No way in hell. But she didn’t need to answer Cade for him to know that.If this isn’t about seeing Bridget again, then why go after Quinn? The Bloodstone will kill her eventually.
Cade’s brows knitted in frustration.But it hasn’t. Which must mean she’s found some kind of loophole… or is working with Vega, who is still alive in Iegorus and trying to get out. According to Marin. If that’s the case, then I have to do what I can to protect Bridget from her.
But Vega doesn’t need Bridget to break her curse… she needsyou.
Why couldn’t her brother comprehend that he wasn’t untouchable? Huffing, Cassia crossed her arms and fixed her gaze on the window so she wouldn’t glare at him too hard. He was finallytalkingto her. No matter what she felt, she didn’t want to mess that up. Outside, the darkest part of the night shrouded the outer wall of Astraeus which began to approach them at a slowly increasing speed. It wouldn’t be long before they exited the city completely, or passed the fortified tomb-like structure where she knew the rune protecting the city was hidden. She imagined her father there tomorrow afternoon with one of his Shamans, effectively locking the city without them inside.
Cade snorted.Tomorrow afternoon? He’ll notice we’re gone before breakfast and send a whole battalion after us.
From the floor, Finn sighed loudly. “You know… your little secret conversations aren’t so secret. We all know when you two do that twin—”
The world aroundthem exploded.
Crunching, spinning, swirling metal mixed with a crisp night sky. Cassia was in the air, flying toward an unknown destination. Unable to scream by the sheer amount of confusion freezing her limbs. And thenheat. Blistering and overwhelming. It pressed in from all directions, impossible to place, but close enough to sear her skin as she spiraled toward it.
Finally, the whirling stopped. The ground caught her at last. The impact jolted through her spine. Pain lanced up her arms as her palms scraped raw across pavement or stone. Sparks burst behind her eyes as she skidded through rubble. Her body only stopped moving when it slammed into something solid.
When she came to a stop, her entire body shivered with adrenaline. Gasping, she rolled to her back, her vision swimming. Smoke curled around her in dense, choking tendrils. What the hell had happened?
Sirens began to blast throughout the city. Wailing and more ominous than she ever imagined they would be. A warning to run. A warning to hide. Which is what she needed to be doing. But she still couldn’t connect her brain to her muscles.
A shuffle reached her ears. Cassia flinched. She needed to get up.Right now.
She dug her bloody palms into the icy ground and tried to push herself up. Before she could, a blurry Castor crawled over her. She almost sobbed in relief. Half of his face was covered in dirt and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he wasalive. Wordless, he took her wrist gently and inspected the worst of the scrapes on her right hand, then shifted to steady her back as he helped her sit up.
“Are you okay?” he asked, voice barely audible over the sirens. Now that she was upright, the sight of the wreckage in front of her sent acid up Cassia’s throat. Around them, the night bled with fire. Beside the broken and ripped train, a giant hole permeated the city wall, jagged and burned. Fire blazed from the opening to the small domed building containing oneof the most powerful runes in her family’s possession. Between the rubble and the smoke, she couldn’t tell if the building had been breached. If—
Castor squeezed her arm and forced her to look at him. “Are you hurt?”
Cassia shook her head and slowly heaved herself to feet, hoping that would wipe the concern from his face when there were other things to worry about. Like where her brother and their friends were. “What happened? Have you seen anyone else?”
“Some sort of explosion. I landed beside Finn and Marin. She’s trapped underneath part of the train so he went to find Cade. Whatever consequence she took for Cade has severely weakened her. She can’t lift it herself. Him and Delphine couldn’t have been thrown too far from us.”
The sirens suddenly stopped. Then came a growl.
Low and guttural, it slithered out from the southern edge of the Elder Woods just beyond the city’s perimeter. Trees groaned. Branches rattled against each other as the shadows between them shifted.
A second snarl echoed. The wet, gurgling sound turned Cassia’s blood to ice as two creatures crawled into view. Both moved on all fours, limbs too long. Their eyes were hollow, empty voids, and thick strands of black ooze dripped from their matted fur, hissing as it hit the ground. Every inch of them looked like rot and death and nightmare.
And exactly like the one from Cade’s stolen memory.
“The wall…” Castor said, voice dying as he reached the same conclusion as her. The train hadn’t been the target of the explosion. It had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time as someone tried to breach the city by destroying the structure fueling its protection spell.
“This has to be Quinn,” Cassia said, coughing through the thickening air. “How did she know where to target?”
Like the Witch could hear her, the fire lining the wall’s hole and pathway to the rest of the city died in one fell swoop. The creatures’ hackles raised in anticipation.
“That doesn’t matter right now. We can’t let those things in.” Even though his gaze was steely, Castor’s throat bobbed. “Whoever did this, destroyed the bridge too.”
Whirling around, Cassia caught sight of the large smoke cloud in the distance. It was the middle of the night. The majority of the soldiers based in the city would be asleep in their barracks beneath Mount Lugh. On the other side of the river. “We’re alone.”
“For now,” Castor promised.
Cassia wasn’t sure she believed in his optimism. The creatures were already closing in on the hole in the wall. Without help, they wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long.
Another snarl pierced her ears. The first creature dug its claws into the dirt, readying itself to launch. Beside her, Castor pulled a bag of herbs from his pocket. Under his breath, he muttered a spell. One Cassia didn’t recognize. A piercing screech tore through the silence as the lead creature lunged.
Midair, the beast was thrown backward. With a bone-crunching crack, it smashed into a tree, snapping bark and branches on impact. The monster hit the ground with a shuddering growl and struggled to rise.
