“Liam!” I screamed as the fae bore down on him. “Watch out!”
Liam reacted in just enough time to duck out of the way of the sword that soared toward his neck. He bellowed and drew his weapon, the Summer fae beside him moving with the graceful movements of fighters who had spent their whole lives training for battle.
A breath of relief whooshed from my lungs as they blocked blow after blow after blow.
And then an arm closed around my wrist, tight as a snake, tough as steel. Shadows swarmed around my body, and the world dropped away from my feet. Colors swirled like melting rainbows, and the rush, rush, rush of wind filled my head.
A moment later, I found myself in the middle of the screaming festival. I had no idea where we were. Somewhere in the thick of it all, amongst trampled flowers and burning tables. Footsteps pounded, daggers were tossed. The entire world was full of chaos. I jerked on the hand that held my wrist and whirled to face whoever had shifted me away from the tent.
The eyes that met mine were a bright, piercing gold, full of ice and hard as nails. An Autumn fae. One who looked horribly delighted to have found me. My heart roared in my ears, drowning out the screams of the feast. Gritting my teeth, I strained to pull away from him, but the fae’s grip only tightened around my wrist.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, tears filling my eyes. “Let me go. How did you even shift in this place?”
Shifting in here wasn’t possible. He shouldn’t have been able to do it. Unless…
“Queen Viola killed the fae who controlled the magic of the Feast. Killing him broke his spell. Now that he’s dead, there’s nothing to stop us from shifting.” He flashed me his teeth. “And there’s nothing to stop me from shifting you all the way to the Autumn Court, if I wanted to. Queen Viola would love to get her hands on a changeling. Or two.”
A rush of movement caught the corner of my eye, as well as the fae’s attention who had his grip on me. It was enough of a distraction for me to wrench my wrist away from him and for me to stumble back. Bree jumped to my side and pulled me out of his reach, her body trembling as she stared at the fae.
Her long dark hair whispered around her face as she bared her teeth and growled.
“Bree, thank the forest it’s you,” I whispered.
Bree had been doing so much better since she’d taken the Winter Starlight, though the results hadn’t been quite what we’d hoped. She was no longer an out-of-control Redcap, but she could—and did—still transform into a wolfish beast, but only when she wanted to. Kael had been working with her all these months at the Academy, training her in ways to handle the beast within. Most of the time, she handled it well, and she had no desire to change into the terrifying beastly version of herself.
But right now, I could tell she very much wanted to grow her claws and swipe the smug faces off these Autumn fae.
And truth be told, I couldn’t blame her.
Hair had begun to sprout along her arms as she stared at the Autumn fae stalking toward us. One of his friends had joined in, and they were both licking their lips as if we were some kind of prey that needed to be devoured. Fear pounded like a bass drum in my gut, and a terrifying kind of darkness crept into the corners of my eyes.
Claws sprouted from Bree’s curled hands, and her jaw began to shift and grow. The two Autumn fae took one look at my transforming friend, and then they turned tail and ran.
We watched them vanish into the chaos. My fingers itched for a sword. I wanted nothing more than to run after them and take them down, but I couldn’t do it unarmed.
“You okay?” Bree asked a moment later, after she’d reversed her transformation into beast. She was panting hard, and her cheeks were stained with pink.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “You’re always saving my skin, Bree. If you hadn’t been here…”
I didn’t want to think about it, but I’d seen the glimmer in the Autumn fae’s eyes. If Bree hadn’t been here, I’d be halfway to the Autumn Court by now. He’d caught me off guard, I hadn’t had a weapon, and the world had been so full of chaos that my reaction times had been horribly slowed.
The Autumn fae had the element of surprise on their side, and the feast was burning to the ground because of it. Bodies littered the field, and blood drenched the grass. My heartbeat thrummed against my neck as my blood ran cold at the sight before us. I didn’t know what to do or where to go or even where wewerein that moment. Rourke found us moments later, huddling together as we watched the horror of the night. He shifted us back to the Academy and escorted us to our rooms, making sure we threw shut the locks.
But even though we were back inside the walls of the Academy, I didn’t feel safe. If anything, the soft quiet of the ancient stone building made me more uneasy. The Summer Royals were dead, and the Autumn fae had launched an all-out attack. This was war. And it didn’t feel like we’d ever be safe again.
Chapter Three
“Iheard you were the one who got the Barmbrack Ring in her cake,” Sophia said with a slight smile when I padded into the Academy’s kitchen. It was two mornings after the Feast of the Fae, and my head still felt fuzzy from the horror of it all. But our studies must go on, as Rourke had insisted. It wasn’t up to the changelings to retaliate against the Autumn Court.
“That’s right,” I said, glancing at my cheery roommate whose long glistening hair swooshed against her waist. Things between us had gone back to normal, thank the forest. She’d apologized profusely, and I’d gladly accepted. “Though I’m not particularly excited about it anymore. Not after everything that’s happened.”
Sophia nodded and spooned some eggs, bacon, and toast onto a plate. Even all these weeks later, she was still trying to make things up to me. I’d already forgiven her, but that wouldn’t stop me from enjoying a freshly-made breakfast.
“Thanks,” I said, perching on a wooden stool beside a small table in the back corner. “You know, as much as I appreciate it, you really don’t have to make me breakfast every morning. In an hour, the Academy cooks will come bustling inside to round up food for everyone.”
She shrugged, grabbed her own plate, and jumped up onto the stool opposite mine. “I like cooking. Besides, who knows how long you’ll be here now that you’ve found that ring. Gotta convince you not to hate me while I have the chance.”
“Sophia.” I dropped my fork onto my plate where it clattered against the wood. “You know I don’t hate you, right?”
