Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,110

straight to face the night mares.

Leila writhed in pain, and the creature shook when the mare charged it again, then clawed at her neck, raking its claws deep into her neck.

The mare stumbled and screamed.

The monster looked up, straight into the drone’s camera. It picked a decorative rock from a bunch piled around the base of a tree on the sidewalk—keeping Queen Leila pinned—then flung it at the drone.

The TV screen turned black as the feed was dropped, the camera—or drone—destroyed.

Something in me twinged, and a foreign emotion twisted in my chest.

…Leila…fight back.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Leila

It hurt Eclipse.

It hurt Eclipse!

Even in my pained, pinned position, I saw the red of blood on the night mare’s coat as she cried out in pain.

Even as the creature slammed its foot into my lower back, sending pain wracking through my body, I barely registered it. I was too angry.

This monster—and whoever sent it—had harmed my night mare.

No.

I stretched, the muscles in my arm protesting as I reached for the small tree and landscaping bed artfully arranged on the edge of the street. The creature twisted its claws, slicing the skin of my lower back, but my fingers brushed the small rocks dumped around the tree trunk.

I grabbed a fistful and flung them behind me, pelting the monster.

It leaned back, putting its weight on its other foot, giving me the chance to slide out from under it.

It badly tore my shirt as it tried to stab its claws into my side, but I rolled and jumped to my feet.

Aware it was right behind me, I darted behind a public garbage can—one of those pebbled concrete ones.

The monster chased after me, following me right up to the garbage can. Not expecting the concrete’s solid heft, it slammed into it and practically flipped over the plastic top.

I jumped an empty bike rack and ran up the street, scooping up my lost prism that sat in the middle of the road. How am I going to defeat this thing? I didn’t bring my gun because of derby rules, and I don’t know much fast-casting offensive magic—just wards!

My prism was still activated, and I yanked more magic through it. I didn’t know what I was gathering it for—my thoughts were scattered, like the night mares that screamed and ran around me.

Comet and Nebula charged the monster together. But even with their jagged teeth, whatever damage they did disappeared as the spell-powered creature’s shadowy flesh regenerated.

Wait—this monster is obviously a spell. Otherwise I wouldn’t be feeling this weird magic, and it wouldn’t be able to regenerate like this. That means the easiest way to fight it is to destroy whatever magic is powering it, which should be held in a core somewhere.

The monster turned to me, and I automatically forged a ward, which glowed at my feet before erecting a barrier that briefly flickered with runes.

I studied it, trying to see if there was any part of it that looked more concentrated or different. Most likely the spell powering it was not in a limb—those would be easy to chop off.

Eclipse—even though she was hurt—charged it, and Twilight kicked out at it, his hooves passing straight through the monster’s disconcerting, ever-changing head.

It didn’t bother the monster—which was intent on trying to break through my barrier.

That probably means its core isn’t in its head. Which means it’s most likely in the chest. But how can I destroy it when I’ve only been practicing wards! Wait, unless…

I skidded to a stop and whirled around.

The creature was right behind me. It reached for me, and I ducked under its arms, barely avoiding its claws.

My mouth dried up as I shoved my hand into the monster’s shadowy torso and used the one magic I’d practiced endlessly for the past few weeks.

I made a ward.

Not around me or my night mares, but around the monster. Or—rather—in it.

When I’d poured all the magic I could muster into the spell, I released it, and the ward grew, expanding into a purple shield that vertically sliced through the monster’s body.

I held my breath, afraid to hope.

The creature stopped flailing, split by the barrier.

A moment passed, and its chest cavity glowed white hot before the light. I heard a snapping noise, and whatever spell it was that forged the creature crumbled. Its body and limbs turned into thick clouds of black smoke.

A flower dropped from the haze before the smoke dissolved into the air.

Blood oozed down my back as I stooped over and snatched up the spotless, white flower. It