynne were some of the strongest warriors in all of Shadowbank, but they’d be no match for dozens of ogres—especially if they were a similar size to the monstrosity several dozen feet away, which landed another blow on the rapidly thinning section of the ward.

“Can you repair the ward?” Arabella gestured to the rippling dome. “Or strengthen it?”

Breckett eyed her incredulously. “Even if I had an amplifier, I can’t wield essence. Only Elias can.”

Not all erox had special abilities. For those who did, their gifts were as unique as each demon. Breckett could turn himself and anyone he touched invisible, which came in handy when trying to escape an adversary without being detected…

A thought struck her.

“Have the goblins returned?” she asked.

At best, they had minutes until the ogres broke through. She thought she heard more pounding in the distance, and she wondered if other ogres were trying to break through different sections of the ward.

“No,” Breckett said simply. “They’re gone, and they’re not coming back.”

Mind racing, she thought through their options.

They couldn’t portal out of the castle grounds without the goblins’ help.

There were only five of them; so, they didn’t stand a chance of battling more than a few ogres head-on. They could try to sneak through the forest and hope that Magnus’ army didn’t catch them. That hadn’t worked so well for her last time.

They couldn’t travel by horse while utilizing Breckett’s invisibility, and travel would be slow if they were on foot.

If they were forced to run through the forest, they’d be far more vulnerable to not just being discovered by any creatures Magnus sent after them but to any demon with the ability to sense life around them.

Neither Breckett nor the enchantresses were as strong as Elias in sheer magical ability. Thus, their mere presence wouldn’t deter the demons from approaching. The moment they stopped to rest, they’d be fucked.

Even as her mind raced, something blossomed in her senses. Glancing around, there was nothing there. Though perhaps the shadows were somewhat… darker. Belatedly, it struck her that it felt like the presence from her dream.

“What’s your call?” Jessamine asked, her eyes never leaving the ogre nearest them as another boom rippled through the clearing and the ward bent dangerously inward.

“We run,” Arabella said, turning to Breckett. “Can you shield all of us?”

Slowly, he nodded. “I’ve never shielded so many at once. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold it.” After a moment, he added, “There will be a price, of course.”

Arabella waved a hand. They didn’t have time to argue over the syphen now. “Keep us hidden long enough to get past the?—”

Before she could finish the sentence, there was a tearing sound before a monstrous bellow shook the air.

Her shadows hissed, forming into thorny vines as black as midnight.

The darkness was eager to fight.

An ogre the size of the House of Obscurities pushed through a tear in the ward near the lake a few hundred yards away.

One of the tusks extending from its too-wide mouth was broken off.

It glanced around, taking in the castle and clearing.

Then its gaze swiveled toward them. A single eye narrowed as its lips peeled back, revealing several rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Then a roar rent the air, and it charged toward them.

As it moved, the ground shook. Loose pebbles bounced along the path near them.

“Breckett, get them out of here,” Arabella said as she loosed several bolts of her earthen weaves at the ogre with the precision of a crossbow. “I’ll buy you time.”

“Fuck that,” Jessamine snapped as she loosed her own golden weaves, which punched through one of the ogre’s shoulders. The creature stumbled to the ground, dark blood leaking onto the earth.

Too quickly, it got back onto its feet, running toward them once more—uncaring of the blood trailing down its body.

“There isn’t time to argue,” Arabella shouted. “Get out of here now!”

The creature was two stories tall and had to weigh more than ten carriages stacked on top of each other.

She wove as fast as she could and loosed bolt after bolt of her earthen magic.

But the magic barely slowed it. It didn’t even flinch as a weave sliced down its arm.

She didn’t hesitate as she formed more weaves, glaring at the creatures that were doing their damndest to block out the morning sun from the sky.

She spotted more ogres pacing through the forest beyond the ward, likely trying to find the tear or some way to get in. There had to be at least a dozen of them.

There was no way they could get past so many. Not unless they bought themselves enough time to slip away without being detected.

We are so fucked ?—

A hand enclosed around Arabella’s arm, hauling her back.

“Quit daydreaming,” Brynne hissed as Arabella released several bolts of magic at the ogre in front of her. “Or you’re going to get us all killed.”

It roared and brought down a fist toward them.

“Heads up,” Cora shouted in her lilting voice as she formed a shield of earthen magic above them.

Jessamine was beside Cora in an instant, arms waving above her head as she reinforced Cora’s shield with her magic.

It shattered upon impact, sending the weaves in every direction before sinking back into the earth. The ogre wailed, clutching its broken hand and stumbling backward.

Arabella’s thoughts raced.

Brynne was right. She needed to come to a decision. Now wasn’t the time for hesitation.

An idea blossomed in her mind.

“Breckett,” Arabella said, spinning toward him. “We’re going to fix the tears.”

He stared at her dumbly for a moment. “I already told you, I can’t repair the ward?—”

“Not you,” she interrupted, glancing down at her shadows. “My enchantress magic isn’t compatible with the ward, but my shadow magic might be. And you’re going to shield me. I can’t fight the ogres and repair it at the same time.”

There were many different types of magic in this world.

And she’d learned from her time repairing Shadowbank’s ward that a wielder had to use the same magic that created a ward to repair it.

If Elias had dark magic from being a demon and he’d repaired the ward before, perhaps her shadow magic would be able to form a patch over the tear.

“Keep the ogres distracted,” she shouted to the enchantresses as she reached for Breckett’s hand, which he held out to her begrudgingly as though accepting soiled undergarments. “We’ll be back soon.”

Ears popping, the world blurred as though she stared through a pane of glass. It was one of the side effects of Breckett cloaking her with his invisibility.

The ogre charged again.

Gripping his fingers, she ran forward, ducking beneath the ogre’s arm as it swung a meaty fist toward them. Skidding beside her, Breckett nearly fell. But there wasn’t time for any hesitation or mistakes. She leaped forward and slid beneath its legs, dragging the erox behind her.

“Keep up,” she hissed, careful to keep her voice low.

The male was moving like an infant.

“I am,” he bit back as the ogre moved toward the enchantresses.

Jessamine and the others could handle one ogre, but if more came through the tear, they’d be overwhelmed if they didn’t get to higher ground.

I can’t worry about them now, she thought. She had to focus on fixing the ward.

She and Breckett got off the path and moved through the gardens toward the lake. As they crouched low, she heard Breckett’s labored breaths.

“Are you winded?”

“Of course not.”

She raised an eyebrow.

Relief flooded her as they came to the tear.

At least for now, there weren’t any more ogres in sight. They must be in the forest somewhere or hadn’t discovered the castle yet. She wasn’t about to second-guess their luck.

She turned her gaze down to the shadow vines at her feet, which had returned to a translucent-like state when Breckett had touched her.

Exhaling, she shifted Breckett’s hand to her shoulder, and he didn’t object as he tried—and failed—to cover his gasping breaths.

Closing her eyes, she reached for the shadows.

Instinctively, she lifted her arms and spread her fingers out to summon the shadows from the ground, similar to what she did with earthen magic. Inky black licked up her body, twisting around her legs, abdomen, and up her arms until they writhed in her palms.

For a moment, she paused, staring at them. More shadows twisted up her body. It felt like a river's current flowed all around her.

Then she willed the chaos into weaves.