The beating of powerful wings fills the air, and a shadow passes over us. An enormous winged creature swoops down, talons extended, its beak pointed at Oaklyn.
Lucy!
Oaklyn cries out as the griffin dives and forces her to hit the ground. The dagger flies from her hand, clattering on the rocks.
Lucy lands in front of me, wings spread, beak opening to let out a piercing shriek that makes the air vibrate. The sound fills the forest and echoes across the water, silencing everything.
Sophia scrambles to her feet, blood oozing from a gash on her chest where the stag’s antlers caught her. She touches the wound and looks at the blood on her fingers, her lip curling into a snarl.
The ground trembles as she summons her magic, but before she can unleash an attack, the cove comes alive. Bears surge from the woods, alligators slide out of the water, and birds swoop down from the treetops.
My heart pounds as the chimeras close in, but it’s not from fear. They’re not after me.
“What are you doing?” Sophia demands, fixing me with a furious stare as she raises her palms for a fight.
I’m as stunned as she is. I didn’t call them. I didn’t ask for their help.
They rush forward in a tidal wave of shifting forms, moving like water pouring over the land. Sophia looks from one to the other, calculating her next move. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a glimpse of uncertainty in her expression as she realizes she’s outnumbered. Her hands waver, and she takes a step back.
But before I can celebrate, shouts echo on the trail we came from. My stomach drops as a wall of black cloaks reaches the cove.
The witches have arrived.
Fiona stands in the middle, her red traveling cloak billowing. At least a dozen Shadows fan out along the ridge, their hands raised and ready. Agnes flanks her on one side, and Sky on the other, her mouth opening in horror when she spots Natalie bleeding on the ground.
“Nat, what happened?” Sky cries. She takes a step, but Fiona flings out a hand to stop her.
“What have you done, Katie?” Fiona demands, her gaze sweeping over the chimeras, the Madsens, Natalie wounded, and me in the center of it all.
“We need your help!” I cry.
But Fiona’s face hardens as she takes in the stag and Lucy standing in front of me like guards.
“The bio magic corrupted her!” Agnes cries.
Behind her, Amir steps forward, his mouth open. “My God…”
Fiona lifts her chin. “Coven, start the enchantment.”
“No!” I shout, panic flooding my veins. “It’s not like that!”
The Shadows are already moving. They form a semicircle facing the chimeras, who crouch and prepare to fight. A sound fills the air, and the hair on the back of my neck prickles as goosebumps race across my skin.
They’re chanting. Their voices rise in different pitches, singing a chilling chorus I don’t understand.
“Veniant vires, hoc carmen frangite.
Ignis et ventus, hanc artem tollite…”
The sky darkens like a storm rolling in, clouds swirling unnaturally fast. Dark streaks materialize overhead, arcing and twisting until a vortex churns above the cove. Its power builds, and the sea roils, waves hissing against the shore.
“Everyone would be best to leave the circle,” Fiona warns, her words getting swept away in the gathering wind.
Nobody moves. Hazel stands frozen. Oaklyn has retrieved her dagger and is flanking her mother. Wyatt crouches at their feet, his fur standing on end.
I back up toward Natalie, who struggles to sit up under Sebastian’s guidance, her face so ashen that my heart lurches. Pain or blood loss? Both?
“Don’t try to stand,” I tell her, crouching to put a gentle hand on her shoulder. I brush a strand of damp hair from her face, my fingers shaking. My throat is so tight it hurts. “I need you to stay alive. I can’t do this without you.”
