Her hands pressed over her ears, Reyla wavered, staring around wildly.
The high lady lifted her hands and thrust obsidian blades at us. They spiraled through the air on a path aiming for our chests.
Farris yipped and dove between the hedges, where he cowered under the thick vegetation.
I hurtled myself into Reyla, bringing her down to the icy path, shielding her body with my own as we skidded across the glassy surface. When we hit the hedges, I rolled us beneath the thick branches.
The high lady’s screech pierced the air, making the frost-laden world around us fracture and splinter. Shards shot out in all directions, all aimed at us. I drew power and air and churned it together, forging a wall between us. The shards hit the barrier and while some drove partway through, most shattered, fragments tinkling as the fell to the ground. I condensed the air into a mass and sent it churning toward the siren. Her shriek cut off, and I breathed in blessed silence.
That same ethereal pull tugged at the air. Another thread of energy bleeding back to its collector.
Are you alright?Reyla asked.
Yes. You?
No injuries.Her hands cupped my shoulders.We should roll around on the ground more often.
My pulse quickened despite the danger. “Careful, Wildfire. Talk like that and I'll find us a warmer place to relax.”
“Promises, promises.” Her grin was wicked even in the dim light.
She reached out and rubbed Farris’s head.
Lifting myself off her, I eased to the side, squinting down the trail between the rows of hedges. The second twin stood beside her sister’s body with her hands fisted, her face red,scanning the area for us. Spotting me, her snarl ripped out, followed by another siren’s shriek.
I gathered what was left of her twin’s frost-laden weapons and compressed them, shooting them at her in daggers. She cried out, but at least that cut off her mind-numbing call.
Wildfire dove across the path and twisted her way through the hedge trunks. Rising to a crouch on the opposite side, with her daggers in her hands, she crept forward, aiming for the high lady with Farris trotting behind her.
I dove out into the path, tucked and rolled, coming to a stop on the other side, creating a distraction. As I wrenched myself through a gap in the hedge, crystalline blades hit the ground where I'd been, driving deeply.
I gathered downed tree limbs and whatever vegetation I could find and honed it into a spear I sent hurtling in her direction. Her yelp rang out, but I didn't hurt her enough to keep her from wrenching another siren’s call up her throat.
A hiss was followed by a thud, then blessed silence. I raced along the hedges, emerging at the end of the walkway to find the second woman dead on the ground, one of Reyla's blades buried in the second high lady's throat.
Reyla tugged her blade out of the body and swiped it through a puddle of slush before drying and sheathing it. Farris stood beside her, his fur still bristled.
“You’re unharmed?” I growled.
She rubbed her ears, wincing. “Not a scratch.”
We continued along the trail that slowly wove toward the center of the garden, pausing only to peer at one plant after another, seeking the frostwilla.
Naveer hadn't designed this garden for casual strolls. She'd crafted a maze where only the desperate would venture to itsheart. I suspected the frostwilla would be waiting where the bitterest cold could nurture something truly deadly.
We came to an open area peppered with a few distorted, sleet-covered trees. Vines dangled from the canopy above. Caught by the wind, they whipped around, smacking against the tree trunks.
The air carried the subtle vibrations of old magic. I could feel it deep in my bones.
We stepped into a forest, following a narrow, frosty path etched through the twisted trees. Someone moved through the woods deep on our right, but I couldn't see well enough to tell if this was another competitor or something from the garden itself.
The trees thinned and we came to a frosty meadow with a hill in the center. Stopping within the denser vegetation on the edge, we crouched and peered around.
A crystalline pedestal stood in the center of the open area, holding a block of ice the size of a borgon. Something writhed inside, though its features remained unclear.
Chanting erupted around us, and a burst of power plunged across the meadow. Farris growled, his attention on the forest where I’d seen someone moving.
The chanting broke off.
