by Katie Cross
I lay on my stomach on a thick branch, straddling it with my legs to keep from falling. Moments after I’d settled in, I thought I detected something move above me but glanced up to see only a patch of bare sky. Despite their big, scaly bodies, the dragons moved through Letum Wood with more finesse than robins. No doubt they had just arrived.
If I hadn’t been looking down when the dragons attacked, I might have missed it, for they moved with such sudden, relentless force.
A plume of fire erupted below, illuminating the West Guards in their crouched positions. The distinct scream of the red followed. One of the West Guards transported away, another scrambled for what appeared to be the map, and the rest bellowed in surprise, drawing their swords. The glittering ebony and sapphire scales of the blue appeared from the depths of Letum Wood, and moments later four Protectors—Merrick included—sprang from nowhere, converging on the remaining West Guards with perfect synchronicity.
A terrific clash of swords came next. I paralyzed a West Guard just before he attacked Merrick from behind. The red dragon pinned two West Guards against a massive tree with her long talons. Nicolas sat astride her back, his lips moving. Based on the bright flare of the red’s nostrils, and the sweat pouring down the West Guards’ faces, only Nicolas’s impressive control over the beast kept the dragon from devouring her prey.
The raucous ambush ended in less than three minutes. The blue tracked a fleeing West Guard—too frightened to transport, I supposed—while smoke billowing from the red partially obscured my vision. I saw enough to curse a West Guard headed for Tobias, sending him to the ground under a tripping curse.
When it all settled, two West Guards lay lifeless near Zane, two remained pinned by the red, and the blue held one under his massive talons. The other West Guards must have transported away. I couldn’t see Merrick, which meant he had likely tried to follow them.
“Take that, scumbags!” Sanna screamed, waving a triumphant hand in the air. “No one challenges my Network!”
“Take them to the dungeons,” Zane commanded, motioning to the West Guards trapped by the dragons. Tobias grabbed them by their throats. A special kind of rope coiled around their wrists that could only be undone by a certain incantation. The strength of the magic would overpower any other magic the West Guards could attempt and prevent them from transporting away. The red dragon let out a disappointed moan and reluctantly backed away on Nicolas’s command.
“Fast response, Sanna,” Zane called. “We appreciate the backup. Well done, old lady.”
“Anything to rid the earth of these violent West Guard scum,” she sang back.
One of the West Guards shot her a glare, but the blue snapped at him, and he cringed. Sanna cackled and turned the blue in another direction.
“Not tonight, my beautiful baby,” she crooned, stroking its scales. “Not tonight.”
Although discreet, the blue’s eyes flickered up to me in the treetops. I met his shiny yellow gaze in a moment of fear, but he looked away, keeping my secret. Luckily the red had been too distracted to notice me.
“We’ll question them tonight,” Zane said. “Seems like they might have a few plans in mind.”
The Protectors shoved the West Guards into the thick brush of Letum Wood, forcing them to stumble back toward Chatham Castle. I sat up as everyone faded away, leaving me alone in the quiet stillness of Letum Wood. When I pulled in a deep breath, I could smell the sharp tang of wet earth and pine. I listened but heard and felt nothing unusual.
Letum Wood had always been dangerous. Unknown creatures lurked amongst its thick, tall trees, and the forest floor rarely saw full sunlight. But I’d never imagined Letum Wood had power.
The forest had fallen silent again. For a moment, I wondered if I had just imagined it.
An Explicit Command
Meet me in my office now. We need to talk.
I folded Papa’s unexpected note and set it on the side table the next night, excited at the prospect of seeing him again. Getting a personal note was rare enough these days. After the fiasco with the dragons the night before, I hadn’t seen Merrick, though I’d searched for him. He must have been sent on a mission.
“Sounds like Papa is home,” I said to Reeves. “I need to meet with him in his office over the whole West Guard thing.”
“I shall preserve your dinner until you return,” Reeves promised.
“Thanks.”
Word about the West Guards staking out Chatham Castle had exploded across Chatham City overnight; most witches demanded the blood of the captured in retribution. Others fled to the country, saying the war had finally come too close. Clive staged yet another protest against Papa’s handling of the war, saying that Papa had proven he didn’t have control and none of us were safe. The Factios took advantage of the fear and doubled their efforts against the gypsies. Outside the walls of the castle, Chatham City burned in endless war.
Chatham Castle itself had exploded with nervous preparations and a frightening new energy. Boards went up over windows. Guardians patrolled deep into Letum Wood. A cloud of dragons circled overhead. Mrs. L commanded her army of butlers and witches with determined force, storing food, training maids, and keeping the fireboys busy finding and cleaning old weapons from the deepest basements.
When I arrived at Papa’s office, Merrick stood just inside, hands folded behind his back and legs braced as if he expected a blow to the midsection.
“Hey,” I said, but he didn’t respond or look at me. His clenched jaw and flared nostrils told me something wasn’t right; Papa’s irritable expression confirmed it. Papa stood behind his desk, drawn and haggard. Soot and sweat streaked his face, and a smear of blood covered the back of his right hand. He must have transported back from the Southern Covens just for this.
This wasn’t going to be good.
An awkward silence hovered in the air once I arrived. “Merry meet, Papa,” I said, testing it. He didn’t respond.
Nope, I thought. Definitely not my imagination.
Stella and Zane both entered the room, looking as solemn as a funeral. My stomach clenched. Something was very wrong if Stella and Zane looked so stressed.
“Thank you for waiting, Derek,” Stella said when the door closed behind them. “You may begin whenever you like.”
Stella moved farther into the room until she stood next to me without her usual, reassuring smile. Zane stopped next to Merrick, his hands folded in front of him. The two didn’t make any motion to acknowledge the other, but Merrick’s jaw relaxed just a bit. It felt like Stella and Zane had subtly taken sides, or felt they needed to stand near us for support.
“Thank you for coming,” Papa said, leaning on his desk wearily. “Bianca, I asked you to come so I can hear from your point of view what happened in Letum Wood yesterday evening. Begin.”
I hesitated. Was Papa angry with me? He rarely called me Bianca and never spoke in such a formal tone. Merrick continued to stare at the floor.
“O-okay. We were out for a run,” I began, purposefully avoiding the unnecessary details of the conversation I’d had with Merrick. “I found a new trail and decided to take it. We ended up stumbling on the West Guards. Sanna and Zane told you the rest.”
Neither of them knew I’d been sitting in the treetops watching the attack, thank the good gods. This angry confrontation with Papa would be a breeze compared to what he would do if he knew I’d hovered just above a dragon battle.
“And you went with her?” Papa asked, turning to Merrick. His low, gravelly voice set my instincts on fire.
“Papa,” I said, stepping forward. “I—”
“I didn’t ask you,” he snapped, keeping his unwavering gaze on Merrick. “I asked Merrick.”
Stella reached over and put a cool, soothing hand on my arm, but it didn’t calm the flare of magic that rose with my panic. Merrick met Papa’s intense gaze with an expression that remained as stoic as ever, though his breath sped up just a little.
“We went out for a run, sir.
Just as Bianca said.”
“Even though I ordered you to stay away from my daughter.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You ordered him to stay away from me?” I burst out. “Papa!”
“This doesn’t concern you, Bianca. Stay out of it.”
“It most certainly does concern me,” I said, stepping forward again. “Merrick and I went on a run. That’s it. He was doing me a favor. It’s not like we kissed or—”
“You are not part of this!” Papa said, slamming his fist on the desk and leaning into it. He leveled a dangerous warning glare at me that I ignored. How dare he act so upset! How dare he act like I had no part in this!
“Yes I am! I’m the reason we were out there! I talked Merrick into taking me for a run. He didn’t want me to go, but I had to. We were only out there for fifteen minutes.”
“You promised Stella you wouldn’t go into Letum Wood. You knew it was dangerous.”
“I promised I wouldn’t go in alone!” I shot back. “And I wasn’t alone. Merrick went with me. I never broke my promise.”
“Bianca,” Stella murmured, pulling me back. “This isn’t helping. Take a deep breath. We’ll work this out, okay?”
“There’s a bloody war going on out there, Bianca, and hundreds of witches are dying every day! You are the High Priest’s daughter. That means any one of those West Guards would do just about anything to kidnap you and hold you hostage,” Papa bellowed. “Now go to the apartment. I’ll deal with you later.”
“We didn’t know the West Guards were in Letum Wood. Shouldn’t we be glad that Merrick and I found them and weren’t harmed?”
“No!” Papa roared. “I told both of you how I felt, and both of you went against my wishes.”
Zane stepped forward, putting himself in front of Merrick. “Your Highness,” he said, “I believe Merrick was trying his best to keep your daughter safe.”
“Stay out of this, Zane.”
“I’m seventeen, Papa,” I cried, rushing closer before Stella could pull me back. “You can’t protect me forever.”
“I bloody well can.”
“I’m always in danger, Papa. Always! I’ve faced West Guards twice now. But you didn’t even know about the first time, did you? No! Because you’re too busy working to even remember that I’m still here.”
“What?” His eyes narrowed. “When did you face the West Guards before last night?”
“I’ve faced dragons before too, but nothing happened to me last night. The forest protected me. Merrick protected me. I protected me! I’m not a helpless child. I won against Miss Mabel, or have you forgotten?”
“The forest protected you?” Papa repeated. “What in the good gods are you talking about?”
I hesitated. I hadn’t actually worked that part out myself, so I didn’t know how to explain it.
“It’s just … well … I don’t know entirely,” I admitted. “At least not yet. I’ll figure it out at some point. But we would never have seen those West Guards if I hadn’t felt compelled to go on the trail. There was magic in it, Papa. It guided us. Merrick didn’t want to go and even tried to convince me otherwise. He tried to keep us on the main trail. He didn’t do anything wrong. I’ll take responsibility, Papa. This is all my fault. Punish me, not him.”
Merrick closed his eyes and hung his head. Papa’s eyes widened.
“You damn well better believe you’re going to take responsibility for disobeying me. You followed a magical impulse into a part of Letum Wood you’d never been?” He pivoted toward Merrick. “And you let her?”
Oh, no, I thought in panic. This was rapidly falling apart.
“It wasn’t like that!” I cried, frantic. “The magic was Letum Wood. It wanted us to see the West Guards. It was protecting us and the Central Network! It’s done it before. Merrick didn’t know I felt it.”
Stella held onto my arm with both hands now, keeping me back. Even her calming incantations weren’t working; my powers bubbled up like a pot of boiling water. The torches blazed. Zane eyed me warily.
“Letum Wood can’t communicate with witches, Bianca. You willingly went into the forest during a time of war when you know that West Guards are springing up everywhere. You followed an unknown trail that could have been enchanted with Almorran magic and ended up face to face with ten West Guards intent on harm. Do you understand why I’m angry?”
His eyes bored into mine, leaving me hurt and breathless and afraid. Papa had never spoken to me with such unrestrained fury before. I’d never seen him so livid. He always maintained control. Either this testified to the strain he felt as High Priest, or something else was going on. My reply stuck in my throat. Papa didn’t understand. He didn’t know what it was like staying behind at the castle, waiting every day to see if he had died. And to take Letum Wood—my only reprieve, my only safety—away from me?
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” I whispered, forcing my voice to a calmer cadence when all I wanted to do was shout, grab his shoulders, and beg him to understand. “I needed to run. I have no other outlet, and my powers are becoming dangerous again. Running in Letum Wood is all I have.”
“I wanted you safe at home! I can’t protect you if you’re off doing crazy things.”
“Well, this isn’t home!” I shouted, tears filling my eyes. The fire popped in a hot flare of sparks. “This isn’t home, and it never will be. Home is with Mama.”
“Marie is gone,” he said coldly.
“So are you!”
He stared at me with a stunned, stark gaze, as if I’d slapped him.
“You’re gone fighting a war. You never write. When you are home, you’re in meetings or you work or you’re thinking about work. I might as well not exist for you anymore. I’m stuck in the castle with friends who are always too busy with their own lives, and then I’m banned from going to the one place that gives me any peace. What was I supposed to do to control my magic, Papa? What was I supposed to do? Let my powers fly out of control? I’m afraid every single moment of every single day that you’re going to die. That you’ll leave just like Mama. What if I hurt someone again?”
I turned away, unable to bear his pained eyes. A sob stuck in my throat.
“It was just a run,” I said to Stella in a haunted whisper when she put a hand on my shoulder. “Letum Wood protected me.”
“Derek,” Stella said, pushing me behind her. “I know you’re scared for Bianca, but perhaps we should talk about this after you’ve had some time to think it out. Both of you are under an incredible amount of stress, especially now.”
Papa had turned away to stare out the window, jaw tight, arms folded across his chest.
“Go to the apartment Bianca,” he said quietly.
I opened my mouth to speak but didn’t know what to say. All my emotions had converged into a jumble of hot, teeming worms in my chest far more powerful than they’d been before last night. Papa didn’t look back, as if he couldn’t even bear seeing me. Merrick kept his gaze on the floor.
“Go, Bianca. Let him cool off,” Stella whispered, squeezing my arm. “Trust me.”
I’d never felt so alone or frightened in my life, like Mama had died all over again. Where could I turn? I felt betrayed, forsaken by Papa, the very witch who had always had my back. I felt as if I didn’t even know him, and that was the most frightening thing of all.
The room fell quiet as I departed without another word. I didn’t even try to listen to what they said after I left. I just transported to my room, sank to my bed, and stared at the wall.
Papa didn’t come back to the apartment that night.
You've Come to Fight
Merrick disappeared. I couldn’t find him the next morning and hadn’t heard from him after sending repeated letters through the night. I asked every Guardian and Protector I could find, but no one knew.
“Reeves,” I called late that afternoon, feeling restless and cagey. I’d paced back and forth for so long that Reeves had finally removed the rug, afraid I�
��d wear a hole in it. “Have you seen or heard from Papa?”
“No, Miss Bianca.”
I swore under my breath, ignored his silent reprimand, and transported to the hall just outside Stella’s office. Warm sunshine poured through pointed windows lining the hallway. A few of them were cracked open, admitting a fresh spring breeze.
“Have you heard from him, Stella?” I asked, peeking into her office from the doorway. She looked up from her desk with a sigh.
“Come in, Bianca. I’m glad you’ve come. I’ve been wanting to talk to you since last night but couldn’t break away until very late. How are you?”
She closed the door behind me with a spell while I lowered my body into a chair across from her desk.
“Not good. He’s never done this before,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. “We always make up after an argument. And I’ve never seen him that upset. He’s … it’s like I don’t know him anymore.”
Stella walked around the desk. A chair scooted next to mine for her to sit in, and she put a warm hand on mine.
“Can I be frank with you, Bianca?”
“Of course.”
She studied my teary eyes for a breathless moment.
“Your father is under an incredible amount of stress right now. More than I’ve ever seen a witch bear, even Mildred. The Central Network isn’t doing well in the war. The Protectors have been counter-attacking the Western Network for the past three weeks, but nothing seems to make enough of a difference to give us an advantage. We’re holding the Southern Network back but still losing witches. It’s weakening us. And just this morning Isadora saw a few very frightening things that your father can’t control or change unless …” She trailed away, swallowing.
“Unless what?”
She paused. “Unless he faces Dane on his own tonight.”
“What?”
“He didn’t have time to speak with you the way he wanted. He had to leave right away—on Isadora’s urgent recommendation—for us to have a chance.”
