by C. L. Bright
“We’ll have to discuss this later.” Alaric still didn’t seem convinced I’d used Dante’s magic.
Serena looked over at the tiny body of the child we’d lost. “He was such a sweet boy. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
Alaric slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Thanks to you and Juliet, the other children survived. This could have been much worse. There is only one other serious injury, but the child should recover. You’re amazing.”
Serena nodded as she stepped out from under his arm.
“I did what anyone would have done under the circumstances. I suppose it’s a good thing you had a spellcaster here since these things seem much harder to kill without magic.” Her attention shifted to me. “After we get your wound cleaned and bandaged, can you help me check on the other children? They must be terrified.”
I nodded. “Of course. Do you know what these things were, Alaric?”
He shook his head as he looked over at the pile of ash. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Much as I hope we never see one of these again, that seems unlikely.”
I hoped he was wrong. I didn’t want to fight another one of those things.
Chapter 19
We didn’t get to check on the children until nearly two hours later.
First, we’d had to endure an interrogation from dozens of distraught parents. I didn’t blame them for their fears or desire for answers. Unfortunately, we didn’t have many answers.
I’d never seen anything like those creatures, but I could tell many parents didn’t believe us. It made sense that they’d be suspicious since we were newcomers.
No one had seen the monsters before our arrival, so they naturally wondered if we had something to do with the attack. Most didn’t seem to think we had arranged the attack, but there were more than a few who suspected the creatures were drawn to us somehow.
It could have gone much worse. I’d been worried we’d be accused of being in league with the monsters. I already knew that saving others from a threat didn’t mean some wouldn’t blame me.
Alaric and the shapeshifters who’d arrived with him kept quiet about me channeling Dante’s power, though I didn’t know why. They also didn’t say one word in our defense and left right after our questioning.
By the time we finished talking to the parents, getting my wound wrapped, and checking on the children, I was exhausted. Serena seemed to be in even worse shape, so we headed back to the cabin.
“This has been one of the worst days of my life.” Serena’s voice was flat as she collapsed onto her bed in our shared room.
I settled onto my bed with a sigh. “You were amazing out there. You didn’t hesitate to help the children.”
“What kind of person would hesitate to help them?” She didn’t give me a chance to respond. “How did it feel when you used Dante’s magic?”
“Natural,” I replied as I thought of how it had flowed through me. “Yet strange and a little scary. I guess I didn’t feel those things until after I used his power.”
“This was like when you changed into a large cat,” she remarked. “Dante’s magic must have had something to do with that as well.”
“It must have,” I agreed.
I’d only been able to change into a larger cat that one time.
“I wonder if I can do that now that I’m connected with Dante telepathically. Perhaps I can draw on his energy when I need it.”
She propped herself up to look at me. “You should try it now.”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve already drawn on his magic today. I don’t know if it will take a toll on him and make it harder to defend himself. I’m not going to use any of his power unless it’s a life or death situation.”
“You’re right. I hadn’t even considered that this might drain Dante. Did he seem like he’s really okay? You don’t think he was trying to keep you from worrying, do you?”
“I don’t think he was keeping anything from me. He didn’t exactly tell me he’s safe, just that he’s on his way here.”
“How does he know where here is?” she asked.
“The same way I know I could find him now that our connection is open again,” I explained. “If I focus, I can see the threads of his magic. As long as the bond between us is open, I can find him.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before,” she said thoughtfully. “Even among bonded spellcasters, they can’t track each other using their joined magic. They can’t track using their bond with a familiar either.”
“This is all new territory,” I admitted. “What else do you know about demons?”
“Nothing, really,” she admitted. “I just met the one, though it may not have been a demon. Why do you ask? Do you think those things from earlier were demons?”
“I don’t know what those things were. Dante is with a demon, and he didn’t say those things were demons.”
“Dante is with a demon?” she asked.
“Yes,” I began. “I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around it, too. That and the fact that her name is Sin.”
“Sin seems like an appropriate name for a demon,” she remarked. “I wonder if it’s her real name.”
I shrugged. “It could be a nickname. Are you hungry? I think we still have some leftovers I can heat up.”
“I’m not hungry,” she replied. “Go ahead and eat if you are.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. It’s too early to go to sleep. What would you like to do?”
“You don’t have to babysit me if you want to try connecting telepathically with Dante again.”
I wanted to talk to Dante again, but I was worried about Serena, and I knew Alaric or one of the others could come for us soon.
“Now’s not the time,” I replied.
“Because of me?” she asked.
“That’s part of it,” I admitted. “You don’t seem like you’re ready to be left alone. Dante may also be too busy. He told me he needed to focus on his surroundings earlier.”
“I think I’m going to take a nap.” She paused before whispering, “I hope I don’t have a bunch of nightmares.”
“I’m sure we’ll both have nightmares after today,” I replied.
“That poor child didn’t deserve to die,” she whispered.
“No,” I agreed with a sad sigh. “I’m glad we killed those things.”
“Me too,” she said with a yawn as she laid down and closed her eyes.
I only planned to close my eyes for a few minutes, but it wasn’t long until I was sound asleep.
Chapter 20
I awoke to someone pounding on the cabin door.
Serena jerked awake in a panic before groaning and covering her eyes with her arm.
We’d both had a restless night, but no one had come to discuss the attack, much to my surprise. It seemed they were ready to talk to us now.
“We’re in for another long day,” Serena grumbled as she climbed out of bed and finger-combed her long, black curls. “I guess we should be thankful they didn’t come to wake us up last night.”
“I was just thinking the same. At least we got some sleep.” There was more pounding on the door as I got to my feet. “Give me a minute!”
“Do you think they’ll send us away after this?” Serena asked nervously.
“Send us away? Why would they do that?” I asked as I went to open the door. “We saved all but one of the children. Had we not been here, they might all be dead. We’re heroes.”
“You also saved Dante,” Serena called out. “That didn’t stop Nicolas from making my uncle doubt your motives.”
“Yeah, being a hero doesn’t mean people will appreciate what you’ve done. They might send us away,” I agreed with my hand on the door. Anyone outside would be able to hear me. “We’re planning to leave anyway. It would be nice to have more time to plan, but we may no longer have the luxury of time.”
I opened the door to Alaric. His jaw was clenched as he looked past m
e to Serena.
“You’re absolutely right,” Serena agreed as she came up beside me and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “It will be inconvenient to bump up our timeline, but we’ll figure it out together. I can’t see why they’d tell us to leave. We saved those children and deserve thanks. Hopefully, others will see that and possibly even stand up for us.”
“Do you honestly think I blame the two of you for what happened?” Alaric demanded.
“We have no way of knowing with the mixed messages you sent yesterday. One minute, you were telling me I’m a hero, and the next, you did nothing to defend me,” Serena snapped. “You don’t think very highly of spellcasters, so why would I expect you to see the best in me?”
Alaric let out a frustrated breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Don’t make this about our other issues, Serena.”
“Your issues with spellcasters are very much a part of this discussion,” I answered for Serena. “We want to know if we should start packing.”
“The leadership council wants to meet with you,” Alaric stated. “Now.”
“Are you going to defend us, or have you decided we’re responsible for those monsters attacking the children?” Serena demanded.
“I trust you,” Alaric insisted. When we both gave him doubtful looks, he continued. “It’s true. If I didn’t trust you, I would never have brought you back here where you could get my people killed. I spent most of the night fighting with the others, and I’m in no mood to fight with you. Can I come in for a minute so I can tell you what’s going on before we go to the meeting?”
I nodded and stepped aside so he could enter.
Serena still looked angry, but I didn’t know how much of that was related to worries Alaric didn’t trust us and how much had to do with his rejection of her.
Alaric took a seat at the table, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let out a tired sigh. “This whole situation is such a mess. If I could think of a safe place for you, I would send you away in a heartbeat.”
“What did they decide?” Serena asked.
“No decisions have been made yet,” he replied. “They want to talk to you first.”
“Talk or interrogate?” I asked.
Serena stepped closer to my side, the only sign she gave that she was nervous about his answer.
“A little of both," he admitted. “There are those who back you, so their questions will be less of an interrogation.” His attention moved to Serena. “The father of the injured child is very powerful among our leadership council, and he’s on your side. Others from our community came forward in your defense after you saved so many of our children. They don’t believe you were in league with the monsters.”
“But there are some who think we’re in league with those things that attacked the children?” Serena demanded. “People honestly believe I would have brought those things here to kill that child? How could they think such a horrible thing about me?”
“Few believe that. It’s unlikely anyone will be able to convince enough members of the leadership council of that theory for it to go anywhere,” Alaric assured her. “I’m mentioning it now because I don’t want you to be surprised when we get there. I want you to understand that you have enemies among us now.”
I snorted. “We’ve had enemies since the day we arrived.”
Alaric didn’t argue; he simply got to his feet and gestured to the door. “We should go now. They’re already going to complain about how long it took me to bring you there.”
“Fine,” Serena replied. “First, we need a few minutes to get ready. I’d rather not face them looking like I just rolled out of bed.”
When Serena started toward the bedroom, Alaric caught her hand as she passed him. “I’m sorry about everything that’s happened, Serena.”
Her lips lifted into a cynical smile. “You’re sorry, but it doesn’t change how you feel, does it?”
His guilty expression was answer enough. Serena pulled her hand from his and continued toward the door.
I glared at him. “You’re a jerk, and you don’t deserve her.”
“You’re right,” he agreed quietly. “I don’t deserve her.”
Chapter 21
It was uncomfortably quiet when we entered the meeting hall. It was even more unnerving than I’d expected. Still, I reminded myself that I was the princess of my people. I would not cower in fear or show any sign of weakness. I also had to consider Serena. She needed me to remain strong.
Alaric took a seat beside his mother at the front of the room. She didn’t look at us—a bad sign. In fact, several members of the council looked away as we stood before them.
A tall shapeshifter stood and walked around the table to approach us. I could practically feel the power radiating from him.
The leader’s long black hair went almost to his waist. His skin was a couple of shades darker than mine, and his eyes were pale green.
“Thank you for coming to the aid of our children,” he said as he placed a hand on each of our shoulders. His lips lifted into a slight smile.
“We couldn’t let them die,” Serena replied.
“But there are many who would have,” he told her. “A lot of spellcasters wouldn’t have considered young shapeshifters worth saving.”
“Serena isn’t like other spellcasters,” Alaric called out.
The shapeshifter looked irritated with Alaric’s interruption. “You’ve already had your say. We need to hear from Juliet and Serena now.”
“We need to know what those things were!” a female shouted as she shot to her feet. “You brought them here.”
The male talking to us turned toward her. “Sit down. Your theatrics won’t help us get any answers.” His attention returned to us. “Had you ever seen anything like those creatures before yesterday?”
We both shook our heads, and I replied, “I’ve never even seen pictures of something like that in stories. I know some species are rarely spotted. I’d only seen a nāga in books until recently, but others had spotted them, so I knew they existed.”
“Same here,” Serena added. “It seems strange that there could be creatures like this around without anyone having seen them. They were distinctive and aggressive, not something one could miss.”
“I agree,” the leader stated. “That’s one of the reasons some of our community members are suspicious.”
“Maybe it was a different variety of shapeshifter,” Serena suggested. “That could explain why we’ve never seen them look this way.”
“It still seems unlikely that no one would have ever seen them in this form. Shapeshifters only have two forms,” the leader remarked.
“How often do you leave this area?” I asked. “And how far from here do you travel?”
“We have to send people out for supplies regularly,” he replied. “They stay fairly close, within a fifty-mile radius.”
He might have been exaggerating that radius to avoid giving too much away about their location. I didn’t know exactly where we were.
“Do your children leave this area?” Serena asked. “They went after the children, and that may be their usual prey. Our children don’t often travel outside of the safety of Azuredale.”
“And ours are never allowed past the border of the Ivorfalls,” I added. “If these things hunt children, they’ll hunt in areas not protected by a spell.”
“But you don’t know that’s the case,” he pointed out. “Unless you’re lying about not knowing what they are.”
“The one that spoke to me accused me of protecting its food,” I explained. “They wanted Serena and I to leave, making me think they don’t consider us food.”
“She’s lying!” someone shouted. “She knows they feed on children because she led them here!”
“That’s a lie!” Serena shot back. “We would have never let anything happen to your children. I spend a lot of time with them, and it breaks my heart that one was killed. It also breaks my heart that they’ll all live wi
th fears they didn’t have before yesterday. They’ve lost a piece of their innocence that they can never get back. I know all too well the toll that takes on a person.”
Alaric started to stand, but his mother placed a hand on his arm. He didn’t look happy, but he remained seated.
“How do you think we should handle this situation?” the leader asked as he stepped back and regarded us.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It all depends on how much of a threat everyone here thinks we are to your safety. Do you think we led those creatures here?”
“Since I believe you’re right about them hunting children, they weren’t after you,” the leader stated. “I also don’t believe you wanted to hurt the children.”
“But that doesn’t mean you want us to stay,” I added.
“We should leave soon, anyway,” Serena remarked.
“Absolutely not!” Alaric shouted. “You aren’t going anywhere!”
“Alaric!” his mother hissed. “Sit down now!”
He continued to glare at Serena, and for several tense moments, I was certain he wouldn’t back down.
“Sit down, please,” Serena said quietly. “You’re only going to make matters worse for us.”
“Leaving is not an option,” Alaric said as he sat.
“I’m inclined to agree with Alaric,” the leader who'd been speaking added.
I felt icy fear race up my spine at his words, but I pushed it down to ask, “Are you saying we can’t leave?”
“Not without permission,” he replied.
“What if I request permission to leave today?” I asked.
“It would be denied,” he admitted.
“So, we’re prisoners,” Serena spat out.
He shook his head. “You’re not prisoners. Everyone needs permission to leave the protected area.”
“But we can’t leave because you don’t trust us,” Serena argued. “That’s an entirely different situation. You especially don’t trust me because I’m a spellcaster.”
I was worried Serena’s blatant challenge would anger the leader who’d yet to share his name, but he didn’t seem the least bit annoyed with her tone. “There are many among us who don’t trust you, and the leadership council has to take their feelings into consideration.”