“And is carrying witches part of that technique?” My eyes settle on the unmoving cloaked figures sitting on the backs of the wolves.

Patrick is silent.

Logan bends down and picks up a rock from the ground, tossing it in the air and catching it. "There are only a few of them. Let's take them out."

Before I can stop him, he takes aim and throws the rock with such speed and precision that it hits one of the witches in the forehead and she slumps to the ground, dead.

The others don't react. They are still sitting astride the wolves, waiting.

“Creepy,” Logan murmurs. “They should have screamed or something. Why are they so unnaturally still?”

He picks up another stone and just as he's about to throw it at the next witch, I grab his wrist, forcibly lowering his hand. “Wait.”

My eyes narrow at the witches. If I could see their hands, it would be easier to discern whether they were casting magic. Then something occurs to me.

My hand still around Logan's wrist, I ask quietly, “How precise is your aim?”

“How precise do you need it to be?” Logan raises a brow.

“I want to knock off her hood.” I point at one of the witches.

A slow, wicked smile forms on the mercenary’s lips. “Consider it done.”

He takes aim and throws the rock. The witch’s hood is pushed back, revealing a young woman. Even from this distance, I can see the glazed look in her eyes. But it’s her mouth I’m more focused on. Her lips are moving.

“They’re casting a spell.” A feeling of foreboding settles within me.

The guard behind us looks terrified. “What’s that? Why are those wolves here?”

“Sound the alarm. Evacuate the city,” I tell him, my eyes fixed on the witches. “An army of wolves are on their way to wipe you out. Stop gawking at us and go!”

The guard doesn’t wait around. He runs off, and a few minutes later, loud gongs begin to sound in various parts of the city. That has Karina’s shifters stirring. The witches’ lips begin to move faster and a moment later, they lift their arms.

“Oh, shit.”

I immediately raise my barrier, all the way above the walls. I’m just in time too. Out of nowhere, the witches create bows in their hands, bows made of pure fire. An arrow of fire is already lodged in the bow, and they pull, releasing them.

Patrick and the others step back in alarm, but I don’t flinch. The arrows of fire smash against my barrier and disappear.

“What happened?” Nathan looks shocked. Their stunned expressions tell me that they’ve not seen the extent of how much my magical abilities have grown.

“We have to buy time for them!” I feel a surge of frustration as more arrows fall upon the shield. My barrier has the ability to block magical attacks, but that does not mean that I can sustain it for eternity.

“Jared, Nathan! Find out how long the evacuation will take!” I can already hear the fearful screams of the citizens. A city is far larger than a town. I doubt more than half of them are even aware of the attack. They’re probably just wondering about the alarms going off.

“Sophia,” Logan warns me. “Look.”

I look in the direction he’s pointing and my heart sinks as I realize that the numbers of the enemy have begun to steadily increase. We are no longer dealing with just the watchers.

Karina has arrived.

“So, this is where you were.” Karina is sitting on the back of one of the largest wolves as she makes her way to the front of the group. “Quite sneaky. I shouldn’t have underestimated you. You’ve grown quite skilled in magic. You nearly had me fooled back there.”

Her lips curve, but her eyes are furious. “I will not make the same mistake twice.”

I infuse a different sort of magic into the barrier, making it even sturdier and expanding it. It will prevent both physical and magical attacks. But this kind of barrier is the hardest to maintain.

“The humans already know that you’re here,” I hiss at her. “I won’t let you hurt them. I won’t let you start a war.”