“What happened?” Asmo demands.
The female shakes her head. “They took us by surprise. Somehow, they knew of the entry point. All of a sudden, witches and their demons from Hell started pouring in and attacking.”
Fuck. “Is Cora here?” I ask.
Her eyebrows scrunch together. “Who?”
“Witch in charge. White eyes,” I explain.
She looks to the group behind her. Everyone shakes their heads. “We’ve been busy fighting, so it’s possible she slipped in without any of us noticing. Bunch of them managed to get past us.”
This doesn’t sound good. The last time we fought Cora, it ended with Elle and me nearly dead. And she didn’t have any witches or the Cursed.
But this time, Cora thinks she’s trapping us in. If she is here, and we can surprise her…It might be the advantage we need.
“Leave. Now,” I command the group of hybrids. “Get out and live.”
The female plants her feet and the group shake their heads. “Respectfully, Your Highness, but no,” the female says. “This is our home. Let us fight.”
Asmo grunts in what I assume is approval.
“Fine. We stay as a group. Numbers work the best against them. We fight together.” I look to Marik and Elle. “You two, protect the rear.”
They give curt nods and head to the back. Both of them still wear their outfits from the ball, but Elle’s gown is ripped and tattered, fraying at the hem. Marik’s nose is still crooked and his cheek is still swollen from Asmo’s fist.
We move as one through the halls of Squall’s End. Fire, wind, ice, and blades all felling the dark creatures. We pass Lower House hybrids and Fae fighting in duos, but members of Houses Ursidae and Canis are nowhere to be found. And neither are the witches.
Where are they?
Slash, fire, freeze, slash, on repeat until we come to a stop outside of the healing center. The doors are shut, but it doesn’t stop the sounds of battle from within. Screams of anguish, of terror, of anger. Swords clashing and things combusting.
I run to the doors and yank the handle, but they don’t budge. I hurl fire at them, but it dies the moment it makes contact. “What the fuck?”
“There must be a protective barrier around it,” Asmo says as he inspects the doors.
Marik joins his brother and places a hand on the door. “Dark magic barrier. See the way it glints?” He glances to Asmo, who nods in confirmation.
Shit. This must be where Cora and the witches are. And the rest of the hybrids, who are now trapped.
“How do we break it? We have to get to them, Az,” I say, desperation lacing my tone.
He shakes his head, but Marik answers. “The only way to break it would be to destroy or damage the mark. It’s likely carved into the wood on the other side, but the barrier blocks it.”
My face falls. “So, you’re saying there’s no way to do that from this side?”
Marik shakes his head. “The only way to get in there would be to blast away a section of the wall.”
I gasp. “Or portal through it! Like we did for the dungeons.”
Asmo grins at my stroke of brilliance. “I can’t believe I forgot about that. You’re right.”
“I don’t know how to do exactly what they did, but I was able to?—”
Screams and gasps of pain. But they don’t come from the other side of the door. They come from behind us.
Cora stands with a smirk on her face, surrounded by eight witches. Each one holds a hybrid captive, razor-sharp nails pressed to their necks. The hybrids stare at us, the whites in their eyes huge and gleaming with terror. They claw at the hands on their throats, but it’s no use. The witches hold them with iron grips.
Behind Cora, Luca stares at me with a self-satisfied smirk.
