Suddenly, Finlay started. He reached out his nose to sniff the barrel— his eyes widened. “Something’s not right.”
That was the last thing I wanted to hear. Mara pulled a cork out of one of the kegs. White powder began pouring out of it onto the floor.
Finlay took a few shaking steps backward. Mara’s voice was tight as she said, “The Circle’s guards must’ve found our storage. They replaced the gunpowder with flour!”
Iknewmy nose hadn’t been off. It was never wrong. I should’ve spoken up.
“Which means they know we’re here.” The feeling of being a rat trapped in a maze pressed in upon me. We had to get out of here. Before things got even worse.
There was the cry of a dragon outside, one that shook the tunnel walls and made dust scatter. It was one of our sentinels, giving us an alarm. The cry was suddenly cut off— like the dragon had been silenced. I saw Dorina’s face blanch of all color.
Then came the sound of footsteps, armor clanging in the deep. My heart began to beat wildly in my chest. The plot had failed. The Circle knew we were coming— they’d set a trap, to trick us. Lord Radcliffe had purposefully allowed our spies to hear false information.
“We’ve been fooled!” Finlay roared. “Scatter!”
The moment he said that, soldiers flooded into the catacombs from the other direction. There was the clash of weapons— swords— and growls from shifters as they fought back. Blood began to spill over the stone and onto my paws. Spells flew over my head, and I ducked down to the ground to avoid being hit by them. As I did so, I watched bodies fall.
This had all been a setup. The Circle wasn’t thinking of betraying Gabby and Elijah. They’d plotted this because they backed him completely.
If Elijah didn’t know there was a revolution, he did now.
I heard several sorceresses give cries of pain. The torches went out, plunging us into instant darkness. I was a shifter, so I could see in the dark— but the sorceresses didn’t have a chance.
“Dorina, grab onto me,” I said quickly. I knew she was nearby, and was the only one I could save. The rest of them would have to manage. She swung herself onto my back, and I bolted forward into darkness.
There were people in my way, but I shoved them aside, revolutionaries and soldiers both. I burst past the fight and charged into the blank void of the catacombs. Normally, I would’ve stood my ground, but there was no way of getting out of that one. We were overwhelmed. The only result would be death or an arrest, and neither were options I wanted to take. Eventually, the sounds of the fight faded behind me, until I was surrounded by nothing but the sound of Dorina’s panicked breathing.
The catacombs were an endless labyrinth. I feared getting lost in the maze, but I relied on my shifter scent to guide me back to where we’d come in. I didn’t wish for the catacombs to become my tomb, and held onto that thought to get us out. I held my breath through the awful sewers, and finally burst back into the cool night air.
I didn’t stop. I kept running, until we were far into the woods and close to the university. It was only then that I felt safe enough to slow down, certain we weren’t being followed.
Dorina was shaking and crying on my back. “Are you all right?” I asked, through I knew what the answer would be.
“Phillip,” she wept. “He went down.”
My voice was hoarse. “We all made our choice when we agreed to fight the crown. It was his sacrifice.”
“He was my friend!” she spat. “I didn’t think when we signed up, that I’d lose—”
“Then you didn’t realize the true cost,” I replied gently.
We weren’t just a bunch of kids playing revolutionaries. Wewererevolutionaries. This wasn’t a game. People died everyday, putting their lives on the line for their country. It wasn’t unusual to lose friends, people you loved in this kind of work. There would be more death to come. Dorina had to realize that.
I ventured back on campus. Dorina slid off my back, and I cringed. Emma would have to give my shifter form a bath as soon as possible, because I smelled.
I changed into a man— Dorina didn’t give me so much as a second glance before we split up. She knew it would be dumb if we were seen together.
I prowled the darkened hallways of the university. I didn’t think any soldiers had recognized me— or at least, had seen me once the lights went out. There would’ve been guards waiting for me on campus already, had that happened. I came very close to being discovered.
No more, I swore to myself.I’m done with this foolishness.
Then I remembered the eyes of Kenna Farlane as she swung from the noose, and my heart dropped. I’d never be done. Not until my cousin was off that throne.
I’d nearly made it to the stairs that led to the dormitories before a strong hand latched onto my arm and yanked me into a secluded alcove. Panic swelled in my chest, and I prepared to fight, but I lowered my fist when I saw it was only Finlay. He had a large gash across his face that was oozing blood. It’d be healed by morning, and lucky him for it, because otherwise, it’d implicate him.
“Thank the gods you made it out,” Finlay rasped. “I’m grateful as all hell I didn’t tell Amantha about this. It’s good she wasn’t mixed up in this mess.”
“How many of us got away?” I breathed.
