“Don’t kill the wolf!” Ronan yelled from somewhere behind me. “Only capture it!”
I would’ve liked to think he wished to spare my life, but it was equally likely he wanted to pry the names of my accomplices from me.
One of the soldiers swung his sword at my head, ignoring Ronan’s command. I dodged out of the way and repeated the incantation for invisibility. It only lasted until Ronan waved his wand in my direction again, but it gave me a few seconds to plow past the men unhindered.
More soldiers joined their comrades in the hallway. They spotted me easily enough. A man threw himself at me, toppling me to the ground. His elbows jabbed painfully into my stomach. I scrabbled and bit until I escaped his grip. Then I bounded down the hallway, invisible once more.
Judging by the men’s shouts and pursuit, Ronan quickly revealed me. This didn’t matter. Canines were faster than men. I left them all and sprinted to the staircase, invoking invisibility again. Ronan canceled the spell again. The men had no question that I headed down the stairs and not toward the queen’s chambers.
“After him!” one of the guards yelled. They assumed a wizard was a man. But Ronan would tell them soon enough whom they were chasing.
Where could I go? What would I do now that Ronan knew the truth?
The doors on the first floor would be barricaded before I reached them. If I decided to go that way, I’d have to fight past guards. I stayed visible until the moment I reached the entrance to the third floor. By the time Ronan swished his wand again, my direction was uncertain. They couldn’t tell if I’d continued down the stairs or fled into one of the third-floor hallways. Ronan would need a minute to be certain which.
I tore down the passageway. The window by the garderobes was my best bet out of the castle.
“Alert the outer wall!” someone shouted.
More problems. I wouldn’t be able to crawl over the outer wall unnoticed—although the moat filled with flesh-eating fish was also preventative. And now that Ronan knew who I was, Lady Edith and everyone connected with our party would be questioned, probably branded as traitors. I’d no way to warn them what had happened.
The clamor of feet continued down the stairs and shouts grew more distant. The bulk of the men had gone that way instead of pursuing me on the third floor.
Ronan wouldn’t be so easy to lose. Once he didn’t easily find me down below, he could transform into a dog and sniff me out. I’d have to be out of a window by then.
The doors to the guests’ chambers began popping open. Men dressed in nightshirts and caps peered into the hallway to see what the clamor was about. A fortunate turn of events. These windows were closer. And if Ronan traced my scent here, he’d have to change back into a human in order to open the door and explain the situation to the occupants. Every moment counted.
Once Ronan discovered I’d gone out a window, he’d most likely think I’d transformed into a bird and suppose I escaped the castle that way. He’d change into a bird himself and soar over the grounds searching for some animal in the air. That would give me the time I needed to hide.
I slipped past one of the gaping men and into his chambers. His wife lay in the bed, gripping her covers. I ran straight to the window and transformed back into a woman. I was still invisible, but now had hands to open the shutters. The wife caught sight of the window opening and gasped in shock. I shot her with a stunning spell.
I was ready to shoot her husband as well, but he didn’t notice her gasp or the limp end to it. He’d stepped outside to start a conversation with another guest.
I tied my skirts up and went out the window. Blood pounded through my ears, insisting that I flee, that I hurry. I had to force myself to climb down the wall carefully, to find a secure foothold before moving my hands. With every shift of my feet, I repeated the incantation to turn into a bird so I really could soar away. The spell didn’t work. It never did.
Soldiers poured onto the castle grounds, swords drawn, their helmet feathers bobbing up and down like jumping candle flames. Men with longbows hurried to the drawbridge and outer wall. The wizards’ orbs shone more brightly so that the soldiers could better search.
No sign of Ronan.
When I deemed I was close enough to the ground, I jumped. I’d been optimistic in my estimate of how close I was. The ground met me with a slap that went through my bones and stole my breath. I coaxed air back into my lungs and ran, staggering at first, toward one of the gardens.
Disappearing into the hedge mazes might be dangerous. In fact, any place that made a good hiding spot would be among the first places the soldiers and wizards checked. Sometimes hiding in the open was best.
I fled to a grouping of trees that lined the garden’s entrance, stood next to them, and turned into a hawthorn. Visible now. My panting breaths and racing heartbeat were replaced with the silent steadiness of wood. The only movements that went through me were a slight swaying of my branches in the wind—branches with fine, strong leaves, I was comforted to note, in case my assessment that the trees matched our personalities was accurate. Cloaked like this, no scent of human or wolf would betray me.
Archers rushed up the stairs to the outer wall. Soldiers spread out along its base. Minutes plodded by. The marshal and a group of soldiers hurried past with hunting dogs. The animals caught my scent on the castle wall where I’d climbed down, and they shuffled, nose to the earth, over to the garden. A dead end. They circled fruitlessly, unable to trace me.
Just feet away from where I stood, the marshal swore and spat on the dirt. “Probably changed into an owl or a bat, but we’ll have to finish inspecting the area anyway.”
The group split up, dogs eagerly pulling on their leashes.
After that, only an occasional soldier marched by. None paid any attention to the trees. I’d feared all the wizards would be called to search the grounds, but none appeared. Perhaps Ronan had ordered the wizards to stay where they were, cooped up ina group until he ascertained who among them had helped me learn so much magic.
I would stay here until they had given up hope of finding me. I could wait. As a tree, I felt no hunger or thirst. Eventually, the king’s men would have to lower the drawbridge and let people in and out.
My greatest fear was for the safety of the others in my party. I hoped they would be able to sufficiently profess their ignorance of my crimes.
Ronan strode around the castle grounds, wand gripped in his hand. He surveyed the sky, scowling, then scanned the courtyard. For a moment, his gaze landed on me. But only for a moment. He paced toward the garden, looking beyond me into the mass of hedges.