Gasps rang out through the gathered changelings. I whirled toward Rourke, who didn’t look the least bit surprised. He gave me a nod and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I wondered as much. It’s not usual for the Redcaps to be so interested in our Academy. I thought something else might be at play here, and clearly Alwyn believes thesame.”
A heavy thud sounded outside of the barred doors, and the room immediately fell into a tense and uneasy silence. The thudding continued down the hall until it sounded so close that it might as well have been coming from within thegymnasium.
Steel sang through the silence, and roars rose up in response. My heart began to hammer as all I could do was stand there and listen to the violent sounds of battle. I held my breath and backed up so that I was pressed tightly against Liam’s chest. I didn’t care if Alwyn saw. I didn’t care if she scolded the both of us until the ends of our days. I needed to feel his strength against me. I wanted to feel his warmth when every cell in my body felt brutallycold.
Screams and shouts and roars and whines sounded over and over and over again. There must have been at least five Redcaps outside the door, and it sounded as though our fae guards were no match for the brutality of the beasts. Liam curled his fingers around my arms, and his soft breath whispered against my neck. If I closed my eyes, I could disappear in his embrace and block out the horror of thenight.
But I didn’t want to block it out. Our fae were out there dying. And we were in here doing nothing to stopit.
Slowly, timidly, I pulled away from Liam’s comforting embrace and strode to the front of the room where Alwyn was staring at the door with pure horror plastered on her usually stoicface.
“We should do something,” I said, clearing my throat so that everyone could hear me over the roar of the battle. “They’re dying outthere.”
She turned her chin over her shoulder to frown back at me. “What do you expect to do, Norah? You’re incompetent. Your failed challenges have been evidence enough ofthat.”
I fisted my hands. “I’m actually not. I may not have had much formal training yet, but I have raw power. We all do. Not to mention the second and third years who have had some training. All of us together could easily fight theseRedcaps.”
“Like you did in the dining hall?” She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. “I appreciate your willingness to help your fellow fae, Norah, but the safest place for all of you is inhere.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I continued. I wasn’t going to give up that easily. “If the Redcaps kill all of our guards, then they’ll aim all their strength at that door. After seeing them in action, I don’t think it’ll hold them off for very long. They had the element of surprise in the dining hall. We know they’re here now, and we’ve got enough weapons to goaround.”
“I agree with Norah,” Sophia said, striding up to stand by my side. For a moment, all I could do was stare at her in alarm. She hadn’t spoken to me since she’d told Redmond about Bree. A part of me wanted to hate her, but another part of me understood why she did what she did. In her eyes, all Redcaps were murderous creatures who had killed her friends. She didn’t know Bree was different. How couldshe?
“Same.” Griff joined us, along with Lila and several of the third-year students. Soon, the entire gymnasium had moved to stand beside me, along with my four instructors who looked torn between giving me a high-five and hiding me away in a cornersomewhere.
Alwyn rolled her eyes and glanced at each of us in turn. “I shouldn’t go along with this, but something tells me I won’t be able to stop you even if I say no. Just...be smart. Don’t do anything stupid. And let us instructors take thelead.”
As the battle raged on outside, the changelings worked together to move the gym equipment away from the door as quickly as possible. When we’d finally moved the last barrier out of the way, Alwyn unlocked the door and threw itopen.
The first thing I saw was blood, and the sight of it clogged up my throat. A fae guard’s body flew through the air and landed before us all with a heavy thud. We gasped and stumbled back, and a large mangy paw stepped into view. Liam threw himself in front of me as the Redcap slowly strode into the gym. It took one long sniff around the room before opening up its massive jaws and roaring inrage.
Everyone sprang into action. At least a dozen changelings and instructors launched themselves at the creature, swords and daggers swirling through the air. Many of the blades made contact, and soon enough, the creature had fallen to the floor. Those fierce beady eyes slid shut, and its last breath whooshed from itslungs.
We all stood staring at the creature. No one was certain what to donext.
“Is that it?” askedGriff.
His answer came soon enough. Four more beasts hurtled into the gymnasium, each one storming toward a different cluster of changelings. Everything turned to chaos in that moment. I no longer knew what was up and what was down. Instead, I lost myself in the dance of thefight.
Liam pressed a sword into my hand, and as soon as my finger curled around the hilt, it was as if the weapon became an extension of my hand. I whirled through the air, slicing the blade at the creature I fought. There were five of us on one. Me and my four males against the Redcap. Liam’s roar was as loud as the beast’s, and Rourke moved with a speed and grace that matched the most glorious ofballets.
My sword found its mark several times, and after what felt like hours, the beast finallyfell.
I whirled on my feet to face the next. It rose up before me, its brilliant blue eyes catching ontomine.
Blue eyes. Not black or red, butblue.
My heart shook, and I stumbledback.
No.It couldn’t be. Bree would never do such athing.
Alwyn’s words rang in my ears. The Autumn fae were using the Redcaps, controlling them as a way to launch violent attacks on the Academy. Somehow, they’d found my friend, and they’d sent her here to killme.
She hesitated, the deafening roar in her throat dying away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Griff charging toward her. Before I could think, I jumped in the way, holding up my hands as his sword swung towardme.
“No!” I shouted. “Stop!”
His sword froze in mid-air, only inches from slicing right into my neck. Griff frowned, stumbling back, his eyes locked on Bree’s monstrous form behindme.
