Stefan smirked as the reptile skulked by. “I’ve never been one to walk away from a good brawl. Those monsters should be scared of me.”
Theo let out a skeptical noise. “Oh, get ahold of yourself.”
He was the first to jump, propelling himself off the rooftop to sail downward to below. The rest of us followed, running at top speed and jumping off the ledge. We fell two stories, cloaks billowing out behind us as we landed on the back of the reptile. We grabbed onto the spikes protruding from its back, and unleashed daggers, plunging them into the creature’s spine. We held on for dear life as the monster flailed about, its bellows shattering the air. Though weariness showed on the men’s faces, they did not hesitate to strike.
I hoped Emma hurried. Though we were brave and noble, we were not infallible. At some point, our strength would wear out. Hopefully, Gabby would pull her monsters back before any of us succumbed to exhaustion and death.
That is, if our plan worked. I prayed the gods would have mercy on us—
Though I wasn’t sure if they would. So many innocents had lost their lives. It wouldn’t be crass to assume we were next.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Emma
I was hopeful Vara would be at the university, and prayed to the gods she wasn’t anywhere among these city streets. We’d never find her in this mess. The girls and I ran back the way we came, passing by the bodies of the monsters we’d just destroyed. I wished the way to remain clear, so we could get back to campus that much faster. The rest of the monsters had barricaded citizens on the other side of Dolinska, so we didn’t run into any trouble along the way—
Until I heard a wild scream that made my heart twist.
“That’s my brother!” I shouted. I turned down a different alleyway without another explanation— the girls followed. My breath caught as I saw Arthur at the end, cornered by the sphinx-like creature I’d seen earlier.
The woman’s head grinned as she spread her eagle wings wide and crouched her lion’s body to jump. The monster leapt into the air, and Arthur changed into a wolven at the last second. He was waiting for her, and the two fell into a snarling heap. Arthur used his teeth to gnaw at the lion’s body, but all of his bites missed her neck. The monster drew her claws across Arthur’s chest, and he gave a high-pitched howl.
Rage welled within me at my brother’s cries, and I called upon the wolven necklace. An Unseelie battle orb welled in my palm, and I fired. The orb struck the monster in the side, and flung her off Arthur. Steam rose from the creature’s body as it lay immobile, killed by my magic.
“Arthur!” I ran to him. He changed back, and gasped as blood poured out of his chest and onto his jacket. He’d been hurt badly.
“Are you okay?” I asked. Arthur’s eyes narrowed in confusion as I pushed his shirt aside to examine the cuts. They were healing, but he was still bleeding.
“Yes… who are you?” Arthur asked.
I’d forgotten I was still wearing my mask, and as part of my disguise, the illusion was still apparent, changing the color of my hair and eyes.
I yanked my mask off. As I did, the illusion ended, and Arthur’s expression became clear. “Sis? Wow, you’re the White Rose. Ethan’s the Phantom, I take it.”
“Not hard to figure out, is it?” I pulled Arthur to his feet. He glanced at the other girls— none of them had taken their masks off, but I’m certain he could determine who they were.
I leaned against a wall and tried to breathe. All this fighting, after a long day spent at the festival, was wearing me out. Good thing Ethan had given me that necklace earlier, otherwise, I’d be on my ass right now.
“I see you’ve been using that necklace I enchanted,” Arthur said. “That was a good Unseelie spell.”
“Yep.” I pulled aside my cloak to show him the wolven necklace, and he grinned.
Odette’s eyes popped out of her head. “Holy mother of alicorns, that is a rock!”
“One of the many benefits of mating a prince. He’s filthy rich,” I said. I refastened the cloak and put on my mask, and the illusion settled once more.
“Arthur, what are you doing out here alone? It’s not safe,” Delmare asked.
Arthur’s face twisted. “I’ve been looking for Vara. We