I clenched my fingers tightly as the manticore thrashed its lion-like body, trying to dislodge me. At my periphery I spotted Corvin’s midnight-black wings, but then I lost sight of him amidst the flurry of winged beasts filling the cavern. A woman briefly entered my line of sight too, darting between the manticores, suspended by the graceful flutter of beautiful, iridescent pixie wings. Her skin was a shade paler than mine, and she had ginger curls that bounced around her freckled face as she flew.
She expertly dodged the swipe of an outreached claw. She appeared to be engaging the manticore in front of her with a long length of rope. Trying to entangle its legs? That reminded me, I had rope in my satchel. But I was severely limited by myinability to fly.If I could just think of some other way to quell the manticore’s fury.
Another flash of lightning lit up the cavern, followed by a cascade of falling rock.
The manticore plunged us downward, doubtlessly in an attempt to send me tumbling from its back. My cheeks vibrated in the wind as my braid wrapped itself around my neck, bringing the pleasant aroma of the moonflowers tucked along its length closer to my nose.Moonflowers.I wasn’t powerless. I never was. How could I have forgotten?
We leveled out near the ground. With deft fingers, I plucked a single moonflower bloom out of my hair. “Looks like somebody needs another nap,” I told the manticore through gritted teeth, wriggling forward along its back. I plonked the moonflower onto its head, calling upon the delicate petal’s sleep magic. Pure white tendrils of magic seeped from the flower, trailing toward the manticore’s broad nose.
Its magic was more potent than I’d anticipated.
The manticore ceased flapping its wings. Then we hit the ground—hard. The moment the manticore’s body slid across the cavern floor, I lost my grip on its mane, tumultuously rolling off its back, wincing as my hip bounced painfully against solid rock. Across from where I now lay, the manticore peacefully slumbered. I relaxed my body, savoring the feeling of firm ground beneath me once again.
A warm body curled itself up against my side.
“Have you forgotten you cannot fly?” Nix asked wryly. “Are you hurt?”
“Not seriously,” I responded, changing to a sitting position. I ran a hand soothingly through Nix’s fur, in part for comfort and in part to inspect him for possible injuries. Fortunately, I found none. “How about you? Are you okay?” I asked him. Nix blinked his amber eyes at me. “Yes. We should search the cavern for analternative way out.” I jumped to my feet. “I can’t leave now!The moonflowers—I have to help!” Nix looked resigned, holding the sleeping manticore in his gaze. “Very well. I suppose we can stay and help Bird Boy. I didn’t realize you’d invited him along.”
“I didn’t—”
With a loud thump, a second manticore hit the cavern floor, its wings and legs tightly secured with rope. Too focused on the aching pain radiating through my hip, I nearly missed the moment Corvin’s friends landed, proudly inspecting their handiwork. There was the woman from before, who possessed wings. And another woman, who dropped from the sky astride a slightly crooked broomstick. A black cloak hung from her shoulders, a shimmering, incorporeal darkness that whispered of magic, its existence barely perceptible in the dim light of the cavern.
A Fae woman, a witch, and a falcon shifter.What did that imply about Corvin’s identity? A witch should hail from the Kingdom of Adrasea. The woman with pixie wings from the Kingdom of Solaris. Or one of the Fae courts. I didn’t know much about shifters. Tercel had called himself something—Zrocan? However, the word was unfamiliar to me.
“Let’s go introduce ourselves,” I said to Nix. Hobbling slowly forward, I approached the women, favoring my bruised side as I walked. “—worried it will break free,” one of the women finished saying as we drew close enough to hear their conversation. I scrutinized the snarling, hog-tied manticore. Clearly, confining it had done little to abate its rage. It roared and I visibly flinched. Plucking a moonflower from my braid, I inserted myself into the discussion. “I have something that might help,” I said, a tentative offer in my voice.
The women ceased talking and turned toward me. Two sets of curious eyes landed on the moonflower in my hand. “What type of flower is that?” asked the woman with the broomstick,tucking a strand of short black hair under her ear as her dark brown eyes surveyed the bloom in my hand. She had medium brown skin, with reddish undertones, like the mahogany broomstick she cradled in her hand.
“It’s a moonflower,” I answered before explaining. “I used its magic to put one of those beasts to sleep. I think I can do it again.”
The Fae woman extended her hand with a warm smile. “Farryn. Nice to meet you. Let’s try it then.” I shook her hand, returning her smile. “My name’s Elvira. And this is Nix.” The witch stuck out her hand next. “Zorana. Pleasure to meet you both. It will be even more pleasant once we’ve made it out of this cavern alive. I agree—asleep would bemuchbetter than not.” We exchanged a commiserating smile as I shook her hand. Then I stepped hesitantly toward the manticore.
Nix weaved his way through my legs, stalling me.
“How attached are you to your hands?” he asked.
I gulped. “Umm…very?”
“Then let me.” He jumped onto my shoulders, carefully pulling a moonflower out of my braid with his teeth. Before I could protest, Nix sprang onto the restrained manticore, agilely placing the petal above its nose. I gasped with worry when the manticore snapped its jaw, but Nix leapt high into the air, splaying his paws wide as he sailed away from the threat. In a rush, I called upon the moonflower’s magic before the manticore could displace it completely.You are growing drowsy,I thought with all my willpower.Sleep. It’s time to sleep—deep and peaceful.The manticore’s eyes fluttered a few times, then closed.
Lightning flashed, drawing our collective gaze upward. Farryn’s eyes darted to the beasts flying above, guarding the cavern entrance, and back to the conked-out manticore. She turned toward her friend. “Do you think you can use its magic too?” she asked, gesturing toward the moonflower. “May I?”Zorana asked politely, holding out her hand. Hastily, I placed a moonflower within her palm, but she shook her head almost as soon as she touched the bloom. “I can’t sense its magic. Did you grow it yourself?” she inquired. I nodded. Zorana handed the moonflower back to me. “That happens sometimes—plants can be sensitive to the hand that tends them. Or the location where they’re grown. I always grow the herbs in my tinctures and potions myself for that very reason.”
Zorana’s expression turned pensive. “Alright—new plan. Farryn, you help Corvin and Tercel on the ground. Try and see if you can daze the manticores with your pixie dust. I’m going to take Elvira on my broomstick. See if we can lull more manticores to sleep from the sky. We need to neutralize them or we risk a lightning bolt to the back on our way out.”
“Will do,” Farryn consented. “I just wish I had some more rope.”
“Oh!” I said, digging into my satchel. “I have some. Take mine.”
“Perfect! Thank you,” she said, accepting the coil of rope from me.
A loud, chill-inducing screech filled the cavern. Instinctively, my hands came up to cover my ears. The same pained expression flickered across Farryn and Zorana’s faces as my whole body shuddered in repulsion, an unpleasant shiver running up my spine in response to the grating sound. Whirling around, I spotted a manticore landing, its sharp claws dragging across the cavern floor as it hit the ground.
Corvin dropped from the sky, touching down on one bent knee, his midnight-black wings unfurled at his back. Tercel soon followed, both of them squaring off against the manticore. Without hesitation, Farryn took off running in their direction, rope gripped in her hands.
I lurched forward on impulse, but Zorana gently grabbed my arm. “There are still two above,” she said pragmatically. Her eyes drifted skyward, while mine tracked Corvin a moment longer. The manticore, crouching down low in a defensive position, raised its tail high until it curved over the top of its body—and then it struck, lunging forward with deadly accuracy. Even knowing Corvin possessed the ability to shift, my breath still caught in my throat.
Sure enough, however, a raven and a falcon spread their wings, crossing paths in an aerial somersault before shifting back, the manticore’s barbed stinger having missed its mark. It roared in confused anger, reassessing its strategy. The beast swiped a claw next, and Corvin rolled his body, dodging its second attack. I breathed freely again as Zorana straddled her broomstick. “Hold on tight,” she advised. Tearing my gaze away from Corvin, I secured myself behind Zorana, clutching her tightly around the waist. Nix paced back and forth. “We’ll be back soon,” I told him, hoping it was true. She kicked against the ground, and then we were rising, rising up toward the remaining manticores. “Don’t let go of me,” Zorana repeated. “Things are about to get interesting.”
