Briony Thorburn, only paces away from her.
Isobel squeezed her eyes shut. That couldn’t be right—she must’ve hit her head hard. But when she opened them again, it was still Briony she saw. Not her sister.
“I wasn’t aiming for you!” a boy shouted back.
Isobel froze in the grass. The boy’s words meant her. He’d seen her. But no matter how inexplicable Briony’s appearance or how dire Isobel’s situation, it didn’t change her plans. She needed to make it to the Castle. She shakily backed toward the trees and crouched. If the two of them distracted each other, then she only needed to wait for her opportunity.
A blond boy sprinted across the field. It took Isobel a moment to recognize him as Gavin Grieve. An explosive spell of that magnitude didn’t seem possible from the Grieve family. Where had he found such power?
As Briony whipped around, Isobel couldn’t help feeling she knew Isobel was there, hiding behind the tree.
Ahead, Gavin had nearly reached the drawbridge. Briony swore loudly, then charged after him. Even close as Gavin was to his claim, Briony was faster. Plus, Gavin wasn’t running normally. He darted in strange angles, leaping and halting, not traveling in a straight line.
Then Isobel understood.
Gavin wasn’t firing those explosive spells. He was dropping them and triggering them from afar.
Isobel reached down into the grass and grabbed a stone. Then she leaped into the clearing, and, with all the strength she possessed, chucked it across the field. It landed several paces behind Gavin and about a meter in front of Briony.
And erupted upon impact.
Boom!
There was a chorus of shouts, from both Briony and Gavin. Isobel stood and examined the cloud of smoke, chest heaving. She’d acted automatically—it wasn’t like her. She was impulsive without her power.
And she might’ve killed the closest friend she’d ever had. A girl who wasn’t even supposed to be here.
All she’d been thinking was that she didn’t want to give up.
Isobel trudged forward through the grass, waving the smoke away in front of her. The wind bit at her cheek, sharp enough to sting.
“Get down!”
Someone collided with her stomach and tackled her to the ground. Isobel grunted at the weight on her gut and spit out a mouthful of hair that didn’t belong to her.
“Are you mad?” Briony hissed. “What sort of strategy is walking straight into the line of fire?” She gritted her teeth and ducked her head from something Isobel couldn’t see. Gavin must’ve been firing curses in their direction. If Isobel still had her powers, they’d probably look like bullets of light, whizzing through the smoke toward her.
She was lucky she hadn’t died.
Lucky Briony had saved her.
“The Castle…” Isobel choked—Briony’s elbow was jutting painfully into her ribs.
There was a rumbling ahead. The sound of the drawbridge closing.
The sound of Isobel’s plan crumbling.
“Is a shit reason to die,” Briony finished for her. “There’s a Landmark for all of us. Unless you’re looking for a fight.”
“All of us? But you’re not a champion! You shouldn’t even be able to be—”
Briony lifted her hand to reveal the glittering ring on her pinky. It fit her perfectly. Of course it did. Briony had always been the perfect champion.
But that was the Briony Thorburn who Isobel once had known. Now, in the harsh red light of the Blood Veil, Briony’s skin looked sallow. The bags under her eyes were deep. And every shadow of her face had sharpened into points. She was still wearing her blue party dress, but her high heels were long gone.
She didn’t look prepared. She looked desperate.
“Innes asked me to take it,” she told her. “I’m stronger and better prepared. I’m the only one who—”
Briony ducked out of the way of some other magick that Isobel couldn’t see. After a few moments, the cursefire must’ve ceased, because Briony shakily got to her feet. Isobel did as well, her pink leggings stained brown. They slipped behind the safety of the treeline, out of the Castle’s line of sight.
“What’s wrong with you?” Briony demanded. “Are you drunk or something?”
It occurred to Isobel that the danger was far from over. If Briony was now a champion, then the danger was right in front of her. Even if Briony had saved her life a moment ago, Isobel couldn’t let her guard down.
“I’ve never been better,” Isobel lied smoothly.
Briony nodded at her, her expression dark. “You’ve been hit.”