A thick wing barreled into me, knocking me off my feet. Threereptilian tails lashed out and wrapped around my wrists and ankles. I struggled to catch my breath, my temples pounding as a welt formed on the back of my head. But even my shadows stilled when I saw what stood before me.
This Shifter was easily eight feet tall, with a face that shifted with every blink. Feline, avian, reptilian. Its glowing black eyes transformed from thin slits to wide, round orbs, with scales turning to fur then to feathers.
My magic pulsed in my bones, erratic and scared. It whispered a warning:Wrong, wrong, wrong.There was something wrong with these Shifters. Unnatural.
It bared its teeth and stretched its bat-like wings, pointing a sharp wingtip straight at me. My shadows reacted instantly. They shot around me like a solid barrier, thick enough to block any weapon.
But the Shifter didn’t slow. It punched through my wall of shadows like it was mere smoke. I quickly rolled onto my side. Dirt sprayed my face when the wingtip pierced the ground.
While it was distracted, I summoned my shadows and formed them into spikes, hurling several at its body. They hit their marks across its abdomen and wings. Black, viscous blood poured from the open wounds. Victory shot through me as its hold on my wrists loosened.
But within seconds, the skin stitched itself together, barely leaving a mark.
The tails bit into my skin, and I gasped against the pain. The voices in my head grew louder and louder with each passing moment.
Let us out, little one.
You know we can protect you.
My shadows taunted me, begging for release. Panic swept over me. I couldn’t do that again—not like last time. I didn’t have to fight that way. I didn’t have to?—
The Shifter lifted me into the air by its tails, my body stretched so taut, I thought it was going to tear me in half.
Let us help you, my shadows hissed.
No!I shrieked back at them. The fabric of my leathers snapped as the Shifter’s tails kept pulling at either ends of my body, stretching me. The strain on my limbs was almost too much to handle?—
A dagger soared through the air and sliced all three tails clean off. I crashed to the ground as the Shifter screeched at its new opponent.
Nox’s eyes were silver and molten, with navy scales shimmering in the starlight as his wings unfolded in a flash of fury. He tackled the Shifter and dug his talons into its flesh, flaying its chest open and ripping out its heart.
Its twisted, blackened heart.
Bile crept up my throat. What had Scarvendoneto these creatures?
All around us, the battle spiraled out of control. There were only two of his mutant Shifters left, but their power was undeniable. At least three of the refugees who had come with us were lying on the ground, and an Alchemist was kneeling over one of them, trying to revive him.
Everett took on the serpent Shifter alone. His dual-toned eyes were locked in fierce concentration as he sent illusions the rest of us couldn’t see, making the serpent rear back with an ear-splitting cry.
The handful of refugees who hadn’t gone with Tessa or Kieran’s groups were battling the wolf hybrid, but their combined magic was barely putting a dent in the Shifter’s massive form.
Arowyn strode between the two fights, her movements as quick as lightning. In one breath, her sword glinted off the serpent’s scales as she struck, and in the next, she was plunging it into the wolf’s side. Even though she was getting good shots in, each wound healed faster than the last.
My chest burned as I watched. Shadows pommeled inside me, the pressure rising like boilingwater.
I couldn’t lose control. I couldn’t becomethatagain. One wrong move, and someone I cared about could die.
A shout rang out ahead, and time stilled as Everett stumbled away from the serpent Shifter. In his momentary distraction, she lunged, sharp fangs glinting and slicing through the air.
I jumped forward, but Nox got there first.
He shoved one of his wings between the Shifter and Everett, catching a fang in the translucent underside. Clutching at his back, his wings instantly shifted out of view. He dropped to his knees as a trail of dark green veins crawled up his neck.
The serpent smiled, then attacked.
A scream tore from my lips. “No!”
Her hair of writhing, coiling snakes dove for his head, hundreds of tiny teeth bared and sharp enough to break skin. They latched onto his head. He let out a terrible roar of pain that shook the ground at my feet.
