That strange smile remained. “I do not know why I ever doubted that you might be Marin’s daughter. You are so much like your mother that ithurts.”
I blinked at her words, taken aback by the strength at which she’d said them. Alwyn almost seemed as if she were in extreme pain, as if my very existence was a nuisance to her. For a moment, she just stared at me, silence raining down from the vaulted ceiling above, that strange smile morphing into agrimace.
Footsteps pounded on the hallway floor. The changelings and instructors would soon join us, and it would be time tofight.
Alwyn blinked and stepped back, dropping her hands to her sides. “Very well. It’s too late now to undothis.”
Rourke rushed into the hallway, Finn hot on his trail. They both wrapped their arms around me at once, and the breath exploded from my throat. A part of me sighed in contentment at the contact, but another part knew we didn’t have time for this. As much as I wanted to revel in the feel of their strong arms, Icouldn’t.
Rourke pulled back and searched my eyes. “Are you certain you saw six ofthem?”
I nodded, lips pressed tightlytogether.
“We need to get you somewhere safe,” Finn said, taking my hand in his before I’d had a chance to say aword.
“No,” I said, my voice louder than I intended. The word echoed off the vaulted ceiling.No, no, no.“We’re meeting everyone who wants to fight in the lobby. This time, there will be no hiding. There will be no cowering behind locked doors. We will face the Redcaps headon.”
Chapter Eleven
We strodeinto the lobby just as the first thuds exploded against the Academy’s front doors. A second passed, and then another. And then the door cracked from the force of the next blow. It was clear that the Redcaps were throwing themselves against the wooden frame, hoping to break it from the power of their own beastlybodies.
The changelings that had gathered in the lobby with me and my instructors were a combination of petrified, enraged, and frantic. Some held swords or daggers. Others held bows with quivers of arrows on their backs. And others—third years mostly—curled their hands into fists, planning to use the magic of theircourt.
“What do we do?” Ciara whispered from beside me. The tip of her sword trembled as her entire body shook. She’d joined us after alerting the others. Even as scared as she was, she was determined tofight.
Alwyn’s icy voice drifted my way as she said, “Yes, Norah. What is theplan?”
So, Alwyn was putting this entire situation into the palm of my hands. If this all went wrong, it would be my fault. My heart thumped, and I glanced at Liam, who stood on my otherside.
Liam gave me an encouraging nod, and Finn flashed me a tense smile from where he stood just beside him. Rourke was further down the row, but Kael was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t shown up in the lobby, though Ciara had insisted she’d seen him on her way to warn the secondyears.
Clearing my throat, I strode toward the center of the lobby and raised my voice so that it could be heard throughout the expansive room. “We wait for them to break down the door. That will create a bottleneck, so only one or two should be able to get in here at a time. Those with arrows will shoot first while those of us with swords will stand back. If the Redcaps manage to get too far inside…” I glanced around at the cluster of sword-fighters around me. “We’ll take them down with ourblades.”
It was a decent plan, one that had a pretty good chance of success. As long as we were able to take down the Redcaps, one by one, as they entered the lobby, no one would even gethurt.
The wood creaked against the force of the next blow. Splinters rained down on the floor, and several changelingsgasped.
A single long bloodied claw punched through the door. It scraped through the wood, creating a sharp, high-pitched noise that set my teeth on edge. With a yank, the Redcap tore the door from its hinges, and then it let out a deafening roar. I stumbled back, motioning to the row of rangers at the back of thehall.
We all waited silently, staring at the furious Redcap. The creature rose up before us, its matted dark fur blending in with the night. Shivers coursed along my skin as we waited. Rourke had taken charge of the rangers, and they wouldn’t loose their arrows until the perfectmoment.
Ducking its head, the beast stormed into the Academy’s front lobby. Rourke cried out the order, and an array of arrows soared through the air. Several made their mark, punching through the Redcap’s thick skin. The beast tumbled to the ground, and blood poured from half a dozenwounds.
In an instant, the Redcap wasdead.
Another claw shot through the open door, and the sharp edges glinted underneath the overhead lights. The claw curled around the fallen beast’s body before dragging it across the stone floor, leaving behind a smear of blood, fur, and mottledflesh.
I shuddered, wrinkling my nose at thesight.
As soon as the beast had been dragged from the lobby, another rushed through the broken door to take its place. I motioned behind me again, but I didn’t need to. Rourke had sounded the call. The Redcap charged toward us, coming in close. Too close. With a roar, the beast swiped its claw at the nearest changeling. She stumbled back out of the way just in time. And then a dozen arrows sunk into the beast’s flesh. He fell to the ground so hard that the floor rumbled underneathus.
Roars sounded from the bashed door. I swiveled my head toward the sound to find that two more Redcaps had stormed inside the Academy while we’d all been too focused on the first attackers. These two were larger than the others, their matted chests heaving with the intensity of their breaths. And then theycharged.
They were past the front of the lobby within seconds, cancelling out the effectiveness of our rangers. The front line fighters braced themselves and raised their swords to meet the flesh of the beasts. My heart hammered hard as I watched Finn and Liam launch toward the first. They were strong and powerful, but I was scared for them all the same. Alwyn took the second, swirling with the speed and grace of a violentdancer.
Another Redcap charged through the door. Its red eyes landed right on me. Heart thundering, I tightened my grip on my sword and braced myself for the beast’s attack. It was on me within an instant, its deafening roar pounding against myeardrums.
When it reached me, both claws sliced through the air. I ducked low and rolled to the side, thankful for the weeks of practice with Rourke. The beast bellowed when it didn’t hit its mark, hurling a heavy fist right at my head. Gritting my teeth, I threw up my sword to block the blow. My blade sliced into flesh, and the Redcap staggeredback.
