I steeled myself, waiting for black shadows to bleed through the walls, and screamed when Yanric turned to smoke and disappeared through the concrete to the outside.
‘They have to go through me first,’my familiar said.
I rushed forward, unsure what I intended to do, when an energy shock wave blew into the room from the wall and slammed right into me, knocking me into the air and causing me to fly backward ten feet before landing on my butt, right at Eden’s feet. That shock wave was bright light, yellow, warm, like the sun.
‘Yan?’I asked, panicked.
‘I’m fine.Queen Solana just ran off fifty Nightlings, Marissa included.’
The sunlight shock wave was her?
“Queen Solana protects us,” Mr. Whitlock said, clasping his hands together. He must have recognized that was her magic.
‘Oh no. She’s hurt. Fallon, get out here,’Yanric called.
My heart leaped into my throat as I bolted away from the students and bound up the steps. “The queen is hurt!” I cried behind me.
When I reached the top, I pounded on the door. We were locked in here, so how the fae was I supposed to get out?
“Hang on! There’s an override button,” Mrs. Reebus yelled, running up behind me. She bent down to push a small metal button on the bottom of the kickplate.
There was a clicking sound, and then I spun the handle and burst into the hallway. Taking a right, I headed outside into the little garden between the buildings and skidded to a stop.
“Where is she? Are you sur—” The words died in Mrs. Reebus’s throat when she stepped outside.
Oh Light.
My bottom lip shook as I took in the carnage before me and tried to process it all. Dead bodies were strewn across the lawn like discarded trash. Limbs and heads were bent at odd angles.
“Ayden!” I suddenly screamed in terror, spinning around to see smoke and burning trees.
This was a war zone, something I’d never experienced before in my life.
“Ayden!”
‘Fallon, the queen needs you. I’ll find Ayden and check on your father, but the queen.’I followed the sound of Yanric’s voice and found Solana collapsed on the ground, a dozen guards scattered around her, all dead.
Her blond hair was spread out on the grass almost in an artistic way, and Yanric perched on her chest, looking down at her.
“Where are the palace healers?” Mrs. Reebus shrilled as she ran with me to the queen’s collapsed form.
“Master Hart?” Mrs. Reebus yelled, peering around the space.
No bodies moved; no sounds were made. It was as if we were in a corner of the world where we were the only living things.
Shock and horror ripped through me as I tried to process the massacre.
The queen’s chest rose and fell slightly, Yanric moving up and down with it, but I couldn’t tell exactly what was wrong with her since there was no blood or external injury at first glance.
‘Go check on Ayden and my father,’I told Yanric, and I swallowed hard as I peered at Mrs. Reebus.
“Tell me what to do,” I ordered her.
The rest of the students from the basement funneled out into the courtyard and stopped when they saw the gruesome scene before them.
Mr. Whitlock appeared shocked for one second and then spotted me hovering over the queen and pulled his sword.
“Circle the queen and stand guard until reinforcements can come!” he barked.
