The blasts struck the shields hard enough to send several broomsticks spinning backward. One witch cried out as she nearly lost her seat, but Lady Limora dove beneath her and shoved her upright with one hand while sending a spell toward the soldiers with the other.
The sky flashed silver, and I knew we had even less time.
Below, the orcs surged forward to meet the first line of fighters. Metal clanged against metal, and the sound carried up the walls in harsh, ringing bursts. The wolves kept moving, faster than the soldiers could track, darting between shadows and stone pillars as they drove the second line away from the lower windows where the prisoners still cried for help.
Keegan shifted back into human form on the balcony, breathing hard as his gaze swept over the courtyard. “She’s trying to force the witches down.”
“They won’t go down,” I said.
The broom nudged closer to the balcony again.
Keegan glanced at it, then at me. “That broom has questionable judgment.”
“You’re not the first man to say that.” I glanced at Twobble, and he exhaled shakily.
A jolt of shadow magic shot toward us from below, and I lifted my hand instinctively. Without realizing it, the pendant flared against my chest. A pale barrier spread from the moonstone and curved around my broom, protecting all of us on the balcony with thousands of tiny gemstones.
The blast struck the shield and shattered into harmless sparks.
None of us moved for an entire heartbeat as we took in the beauty and surprise we all felt.
Keegan’s eyes met mine. “Your pendant.”
I nodded, looking at Twobble. After all, he’d given me the moonstone so long ago.
“Did you know it could do that?” I asked.
He shrugged. “You know, I’d heard stories and all, but it has to be in the right hands.”
“I see.”
Another blast struck the shield as the pendant held the gems in place. This one was stronger, but it held.
My teeth clenched as the force vibrated through my bones.
“Mom!” Celeste’s voice cut through the chaos again, but the sound was closer this time.
“Where are you?” I shouted.
The room beyond the doorway flickered faintly with light, and a shadowy silhouette appeared.
But then it vanished.
And reappeared.
“She’s moving or distorting the rooms,” Keegan said, glancing at me.
The figure disappeared again as the broom lowered until my boots nearly touched the balcony stones.
Twobble clung to me but didn’t try to touch the ground, and he stayed silent this time.
That scared me more than most things.
A roar burst from the lower courtyard as one of the masked fighters broke through the line of wolves and leaped toward the northern stairwell. Before it could reach the entrance, a flash of copper streaked across the stone.
Bella.
She hit the fighter low, shifting from fox to human in the same movement, driving a dagger beneath its armor. The fighter staggered, but didn’t dissipate, so Caleb slammed into it from the side in wolf form, knocking it backward into two more soldiers.
