from Liam’s comforting embrace and strode to the front of the room where Alwyn was staring at the door with pure horror plastered on her usually stoic face. He didn’t try to stop me. Instead, he gave me a nod, his eyes shining with something akin to respect.
“We should do something,” I said, clearing my throat so that everyone could hear me over the roar of the battle. “They’re dying out there.”
Alwyn glanced over her shoulder, frowning back at me. “What do you expect to do, Norah? You’re incompetent. Your failed challenges have been evidence enough of that.”
Wincing, I forced myself to keep my eyes locked on her face. She’d put voice to everything I’d always feared about myself. Incompetent. Helpless. Worthless. But if there was one thing I’d learned in these past weeks, it was that those fears were unfounded.
I fisted my hands. “I’m actually not. I may not have had much formal training yet, but I have raw power. We all do. Not to mention the second and third years who have had some training. All of us together could easily fight these Redcaps.”
“Like you did in the Great Hall?” She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. “I appreciate your willingness to help your fellow fae, Norah, but the safest place for all of you is in here.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I continued. I wasn’t going to give up that easily. “If the Redcaps kill our guards, then they’ll aim all their strength at those doors next. After seeing them in action, I don’t think that will hold them off for very long. They had the element of surprise in the Great Hall. None of us were ready to fight then. We know they’re here now, and we’ve got enough weapons to go around.”
“I agree with Norah,” Sophia said, striding up to stand by my side. For a moment, all I could do was stare at her in alarm. She hadn’t spoken to me since she’d told Redmond about Bree. A part of me wanted to hate her, but another part of me understood why she did what she did. In her eyes, all Redcaps were murderous creatures who had killed her friends. She didn’t know Bree was different. How could she?
“Same.” Griff joined us, along with Lila and several of the third-year students. Soon, every single changeling had moved to stand beside me, along with my four instructors who looked torn between giving me a high-five and hiding me away in a corner somewhere.
Alwyn ground her teeth and glanced at each of us in turn. “I shouldn’t go along with this, but something tells me I won’t be able to stop you even if I say no. Just...be smart. Don’t do anything stupid. And let us instructors take the lead.”
As the battle raged on outside, the changelings worked together to move the chairs away from the door as quickly as possible. When we’d finally moved the last barrier out of the way, Alwyn unlocked the door and threw it open.
The first thing I saw was blood. Lots of blood. The sight of it clogged my throat. A fae guard’s body flew through the air and landed before us all with a heavy thud. We gasped and stumbled back, and a large mangy paw edged around the door. Liam threw himself in front of me as the Redcap slowly strode into the training room. It took one long sniff around the room before opening up its massive jaws and roaring in rage.
Everyone sprang into action. At least a dozen changelings and instructors launched themselves at the creature, swords and daggers swirling through the air. Many of the blades made contact, and soon enough, the creature had fallen to the floor. Those fierce beady eyes slid shut, and its last breath whooshed from its lungs.
We all stood staring at the creature. No one was certain what to do next.
“Is that it?” asked Griff.
His answer came soon enough. Four more beasts hurtled into the training room, each one storming toward a different cluster of changelings. Everything turned to chaos in that moment.
Liam pressed a sword into my hand, and as soon as my finger curled around the hilt, it was as if the weapon became an extension of my hand. I whirled through the air, slicing the blade at the creature I fought. There were five of us on one. Me and my four males against the Redcap. Liam’s roar was as loud as the beast’s,