“He can look after himself,” Todd said from behind us.
Now, the stairs filled with frantic people, pushing and shoving. A Dire tried to force his way past, almost crushing me against the wall. With a hiss, Jaimie slammed his shoulder into the Dire. As his shoulder was no longer human, but rather rippled with red scales and muscle, it almost crushed the other shifter.
Jaimie glanced at me with eyes that had gone murky green, and he grimaced through a lengthening muzzle, with teeth growing long points. I wrapped a hand around his arm. “Take it easy, we’ll get there.”
My advice hadn’t been well-heeded ever since the Sorceress had turned us into shapeshifters. With every insertion, the young Centaurs I’d known had changed. Become something other than what they’d once been.
But to my relief, he nodded, and I saw his teeth recede. Him shifting into a Wyvern wasn’t going to help us now. We needed to keep our brains engaged.
The milling people carried us out onto the lower level. Most headed north toward the entrance. But the permanent gateway Isobel had created was in the other direction.
Todd shoved past, his body altering—in fits and spurts that had him groaning—to that of a giant cave bear. The crowd parted for him, and we moved into the void he created, running behind as he bounded along.
He brought us to the room that housed the gate. It, too, was packed full of people. They hadn’t come the route we had, but rather were streaming in through an opening in the wall. I gaped at them—mercenaries, mostly, but also some Bellatis among them. All of them were injured, some of them horribly. Covered in blood and what looked like burns. The smell of smoke and death clung to them. The coven member operating the gate used her power to hold it open, letting the injured men through.
The palace was full of secret passages—that one must lead up to the top floor. I took a step toward it. Vic was up there, somewhere. He had to be. What if he was hurt?
Jaimie wouldn’t let go of my arm. “Don’t be stupid, Bree. We have to get out of here.”
“We can’t leave him!” My voice broke on the last word.
Then the mercenaries coming out of the passageway stepped aside, and through them, came the coven. In the lead was Aurora.
I ran to her. “What has happened? Where is Vic?”
“We have been attacked,” Aurora stated. “Isobel is dead.”
It froze all of us in our tracks. Isobel—Isobel couldn’t die. But why was my first reaction one of relief, rather than dismay?
I wasn’t given the chance to assess it. There was a massive explosion above us. The palace groaned like a dying beast, and shook to its foundation.
Aurora grabbed my other arm and pulled me toward the gate. “Vic will follow us. He and Finn are holding them back until we can escape.”
Something about it didn’t ring true, and I dragged my feet. The only reason I didn’t stop altogether was that Vic had told me what he housed within him. It was, indeed, a fearsome beast. It could take on Dragons, and win.
Before I could protest, the coven closed in on us and carried us through the gate.
The energy danced around me, and the gateway took us to a large stone chamber. Empty stalls ran along one wall, but the floor was littered with prone forms, many of them horribly burned.
Aurora and the coven ignored them. Instead, they wove through the moaning forms to get to the sacks of crystal stacked along one wall, before directing some of those still ambulatory to carry them to a table. Due to the bloodmagic those crystals held, only one member of the coven still had the ability to heal at all. She was on her knees in the gore, doing her best to help the victims.
Near us was a young girl—one of the palace staff, with a horrible bleeding head wound. No one was paying any attention to her.
Which was when the healer trapped inside me rose up. He rarely spoke to me, and even now, his hostility carried through his mindvoice.
I can help.
I was torn. What I wanted was to bolt back through the gateway to find Vic. But what could I do against something that could bring down a palace? I couldn’t even embrace any form other than a human. The others were there, but out of my reach.
The creature responsible for that pushed at me.Hellfire, woman. I can heal her, if only you’ll stop uselessly throwing yourself after that imbecile and look around you.
It was the longest sentence he’d ever said to me. The girl at my feet groaned in pain, and I dropped to my knees. Placed my hands on her shoulder, and asked,What do I do?
Just don’t get in my way.He shoved my mental self aside, and suddenly my hands were no longer my own.
I almost panicked, but I sensed what he was trying to do. Energy flowed from me to the injured girl. Her eyelids fluttered, and then opened, as the wound on her temple stopped bleeding, then sealed.
Behind me, the gate’s energy surged, flowing over my skin, making every hair stand on end. A sudden stillness flooded the room, and my inner healer froze. I twisted to look…
