and magic weren’t enough against them. But I didn’t have time to think about that; I just needed to keep finding new targets, keep fighting.
Through the sites of my rifle as it swept across the field, I glimpsed the witches who were fighting with the wolves, then realized one had a familiar face. For a second, I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing, and then I remembered.
Bennett. I’d been pretty distracted by the fact that Winter had almost killed me that day, but Bennett had taken on Clearborn’s face in a ruse to convince Maddie to use the dark collar.
That day, she’d ripped all of our wolves away.
And the one who had paid the most have been Maddie, who couldn’t forgive herself for what she’d done, for one human moment of failure.
My finger tightened on the trigger, easing out the slack as I sited in on Bennett’s center of mass, covered by the leather jacket he always wore. Maddie had told me she called him Indy until she learned his name, and I could see why; from his dark blond hair to the way he dressed, he had the same vibe as Indiana Jones.
Right as I pulled the trigger, he threw up a shield, looking straight at me. My bullet ricocheted harmlessly off his magic. No matter, I was already looking for my next shot, waiting for him to drop the shield.
Clearborn dropped beside me, his back against the barricades. His breath was coming short. “Penn, I need you.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say such a thing, sir,” I said. Bennett wasn’t dropping his shield, so I finally gave up and looked at Clearborn.
“Someone opened a rip onto campus,” he told me. He’d changed the wards so he knew whenever a rip opened; that was probably the only reason we’d all been ready when the wolves charged us. “I’m hoping it’s Maddie and Rafe with the shield.”
“If not, it’s more bad news.” I changed my grip on my rifle, keeping the stock in my shoulder but the barrel trained toward the ground ahead of me. I was ready to run… and fight.
Clearborn nodded, then rattled off a location in the forest. “Will you go check and if it’s them, make sure we reunite the two halves of the shield? That spell working and restoring our wolves… it’s our best chance.”
He sounded so calm, but I knew it was our only chance.
“I’m on it,” I promised.
I took off running for the forest. I moved desperately fast because I had open ground to cover. I heard magic sizzle behind me, then it suddenly died. One of my friends must have taken care of the attack before it could reach me.
I all but dove into the shelter of the forest, and plunged deep inside, searching for my friends.
“Maddie?” I dared to call softly as I reached the point where they should be waiting for me. But there was no one there.
Instead, I found half of a shield laying in the soft earth. The trees shifted slowly around me, pushed around by the wind. The shield was half-hidden by the gloom of the forest.
I pulled it up from the dirt, dread settling into my gut. Where was Maddie and the others?
I heard a faint footfall behind me, breaking a twig, and I whirled. But because I hoped it was her, I didn’t raise my magic.
That was my mistake.
The witch who faced me wasn’t so slow. The red-headed witch flung her hands out at me, and magic blazed into my chest. I was thrown backward, slamming into a tree so hard that I lost my breath.
“Very good, Victoria.” Bennett stepped from between the trees. He held his hand out to me for the shield. “We’ll take that, thank you.”
They’d have to kill me first.
Not that they would mind.
I came off the tree, already seating my rifle in my shoulder, beginning to squeeze off a round—
Bennett held up his fist, tightening it as magic flared around his hand, and the barrel of my weapon crumpled. If I fired it, it would explode on me, so I quickly released the trigger and tossed it to the ground, moving to fight another way.
“I’m on your side, as long as you don’t shoot me,” Bennett said mildly.
Victoria whirled to face him but he was already holding his hand out toward her. “Sleep.”
She crumpled into the soft brush.
I reached over my shoulder and drew my sword, still holding the shield with my left arm. “Why do I