I let out a groan. The dining hall wasn’t anywhere close to the south gardens.
“Both of our mates are in entirely different directions.” I facepalmed. “Who are we supposed to go after first?”
“I don’t know, but—”
Arthur’s words were cut off when an arrow went whizzing by his face. I jerked him to the side, and the arrow embedded into the wall.
Dozens more followed, flying faster than rockets. We flattened ourselves against the wall, and I looked to the side, where they were coming from. My chest squeezed as I saw the arrows materializing from thin air. The arrows were firing from everywhere, but no one was shooting them!
It was an illusion. Someone was fucking with our heads, but I bet those arrows were just as deadly as real ones.
“Emma,” Arthur gasped, and I caught his meaning. I grabbed his hand, and we stepped in front of the arrows. Both of us flung out our free hand at the same time. A black orb welled between the two of us, and we held onto it for a moment before firing it off.
As we sent our spell ricocheting through the air, the illusion of the arrows shattered. Each arrow dropped to the floor as our Unseelie magic broke the illusion apart. Standing in its place were two soldiers, who appeared completely baffled we’d broken their spell.
Arthur let go of my hand, and transformed. He jumped upon the closest soldier and ended him, while I drew my sword. I stabbed it into the other soldier’s heart, then ripped my weapon out. She collapsed at my feet, torso gushing blood while her form twitched helplessly.
My brother changed back. He stepped over the body of the soldier he’d killed and grabbed my hand again before breaking into a run.
“What are we doing?” I asked as we took a sharp left-turn.
“The south gardens are closer,” he breathed. “We’ll start there.”
“But your mate—”
“Vara’s powerful. She can handle herself,” Arthur told me shortly, though his eyes shone with worry. I knew he was fighting against instinct running away from her, to help me.
“Arthur—”
“You’re the Worldweaver. You’re supposed to save Malovia. You can’t be without your mate. It’ll leave you weak if Ethan dies, and this is a sacrifice I’m making for my country.”
Arthur didn’t give me a choice. He forced me to keep up with him as we darted through the halls.
There was an urgent, terrified thought from Ethan, and I brushed against his consciousness to let him know I was still alive. I was so caught up in the response that Arthur had to yank me to the side, so I avoided tripping over a soldier’s body in the hallway. He’d died with his sword upright, and I’d nearly fallen on it.
Mates weren’t supposed to be separated in battle like this. It was distracting, checking in with your mate every few seconds while trying to keep your own head attached.
We’d almost made it to the south gardens, before Arthur let out a cry beside me. He let go of my hand and fell to his knees, clutching his temples.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, dropping beside him.
“My head— it burns!” Arthur seethed. “There’s something inside my brain, eating me alive!”
Nothing was wrong with him that I could see, which meant it had to be another illusion. I put my hands on his shoulders, and forced my Unseelie magic into his body. I could feel the illusion of a fae somewhere nearby, torturing his brain. I yanked it out with such a violent tug, I felt the surprised reaction from the sorceress casting the spell on the other side of it. Arthur breathed a giant sigh of relief, and I hauled him to his feet.
“Come on. We’re so close,” I pleaded. Arthur stumbled upward, grabbing onto me. I had to hold him up so he wouldn’t go down again.
These soldiers were playing mind games. If they couldn’t win by brute force, they’d win by fucking with our heads.
The Conservatory was just before the south gardens. If we could make it through there, we’d find Ethan. But as we stepped into the beautiful space, I realized that the greenhouse had been all but ruined. The plants were ripped up and destroyed, several of the glass walls in the dome were broken. Bodies were lying everywhere. There was a giant fight going on in the Conversatory that it looked like nobody could escape.
Multiple students were on their knees, clutching their heads and screaming aloud. Every student nearby was afflicted with the same illusion Arthur had been, bound by pain while the soldiers ended their lives one by one.
Arthur cast both of his hands out. Unseelie magic spread from his fingertips, and my jaw dropped as I observed his power flood throughout the room, breaking each illusion on every fae who was trapped within it. The soldiers gaped in amazement as the students rose to their feet and continued the battle.
“You’re one badass sorcerer!” I shouted.
Arthur smirked. “That’s the least of what I can do. Watch this!”
