But she cut off her own spell before speaking the final word. A bleeding spell could kill him. The same with a cutting spell, a burning spell, a transmutation spell. She didn’t want to kill Hunter Black. Her mind scrolled through other options, something to merely incapacitate . . .
He took advantage of her moment of hesitation. He spun into a roundhouse turn that brought him close enough to grab her calf. She cried out and jerked back, but his grip was like a vise. He gave a sharp tug and she fell over. He dragged her closer as she screamed and clawed at the floor.
He reached for her throat with bleeding hands. From behind the cash register, Viggo threw a pair of sneakers at him, then a boot, but the shoes only bounced off his shoulders and tumbled to the floor. Anouk swallowed. What choice did she have but to use a fatal spell?
She opened her mouth . . .
Hunter Black drew back a fist and, before she could get out another whisper, slammed it into the side of Anouk’s head.
She crashed backward against the floor. Pain radiated through her skull. She clutched her jaw, which felt terrifyingly loose. She coughed and tried to whisper the spell.
“Armur ver . . .”
It didn’t work. She edged back, still clutching her jaw. It was broken! With the fractured bones, she couldn’t speak in the right tone. For a moment, panic filled her. She’d taken a risky journey to the Cottage, she’d agreed to a dangerous marriage, she’d faced turning back into an animal, she’d faced almost certain death in the Coal Baths, she’d even sacrificed Saint, and now, with one punch, Hunter Black had taken everything from her.
He loomed over her so fast that she barely had time to think. His eyes were devastatingly blank. She knew, in that moment, there was no pleading with a force that couldn’t be reasoned with. The Noirceur was going to use her friend to kill her.
She spared a last look at Beau. He was out of the chair and on all fours, trying to feel his way across the floor to help her, but Viggo crawled out from behind the counter and grabbed him, holding him back. Finally Viggo was good for something.
“Anouk!” Beau cried.
She wanted to answer. Tell him she loved him. Tell him that if life was a fairy tale, he was her heart’s greatest desire. But only unintelligible words came from her broken jaw.
Just as Hunter Black raised another fist, someone else started whispering.
“Armur ver, armur ex, armur nime.”
Anouk whipped her head toward the sound. Petra! The witch raced across the marble floor with the whisper on her lips, the same spell Anouk had tried and failed to cast. With her shock of red hair and black coat simmering with live embers, she looked every bit the vicious and formidable Ash Witch. Hard to believe it was the same girl they’d found on the side of the road taking out the recycling in ripped jeans.
The sheer force of Petra’s spell shoved Hunter Black backward, threw him twenty feet across the floor, and pinned him against the balcony railing. Petra held both hands out, palms directed at Hunter Black, continuing the whisper to hold him there.
“Anouk!”
Cricket was behind Petra, using ropes made of clothing to cross the detached staircase. Rennar was with her. He held a scrap of fabric that looked like December’s pocket—?he must have helped them break the Goblin’s possession. Rennar took one look at the scene and strode to Petra’s side to take over the difficult spell. As soon as he had Hunter Black trapped against the railing, Petra fell back, gasping for air.
Cricket fell to her knees by Anouk. “Are you okay?”
Anouk pushed herself up, still holding her jaw.
“December?” she choked out.
Cricket nodded. “She’s okay. Rennar finished clearing Westminster and came looking for you. We got the button out of December’s pocket. Lucky for us there was a time slip in the gelato department. Rennar unfroze it and we threw in the button before it could possess us. December is groggy, but she’s coming back to herself. What happened to your jaw?”
Anouk gestured to Hunter Black. Rennar had him pinned against the balcony railing so hard that black tears were streaking down his cheeks.
Viggo finally let Beau go, and Beau crawled across the ma
rble floor in the direction of their voices. Anouk clambered toward him. She grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him into a hug. “Cabbage,” he whispered. His arms were holding her as though he never wanted to let her go. “Gargoyle. Princess.” His hands ran along her back and her arms, as though he were reassuring himself she was still in one piece, but when he reached for her jaw, she pulled back sharply.
His eyebrows came together. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Cricket explained about Anouk’s jaw.
“Well, tell Rennar to heal it!” Beau cried. “He’s your husband—?he has to be good for something!” But every ounce of Rennar’s magic was aimed at keeping Hunter Black pinned to the balcony railing. When Beau heard Rennar’s whispers, he cursed. “Petra. Get Petra. She can do it.”
Anouk and Cricket turned toward Petra, who was slumped in the leather armchair they’d dragged down for Beau, still trying to catch her breath.
“Can you heal her?” Cricket asked.