More elves ran our way. I crushed them with air, in no mood to spare anyone. They squished against the rug, and I jumped over the bodies. I heard Penny gag behind me. Around a bend and into a larger room, I eyed the windows.
“We need to get out of the castle—”
“Look. Watch out!” Penny screeched.
A jet of magic hurtled our way, ripping through my middle and trying to come out the other side. It wasn’t as strong as the royals’ magic, though, and I counteracted it with my own power. Spells rose from Penny and Emery even as Penny groaned and sank down. The spells must’ve been the tracking type, because they seeped through a cracked open door in front of us. Screams ensued.
“Let me down to fight,” Dizzy said, struggling out of my grasp.
“No! We’re not fighting, we’re running, and you don’t do that fast enough.” I squeezed him tighter.
“I feel ridiculous,” he shot back.
“You also look ridiculous. Just go with it!”
I barely stopped when I reached the tall but fairly thin doors, jumping with Dizzy in my arms and kicking. The wood cracked into the head of someone who was already sinking from Penny’s spell, the damage clearly internal, because I couldn’t see the effects.
“Using their magic against them. Nice, Turdswallop,” Emery said with pride.
The next room opened up to a space as tall as the throne room. It had tall windows along one side and doors on the other, plus a second-floor balcony looking down. I skidded to a halt, my eyes widening, my stomach dropping out of me.
“Turn around,” I yelled, trying to back-pedal and bumping up against Penny. “Turn around! This is a kill zone!”
“Too late.” Emery’s voice was suddenly rough, realization dawning.
Doors opened and bodies entered, their swishing clothes moving in the unseen wind, their outfits formfitting and made from tough material that would undoubtedly make them more difficult to kill. They stood in a line on the railing above, their position giving them a clear advantage. They poured in through the downstairs doorways and spread out in numbers.
This was the fighting force, and they had us surrounded.
Twenty-Two
“When I say go, run for the windows,” Reagan said in a low tone that made Penny’s small hairs stand on end. “Jump through and get out of here. They can’t have much of a force on the outside if they have all these people in here.”
She gave Penny a shove that also jostled Emery and Callie, who was uncharacteristically quiet in his arms. “There is no way we’re going to get through the windows,” Penny whispered at Reagan. “They’ll grab us before we do.”
“I’ll make sure that does not happen.” Reagan set Dizzy down and ushered him behind her.
“Right, fine, but then they’ll just chase us down. We need a new plan. We need to think—”
“No. Not all of us. Just you four,” Reagan said, and Penny knew she was speaking to Emery. “It’s me they want. They want you too, but they’ll let it go if it helps them get me.”
“No.” Penny grabbed Reagan’s shoulder as even more elves crowded into the room, their hands in front of them and their magic building. Penny could feel it. Trap. Kill. Destroy. The elves had a different goal for each of them, and none of them were good. “No, you’re coming too. We can get out of here. All of us can. Maybe if you yell for the shifters or—”
Reagan whirled and leaned in, her face now a foot from Penny’s, eyes lit with fire and determination. “You are here because of me. I will not let them have you,” she said, and Penny knew in her heart of hearts this was the start of a goodbye. Heat prickled her eyes as Reagan kept talking. “They won’t kill me right away. They see value in me. They’ll keep me alive until they figure out what to do with me. They will kill you, though. All of you. You cannot be caught, do you hear me? You need to run.”
“But…” A tear slipped down Penny’s cheek.
“Miss Somerset,” one of the elves said, stepping forward, and Penny harnessed their magic and cut out that blasted fake wind tousling their hair, ripping it from the room and exploding it upward. The elves on the balcony flinched, but they didn’t crouch, squeal, or duck. These were trained forces, and there were definitely too many of them for their small crew to take on. Even if they managed the impossible and defeated this many elves, reinforcements would arrive before they could escape. “Give it up. You must know this is the end.”
“You need to go,” Reagan told Penny urgently. “Get Darius. He’ll figure something out.”
Penny nodded mutely, her heart breaking, sobs threatening to overcome her. Because Reagan was sacrificing herself to save them.