“I’ve never imagined a creature like that, even in my worst nightmares,” I told him, shaking my head.
“Well, who said it was your nightmare? Welcome to my world.”
Below us, Caleb barked orders toward the wolves near the western pass. One of the orcs lifted a wounded shifter over his shoulder without slowing, while another smashed straight through part of the compound’s outer fence.
The Priestess clearly hadn’t expected this.
Not fully.
But seeing one of ours wounded hurt me deeply.
Nonetheless, her creatures were reacting too slowly. The defenses were uneven. Shadow hounds darted through the grounds, trying to contain multiple breaches at once, while witches swooped overhead, casting protection spells toward the teams below.
And through all of it, my eyes searched desperately.
Every balcony.
Every tower.
Every flicker of movement near the windows.
Under the shrubs.
Celeste.
The pendant at my throat pulsed hard, heating the stone with every throb.
I gasped and grabbed it instinctively.
Twobble immediately noticed. “What happened?”
“I think…” My breath caught. “I think she’s close.”
The moonstone burned warmer against my skin as the broom jerked sharply toward the northern side of the compound.
It wasn’t my choice, but the broom’s.
The broom shot lower through the air, and wind tore through my hair as we narrowly missed one of the compound’s upper towers.
“She was here,” I whispered. I could feel it.
The broom hovered as Twobble leaned sideways just enough to see it. “That’s a very good sign. A mom’s instinct is always a good thing. In the goblin world, we take what we can get in times like these.”
Honestly, the goblin had a point. I clutched the broom a little harder just as a scream echoed from somewhere inside the compound.
Human.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Another scream followed from farther away.
And another.
The sound bounced strangely through the halls and courtyards, distorted by the compound’s magic until it became impossible to tell where anyone actually was.
“They’re trying to confuse us,” Nova called from somewhere above as a wave of silver light from her swept over the northern side of the compound, briefly clearing some of the shadow fog hanging near the stairwells.
And that was when I saw them.
