Five pools of water stared at her. Or what had been five pools. They were no more than scorched patches of earth. The Mages must have come and burned the eggs, but the rivers had obviously not reached the springs yet.
Thalia’s eyes widened even more as Keegan stumbled into the clearing, along with Lady Decima and Larellia.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cassius shouted.
Keegan’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Escaping this!” Cassius shouted.
“We’re trying to stop it,” Larellia said. She raised her hands, and something cold whipped past Thalia’s ears. She turned just in time to see a flaming branch aimed for their head get knocked aside.
“How did this start?” Thalia shouted.
“We don’t know,” Keegan ground out, his brows narrowing. “We took care of the eggs days ago. We just got word that a fire was seen in the forest not an hour ago. Rumors are that the humans sent soldiers. The other Mages are on their way; with enough of them, we should be able to stop this.”
Thalia swallowed, the heat of the flames licking at her back. Her mother must be trying to drive the creature out so she could capture it herself. That or she’d set the fire to stop her and Cassius.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” Larellia yelled. “Move!”
They did, moving away from the fire, which seemed to have hit an invisible wall. In fact, the entire area was blocked off by a hard wall of air, protecting the springs.
“What do we do?” Thalia asked as Cassius dismounted. He grabbed Keegan in a tight hug. The golden-eyed Vampyr looked stunned for a moment before he returned the embrace.
Cassius turned to Thalia. “You need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Like hell I will.”
He ignored her, turning to Larellia. “Make a path for her through the flames. Get her out of this forest.”
Larellia gritted her teeth, sweat beading along her brow. “I’m a little busy at the moment.”
Thalia slid off her horse, gripping the reins tight. “I’m not fucking leaving you. Not now. Not when we only have hours left.”
“What is she talking about?” Keegan asked.
Cassius’s eyes flared. “Thalia—”
“I can’t,” she choked. “I can’t do it.”
“Cass?” Keegan questioned. “What happened in Agripa?”
Thalia quickly explained her mother’s vendetta against the Vampyrs. How she somehow was from a line of Mages and had usedher lost power to curse the prince. Thalia added her suspicion that the queen had caused the forest fire.
“Fuck,” Keegan said, running a hand over his hair.
“Did you know?” She turned to Cassius. Now wasn’t the time, but she had to ask. “That the creature was the prince?”
Cassius swallowed. “We had our suspicions, but nothing confirmed. He disappeared when the creature appeared. We thought perhaps he was killed, but …” He cursed.
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Larellia said over her shoulder. The entire forest was now a raging inferno. Even if Thalia wanted to flee, she didn’t think Larellia had enough strength to provide her a safe way out. “Did you kill the queen?”
Thalia looked at Cassius. “No.”
“Why the fuck not?” Larellia whirled to them, and the barrier around them wavered. Lady Decima grunted, trying to replenish Larellia’s magic.
“Cassius—” Thalia’s throat tightened.
“ ‘Cassius’ what?” Larellia stalked forward.
