by Leia Stone
Mallory’s slight frame was a blur to my left, but I kept the majority of my attention on the burning bear.
Reaching back, she chucked her sword. It flew across the room, sliding into the bear’s chest like a knife through butter.
The huge animal keeled over, landing with a thump.
I released the hold on my magic, but the searing pain in my chest continued to swell. Glancing down, I gasped as I saw the skin on my chest was glowing. Tugging at the neckline, I watched as the mark of the flame element burned into my skin, right between my breasts.
What the mage?
“Kaja!”
Nell’s scream ripped me from my thoughts, and I jerked my head up to see Nell holding her sister, my BFF, limp and bleeding out, in her arms.
Chapter 17
The entire campus was littered with bodies. All around us, people lay dead or dying, but I kept my focus on Kaja. Nell and I carried her to the castle, desperate for the best healer, only to discover every healer in the castle ward had been killed in the battle.
Before I could ask Nell what to do, a male voice boomed through the air like a magical PA system. “Anyone with healing abilities, report to the castle. All other students, please lock yourself in your dorm until a teacher comes to check on you.”
Nell magically staunched Kaja’s bleeding abdomen with her water power and then went to work on the small gash on the side of her head. Then, we took her to Harvest Dorm, settling inside and locking the door.
“Stay here with her while I go get help?” Nell asked. “I’ll see if any other healers survived.”
Like there was anywhere else I’d go.
I settled in at Kaja’s feet to monitor her, and both Nell and Rue dashed off to try to find another healer. Mother Mage, let the guard at the castle be wrong, that at least one healer survived. Kaja’s other sisters, Mele and Fiona, hadn’t been by either, and I hoped they were okay.
An agonizing half-hour later, the twins returned to the Harvest dorm, both wearing matching wary expressions.
“It’s a madhouse out there. How’s she doing?” Nell studied her sister, who lay in bed, still unconscious. I’d been staring at the rise and fall of her chest, but the rate of her breaths was increasing.
“Not bleeding anymore, but she hasn’t woken,” I told them. “Is it normal to breathe that fast?”
Nell frowned.
I’d cut away Kaja’s uniform and wiped all the blood from her skin to better assess her stomach wound. No more bleeding, thanks to Nell’s water magic, but what if Kaja had internal bleeding? She hadn’t stirred once, and my anxiety continued to coil tighter and tighter until I felt I might burst.
“Did you find another healer?” I looked past them at the entryway, expecting one to walk through any moment. “A strong one?”
Nell’s voice was hollow. “All the castle healers are dead.”
Panic flooded me so fast my hands shook. I mean… the guard said as much to us when we took Kaja there, but I thought for sure she would have found at least one…
How could that be?
The twins stepped closer, and Rue pulled out a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, which they must’ve gotten from the castle. After turning on every light in the room, the muted tones of twilight outside fled in the artificial brightness. Kaja’s room was decorated in the vibrant greens of life, and with the lights on, the contrasts became even more noticeable. My bestie’s skin was whiter than a ghost.
Thick scabs covered the once open gashes on her face and another on her stomach, but Kaja looked bad.
I hovered as Rue did her assessment, and ten minutes later, she shook her head.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Her vital signs are getting worse, not better,” Rue stated, her voice shaking with emotion. “I’m not sure…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but I didn’t need her to.
“How much blood did she lose?” I asked. “How much can we lose before we won’t heal ourselves?” A wolf’s regenerative capability was in the blood. Without most of it … my gaze bounced from Rue to Nell because one of them should know this. Right?
Nell shrugged, and her gaze dropped. In the last half hour, she’d worked herself to exhaustion, leaving the skin beneath her eyes now dark and sallow. “I don’t know.”
Rue paced the room. “Not a healing mage left on the island. This was a heavily coordinated attack.”
“So … what are our options?” Doing nothing wasn’t an option; I wasn’t going to lose my bestie.
Nell sank onto the edge of the bed with a sigh, and Rue shook her head, her gaze downcast.
“Mele and Fiona must be in hiding or hurt. I don’t know what to do!” Nell got up and paced the room too. “Our clan’s land is a two-hour run from here, all the way at the south end of the island. But I’m not sure our father can do much better than me.”
“What does that mean?” I waited, and when neither said anything, I screamed, “What does that mean?”
Rue swallowed. “Maybe if she’s in a restorative sleep, she’ll eventually wake up on her own…”
I strode closer to the bed and leaned toward Nell, narrowing my eyes.
“But…” I swallowed. “You don’t think that’s what this is.”
Nell shook her head, but this time, Rue answered.
“Kaja’s vital signs aren’t strong enough for this to be a restorative sleep.”
Which meant she was dying.
No way in hell would I let that happen.
I paced the room, frantic to think of something… anything…to save my friend. The colors of the sky deepened to black as I stared out the window, and then the answer hit. With a triumphant grin, I spun toward Kaja’s sisters. “Didn’t Justice go to Dark Row and get a potion to heal me?”
Nell’s eyes widened, and Rue paled.
“We need to go there. Surely we can find a potion maker there who can heal her.”
Nell glanced at Rue, and my gaze followed, but Rue dropped her chin to her chest.
“Well?” I asked Nell. “Can we do it?”
After a hard swallow, Nell said, “I don’t know how to get there.”
Crap. That was the reason I needed them; I had no idea either.
“Rue?” Nell prodded, her voice filled with sympathy. “Please? It’s for Kaja.”
When Rue lifted her chin, her eyes swam with tears. She nodded, but her expression was lined with terror. “We’re going to need a boat.”
There was a story there, one I wanted to hear later. Right now, I didn’t care how Rue knew how to get to Dark Row; I just needed to get there.
As for a boat … pretty sure the selkies were royally pissed with us right now, but if I had to swim with the murderous warriors to save my friend, so be it.
“I know where we can find one,” Nell said. “Let’s get Kaja and head out.”
The night was pitch dark. The campus lights remained off, but we weren’t the only ones carrying a makeshift stretcher with a body on it. I saw at least a dozen bodies still on the ground on our way to the boat docks, most of them royal guards.
We left the campus proper and wound down a set of steep wooden stairs to a dock. Several boats were moored there, at least a dozen, and I nearly bumped into Nell when she drew to a stop.
“Are you sure it’s safe for me to return?” a man growled, his voice familiar. “Protect the ruler above all. Remember?”
Oh. My. Frickin’. Mother. Mage.
I knew that voice.
Nell pushed us off the path and into the shrubbery surrounding the dock.
“Yes, sir,” another man said. “The attack is over.”
I watched, feeling equal parts fascination and disgust, as King Declan snapped his fingers toward a boat, and two guards disembarked, joining the three other shifters on the dock.
“Malik, I want every student and teacher with an eyewitness account of the attack to be in my office in the morning. I will find which clan is involved in gettin
g these usurpers on my island and obliterate them!”
“Of course, sir.”
The guards scrambled to unload what looked like the king’s duffle bag, complete with embroidered AI insignia.
That bastard packed a bag before he fled to let us fight on our own?
“And what would you like to do about your wife? She was held captive and is badly wounded.”
“Hasn’t she been healed yet?!” Declan asked—or rather demanded. “How could you—?”
The group strode past us, and we shrank back into the shrubs.
“All of the healers from the castle were killed in the raid, sir,” one of the guards said.
The alpha king snarled, and I shrank farther back at the raw power and menace in his voice.
“Well, get back on that boat, and go find me another one from the mainland, you jackass!” the king snapped, the threat clear as if he’d spoken it. “And you’d better hope she survives. My heirs adore their mother.”
My heirs adore her, not him. Suddenly, I felt very stabby, and I forced myself to take several deep breaths to calm down.
We waited until their voices faded and the one guard had taken the small speedboat and was riding it full-steam ahead back to the mainland. Then, we inched our way out of the undergrowth. Both Nell and Rue’s eyes were wide, reflecting the same shock I felt.
The alpha king fled while we were under attack. Even worse, he’d left his injured wife.
We boarded an Alpha Academy crested speedboat and carefully loaded Kaja’s limp form, trying to do all we could to not injure her further. Rue and Nell worked in tandem to unmoor the small craft. As we glided over the water, I leaned over Kaja and whispered, “Hang on, girl. We’re gonna fix you, good as new.”
Chapter 18
Rue pulled up to a long dock bustling with activity despite the darkness. Or maybe the traffic was because of the cover of night. Either way, dozens of people milled about, their hushed voices creating a low, indistinguishable buzz. Their transactions occurred with a rapidity that made my head hurt, a sleight of hand and exchange of goods. As soon as we tied the boat off, silence descended over the crowd.
Nell jumped onto the dock, and the crowd dispersed, casting wary glances our way. Probably because we were all covered in blood and holding an unconscious girl, driving a boat from Alpha Academy.
“That’s quite a welcome,” I muttered, sensing the first inkling of unease trickling through my insides. “So, how do we do this?” I glanced down at Kaja and then to her sisters. “Should two of us go and one of us stay here with Kaja? Or should we bring her with?”
I didn’t know how this worked. I just wanted to make sure we got a good potion, and Rue and Nell were both a little too quick to say their sister was dying. My attention drifted to the fleeing crowd, still confused that they would all bolt.
Every single one of them ran … except one.
Nell said, “I’m not sure—”
“What are you doing here, wolves?” the lone man asked, his deep voice coming from within the folds of his cloak.
Chills ran the length of my arms, and dread sank deep into my gut.
“We are here to do business.” I gulped. “Same as any.” My voice was firm, a relief because on the inside, I was a mess.
Still several steps away from us, he raised his head and took a deep inhale. “Are you here buying?”
He stepped closer, and my wolf squirmed. Yeah, I had a bad feeling too.
“Or selling?” he asked.
Selling? Selling what?
Before I could protest the absurdity of his question, Rue—quiet, studious Rue—replied, “A bit of both.”
“I’ll give you five gold coins for her liver.” The man pulled his hood back and licked his lips, looking at Kaja’s limp form. His face was covered with thin white scars draped over a network of black veins.
Eww! Also, hell to the NO!
Nell pulled her sword. “We’re not here to sell her, you foul creature!”
The man lunged for the boat then and, in the next moment, froze midair.
What the…?
My jaw dropped, and Nell jabbed her elbow into my side.
“Oww,” I muttered. Glancing up, I locked gazes with the swirly eyes of a high mage, his irises practically glowing from within his hood. He stepped up to the man frozen in midair and flicked his wrist, sending the now petrified body flying. Like a boulder, it crashed into an open tent stall fifty feet away.
Whoa.
He pushed his cloak back, and my jaw dropped with recognition. This was the high mage who’d asked me to choose my elements, the nice gray-haired one with the silver robes.
Crap. We were busted.
My mouth dried, and I waited for him to ream us for being here, only it never came. Still, my heart pounded against my ribs in a desperate attempt to flee. Maybe it wasn’t us who’d caused the bedlam. Maybe it was the creepy, swirly-eyed mage.
He looked down his nose at us. “Welcome to Dark Row, ladies. I trust you have good reason to be here?”
I gulped. “Our friend is dying. We need help saving her.” After swallowing again, I added, “Also, thanks for saving us.”
Probably should’ve started with that.
He nodded, which I chose to take as approval. As soon as I disembarked the boat and stood on the dock, he spoke again.
“Let me offer you one bit of warning.”
Legit, I’d take all the help I could get. Shifting uneasily from foot to foot, I asked, “Yes? What is it?”
I had no idea what he was doing here, and I probably didn’t want to know. The high mages were the rulers of our society, and Dark Row was where all of the illegal activities of the magic world took place. Why would he be here? Unless he was here procuring something illegal as well…
He took a deep breath then cocked his head and continued. “Take your injured wolf with you if you mean to keep her intact.”
Oh, Mother Mage. I shook my head. He did not just say that.
“Thank you,” Rue said, inclining her head. “And what do we owe you for this?”
Wait … why would we owe him?
The sinking sensation of what-the-hell-is-going-on settled over me, and I realized just how out of my element I was.
“You never saw me here,” he replied and turned to leave.
Pausing, he looked back over his shoulder at us and said, “If you want your friend to be healed, there is only one mage strong enough to do this: Madam Surlama.”
He spun around, and we all muttered our thanks to the dude.
I looked down at Kaja. My chest tightened as I thought of us carrying her on a stretcher through a market.
“What I wouldn’t give for a wheelbarrow,” I muttered.
Nell gasped, drawing my attention, but when I looked at her, she pointed toward shore.
The cloaked high mage was gone, but at the end of the dock sat a wheelbarrow.
Shaking my head, I blew out a long breath. “I have a feeling I’m going to owe him someday.”
We set Kaja into the wheelbarrow, and Nell pushed while Rue and I flanked on either side. Rue said nothing as she directed us toward Dark Row and the glowing lights of the black market.
As we approached, my heart raced, and I reached down to give Kaja’s hand a squeeze.
This had better work.
Dark Row resembled flea markets I’d seen on TV. Stalls stretched further than I could see, their walls a variety of colors and materials: painted wood and stained canvas. A myriad of scents perfumed the air: the yeasty scent of bread, roasted meat, and bitter herbs. Beneath the recognizable lay other smells, some acrid and others sweet.
We passed a stall filled with vibrant blue flowers, and the wafting scent made me yearn for something I couldn’t even name. I reached out to touch one of the petals, and a woman smacked my hand away.
“Don’t touch unless you’re going to buy, missy!”
Ouch.
I nodded and murmured an apology.
&
nbsp; “I smell wolf blood,” a man said. Stumbling out from the shadows, he sniffed the air as we passed. Reaching out, he tried to lift the blanket covering Kaja, and I drew one of my blades, pointing it at his neck.
“Touch it, and lose your hand,” I warned, pushing the long dagger into the sensitive flesh of his neck.
His gaze dipped to my chest, and he swallowed hard. “Yes, ma’am.”
Okay … that was a first.
Oh, cursed mages.
I’d forgotten. One glance downward confirmed my theory. The tip of my new fire mark poked out from the neckline of my tank-top. I pulled it up and narrowed my eyes at the creeper.
“If you want to sell her for parts, it would be far more merciful to slit her throat now—before you go into the market,” he said, eyeing Kaja’s body with longing.
I tightened my grip on the sword and growled. “She’s going to be healed.”
Luckily, he got the message and offered a wide-eyed nod before melting into the crowd.
Holy-frickin’-mage. This place was a nightmare.
“Why do they call it the black market if it’s out in the open like this?” I turned to Nell. Clearly, the high mage knew what was going on here and didn’t seem to care.
Nell shrugged. “It’s a necessary evil. Even the high council uses it at times.”
Hypocrites. How did allowing an illegal market to exist keep the peace or encourage playing by the rules?
Kaja coughed, a wet gurgling sound, and fear gripped my heart in its icy grasp.
“We need to hurry.”
I kept my attention fixed on Rue’s shoulder as we made our way into the bowels of Dark Row.
“This is Madam Surlama’s,” Rue said as we approached a tall, black, silk tent. “You two can go in. I’ll stand guard outside.”
The black tent appeared uninhabited, no soft light beckoning us to come in and no one standing outside either.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
Rue nodded, and her breath quickened. “Just be careful, Nai. She’s a dark mage.”
“Rue! How do you know that?” Nell gasped.
