“We have to keep moving,” I rasped. As painful as it was, there wasn’t a spare moment to check on Delmare. I yanked Stefan to his feet by the back of his shirt, and he took Delmare into his arms. He clutched onto her preciously, like a treasure, as we bolted the length of the hall toward the library. Emma grabbed the dagger before we left, tucking it into a sheath on Stefan’s side as we ran.
The library, thank the gods, was quiet. Soldiers hadn’t infected this part of the castle yet. The shifters that hadn’t changed back into men morphed now, to keep our footsteps silent. We crept into the empty space, holding our breath, only to jump when a spell was shoved into our faces.
It was Arthur. His eyes were wild behind his glasses, which were knocked askew, with one lens broken. Blood was running down his temple from a cut on his head. He had an Unseelie spell in his hand, ready to fire.
“It’s us!” Emma cried, throwing her hands up.
Arthur sagged in relief and let the Unseelie spell fall from his fingertips. “Thank the gods,” he gasped, and he embraced Emma. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
Vara came out from behind a bookshelf, blood droplets spattered on her face. The spell in her hand faded as she took us all in, breathing a sigh of relief. “Glad to see everyone’s oka—”
Her words cut off as she noticed Delmare, lying limp in Stefan’s arms. Stefan placed Delmare on a table. Her hands fell to the side as her body remained immobile, face white as death.
Grief gripped my chest. I expected Delmare had met her end.
“Baby, come on, wake up,” Stefan wept, shaking her body. He swept back strands of hair from her face, which were clinging to the black burn on her cheek. Tygrys moaned and nudged Delmare’s hand, but she didn’t stir.
Ozzie quaked as he clung to Jasper. “Is she…?”
Stefan let out a sob, and I felt my heart break for him. If we’d lost Delmare, we’d lost Stefan, too. He’d lose the will to fight without his mate. He’d have no desire to go on, and would let the soldiers have him.
Miracle upon miracles, Delmare’s eyes fluttered open. Stefan gave a ragged gasp of relief, while Delmare blinked in obvious confusion.
“What happened?” she murmured, scrabbling for the dagger. Stefan snatched her hands away from it, like he didn’t want her to touch it.
“That’s it. We have to stop using the Crystals of Harmony,” Emma snapped.
“We can’t! They’re the best chance we’ve got!” Alexei protested.
“We don’t know how to use their power! If we keep trying to pull from their magic without knowing what we’re doing, it could kill us!” Emma screamed.
Emma was right. We had four Crystals, but we hadn’t practiced with them. Messing around with powerful magical objects that were beyond your skill level was asking for death.
“We need to set traps,” I commanded. “Soldiers will be here any minute. Once they do, we’ll be waiting for them.”
“Who decidedyoushould start giving orders?” Finlay challenged.
I grabbed him roughly by the neck and tossed him to the floor. “Idid, and if you’re not a fool, you’ll seek to obey!”
Finlay scrambled to his feet and didn’t object further. Around the library, my friends were casting illusions, placing secret hidden spells in the aisle ways amongst the library. Stefan took Delmare to a closed-off classroom to recuperate, while the rest of us searched for places to conceal ourselves.
“Do you think this will work?” Emma asked as she and Arthur placed an Unseelie trap on the floor.
“It’d better.” Every night I’d ever spent as a vigilante was practice, compared to this. If this didn’t work, I was out of ideas.
That wasn’t an option. We had to win tonight— or at the very least, survive. Let’s see what my mask and cape had really taught me.
“That’s enough!” I cried, hearing the sound of boots marching down the hallway. I signaled to everyone that it was time to hide. We fled to our individual hiding places. Emma and I tucked ourselves behind the curtains, casting spells to blend our bodies into the fabric. We became like chameleons, invisible to the naked eye unless we moved.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. It drummed like a funeral march within my chest, though for them or for us, the gods hadn’t yet decided.
My voice rang throughout the silence as I said, “Be ready. They’re coming.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Emma
Ethan and I pressed ourselves into the curtains. We held our breath as twenty soldiers walked in, their swords aloft for any signs of trouble.
