Cassia tried to push his arm down, but he wouldn’t budge.
The corner of Alexia’s lips lifted. “Am I?”
Cassia wasn’t sure what sent Cade charging forward, the taunt or their father’s laugh. Her father’s guard jumped in his path.
“Don’t you dare go near her,” Cade snarled, knocking the King’s guard into the wall with a flick of his wrist.
The Shaman’s incessant, deafening chanting shook the stone, almost making it appear opaque. Alexia raised her hand.
“Stop!” Cade ordered.
Before Cassia could blink, Alexia had disappeared. A shudder ripped through the gate and sent a wave of power throughout the small expanse. Cassia fell to the ground, while Cade and her father merely stumbled backward. As she got to her knees, a crack split her eardrum. She lookedup at the vibrating gate, expecting another wave of magic, but Delphine rushed past her.
What the hell?
Only then did Cassia realize what the crack had been… Delphine, appearing behind her.
Of course. Why had she let herself believe, even for a second, that they didn’t have some sort of idiotic plan?
The second their father pulled his glowing dagger from its sheath, Cade raised his fist and knocked it to the ground. With his other hand, he froze the Shaman in place, preventing him from stopping the spell that kept the gate open.
Snarling, her father sent a pulse of magic toward Cade. It boomed when it collided with Cade’s in the air, preventing either of them moving an inch. Cassia spotted a trickle of blood escaping from Cade’s ear as he used all his strength to keep their father and the Shaman from the gate. Delphine was going to cross to find Bridget. That much was obvious. But Cassia doubted Cade getting distracted by Alexia had been a part of the plan, though. The timing was off. Cade and their father were fighting too close to the gate. Delphine only had a small pathway to get to the stone. And the guard…
“Delphine, look out!” Cassia shouted.
Delphine looked up in time to dodge the guard’s sword that had been aiming for her back. The movement sent her stumbling to the ground beside her. Before the guard swung again, Cassia launched herself to her feet. Using all her strength, she pushed the guard into the cave’s stone wall. Momentarily dazed, he grabbed his head before charging back toward her.
Her push had been impulsive. Now she had no idea what to do. Backing away, Cassia ran into Cade. Whipping around, she stared at her twin, whose gaze frantically darted between her, the guard, their father, Delphine, and the Shaman. He only had seconds to make a choice.
Cade could stop the guard whose sword was aiming for the two of them, only a few feet away, or hold the Shaman long enough for Delphine to get back up and get through the gate.
Blood poured from ears as he strained to keep his father and the Shaman subdued. Resigned, Cassia closed her eyes, the ache settling deep in her chest. She knew what he would choose.
But then Cade let out a resigned, angry roar. He flicked his wrist. A heartbeat later the Shaman flew into the wall. An earsplitting crunch echoed against stone before he dropped lifeless to the ground. The gate stilled. Breathing heavily, Cade lifted his hand to stop the guard. Before he could, though, the guard suddenly froze. Inches from them, blood spurted out his mouth. The guard twisted to the ground, their father’s favorite weapon speared in his back.
Cassia’s jaw dropped as she watched their father remove his dagger from the man.
“Now look what you made me do,” their father said calmly, casually wiping the blood off his dagger on his forearm.
Chapter six
Bridget
“It’s been almost two weeks since theincidentin the woods. I doubt he’s going to stroll up to you in the Boston Common for a nice chat,” Archer said, passing her the last plate from their dishwasher to put in the cabinet. Early morning light reflected off the glass.
The incident. Archer’s new nickname for her encounter with the Shaman by the gate rattled Bridget’s nerves. She understood his reluctance to let Nylah find out what happened, but his skeptical tone every time he uttered the word, like he didn’t quite believe her, made her want to throttle him. Despite his warning, she continued to hide a variety of knives on her person.
“You never know. Besides, I swear I felt someone watching me yesterday,” Bridget whispered, glaring at him. If he talked any louder, he was going to wake Nylah. She wanted to get to the gate and back before her sister even noticed she was gone. On Saturdays, she tended to sleep like a log until it was time for their weekly movie marathon.
Archer shook his head. “Ever since the gate disappeared, you’ve been taking everything assome sort of sign.”
Bridget tried to ignore her twisting insides, a warning that maybe shewastoo eager for a message from Elyria. After she’d come home with blood dripping from her nose and ears, ranting about the Shaman’s warning, Archer had gone back with her to the gate. Except it wasn’t there. For hours, they’d circled the forest and retraced the path they knew led there. They’d found nothing but trees. Bridget knew the Shaman had something to do with it, knew he put some spell or curse on the woods so it hid the gate entirely. Whatever he’d done, Archer hadn’t been able to break it.
“I don’t care about the gate,” Bridget lied. Its sudden disappearance bothered her more than she wanted it to. Putting on her gloves, she added, “I just want to know who sent him. And why.”
Ignoring Archer’s gaze, she continued to gather up her purse and scarf. Moments later, he scoffed, “That’s what you’re doing today, isn’t it? Going back out here to look for it? Have you ever considered that he gave you that warning for a reason? That maybe you should listen?”
She had. Shedid. But after months of radio silence from anyone in Elyria, the incident had sparked an ember in her heart that was steadily growing into a full blaze. Of what, she didn’t know. Or couldn’t admit.
