We crept through the forest in silence, all twenty-two of us moving as quietly as possible. Those who could fly did so, just above the tops of the trees.

My skin prickled with tension. Every rustle of the trees was a threat, every brush of the wind. I dreaded stumbling upon another giant boulder, knowing what would happen when we did.

“We’ve seen nothing for twenty minutes,” Rowan whispered from my side.

“Big place. Maybe he was an outlying guard.” No way we’d gotten lucky enough to have defeated the only monster. This place had to be thick with them.

The morning sun shined brightly on the ground ahead of us, lighting it up like a lush green carpet. Vines and leaves covered the earth and the trees all around, cocooning us in a forest that was chilly with winter’s bite. It was odd to see so much vegetation when it was so cold, but this place defied logic and reason.

Something rustled from up above, and I looked up. Just a loose branch. Then something tightened around my ankle.

I jumped, barely suppressing a scream, and looked down.

A snake had tightened around my ankle and was squeezing harder and harder. My heart thundered as cold panic washed over me.

“I’m trapped!” someone hissed.

“It’s got me!” said another.

I glanced around, frantic, and realized that several of my friends had been grabbed by snakes as well. Haris was tugging Ali back from the serpent wrapped around his calf, while Potts struggled with a snake that had twined around his thigh.

Thousands of snakes spread out before us, a mass of green that writhed amongst the leaves and vines.

My breath heaved with fear as I yanked my leg back, pulling as hard as I could.

It did no good. The snake was unnaturally strong.

Rowan and Lachlan grabbed my arms, pulling me back. I felt like a piece of taffy pulled in the machine, the snake gripping me tight.

“I’ve got you,” Lachlan said, pulling hard.

I strained, trying to tug my leg back from the snake as my heart thundered in my chest. Another snake tried to join the first, starting to twist itself around my limb.

Then Lachlan and Rowan’s tugging worked, and I tumbled away from the snake as it lost its grip. I landed in a pile on top of Rowan and Lachlan, panting. “Holy fates, those are some strong snakes.”

“And there are a lot of them.” Jude stood above me, her starry blue gaze glued on the carpet of snakes that stretched out in front of us.

On her other side, Ali was finally freed, as was Potts. They lay on the ground like I did, clearly having experienced the same tumble.

I climbed to my feet, ankle throbbing and limbs shaking.

“They cover at least a hundred yards in all directions.” I squinted, trying to figure out exactly how many there were. Thousands.

“They’re probably a barrier around the stronghold,” Bree said. “A moat of snakes.”

“We can’t run across that.” Del frowned.

“We can fly,” Bree said. “Some of us can ride on Aidan and Cass.”

It’d take ages. Something tugged in my chest, pulling me to the left. “That could work, but it would take a lot of time and test their strength to carry twenty of us. Let me check something.”

I skirted around the edge of the snakes, walking to the left where something was pulling at me. It felt like a hand around my arm, guiding my druid sense onward.

After about ten yards, I stopped abruptly. My druid sense had led me to that spot, but I saw nothing significant. Just a lot more snakes, stretching far into the distance.

But something deep in the ground called to me.

Raise me.

I blinked.

Was this the new earth sense that I’d been feeling? The one that let me read what was happening in the ground around me?

It had to be.

“What are you doing?” Rowan whispered from my side.

“There’s something down there that will help us.”

A skeptical look crossed Rowan’s face, but she nodded and stepped back, giving me space to work.

I called upon my magic, letting it bloom out from my center and shoot down my arms, sending it into the earth as I called upon whatever was down there.

Please don’t be a trap.

But it didn’t feel like a trap. Something that called to me this strongly, called to my soul, couldn’t be bad. I trusted this, deep inside me.

Magic surged within me as I fed it into the earth, drawing on something that was deep underneath. The ground rumbled and the snakes shifted, hissing and writhing.

Finally, a mass of roots burst from the ground, weaving themselves together to form a bridge over the snakes. The dark roots twisted and twined, forming a solid walking path.

“Well done,” Jude said. “That’ll be a lot quicker than flying.”

“Thanks.” A bit of awe filled me as I looked at my creation. It’d been in the earth just waiting for me, and I’d made it happen.

Very cool.

“You can go across. I’ll hold on to it.” I could feel it even now, pulling at me. Draining my magic. I had to focus to hold on to it, keeping it going with my power alone.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Rowan climbed on and sprinted across.

Bree flew at her side, her eyes glued to the snakes below.

Ali and Haris followed them, then Jude and Hedy. Potts and Hans. The three Protectorate agents whose names I could never remember, then the FireSouls and their men. Connor and Claire went, then Lachlan was last.

I climbed onto the sturdy bridge after him and sprinted across, my magic pulling at me as I neared the halfway point. A few steps later, it pulled even harder.

I faltered.

The bridge was starting to drain me. It was too much. Controlling it was too much, especially now that I was on it.

Oh, fates.

I gave it everything I had, trying to feed more and more magic into the bridge.

Come on, come on. Don’t fail me now.

But it did. I lost my grip on the magic, as if it were covered in oil and I couldn’t hold on. Lachlan and I were only about ten feet from the end when the bridge unraveled, the roots slipping back into the earth.

I fell, hitting the ground hard.

The snakes surged forward. On instinct, I threw out my shield, the magic that I should no longer have if I were a full Dragon God.

It burst from me, a white light that formed a barrier between me and the snakes. They slammed into it, hissing with rage.

“Crap!” I crawled toward Lachlan.

A snake had wrapped around his leg before my shield had burst to life. He was yanking at it, trying to get it off, but the thing was so damned strong.

I hit it with a small blast of fire, and the snake uncoiled, then slithered away.

All around, my shield protected us, but the snakes piled up against it, ruthlessly seeking us out. Soon, the pile of snakes was four feet tall, pressed hard against my shield, which was faltering. I could feel the magic wavering inside me, trembling like a leaf.

“Go!” I shouted. “I can’t hold it long.”

We scrambled to our feet and ran. My heart thundered in my chest, beating harder as I felt my shield grow weaker.

We’d just sprinted away from the pile of snakes when the shield fell for good. The snakes tumbled down, slamming into my back. I fell on my front, too shocked to scream.

Hands grabbed my arms and yanked, pulling me out from underneath the snakes.

Panting, I scrambled to my feet next to Rowan and Ali, who’d yanked me free. I turned and stared at the pile of serpents. “Holy fates, that was close.”

“Your magic is still giving you trouble,” Rowan whispered.

“Yeah.”

“You’ll figure it out,” she said.

“I better figure it out soon, because I think I’m running out of time.”

She squeezed my shoulder. “You will.”

“Let’s keep moving,” Jude said.

She didn’t mention my faltering magic, for which I was grateful. I turned and followed my friends through the forest, adrenaline fading and my muscles weakening.

We crept along silently, our senses alert for any threats. The Cats of Catastrophe showed up, prowling alongside us.

Muffin stuck close to me, fluttering along on his little wings, occasionally alighting on the ground only to bounce back up. Something smells bad.

“I don’t smell it.”

You will.

He was right. A moment later, I got a whiff of rotten eggs that was so strong I would have thought a zombie chicken was nearby, laying eggs as fast as she could.

“Something is coming up,” Bree murmured.

We slowed our approach, tense and quiet. When I finally saw the river, my stomach turned. It was a sickly yellow color, bubbling and churning. The smoke that rose off of it looked like smog from the most polluted city in the world. It was so thick that it formed a cloudy wall in front of us.

“This one goes on forever, too,” Lachlan said.

Jude stepped toward it, sniffing lightly. “Must be a true moat, all the way around.”

“I’m going to try flying over,” Bree said.

“Through that mist that is coming off it?” Cade sounded skeptical. “I don’t like that plan.”

She frowned at him.

“Just looking out for you.” He smiled.

“Fine, you may have a point.” She strode up to the river. “I’ll stick my hand in to test.”

She stretched out her arm, fingertips nearing the fog. As soon as they disappeared inside the sickly yellow stuff, she yelped and stumbled back.

Cade caught her.

“Of fates, you were right.” She shook her hand. “Burns like hell.”

“Which means you can’t fly through,” Jude said.

“I might manage one trip, but I’d be laid up for days. No way Cass and Aidan could carry us through and make all the trips necessary for that. It would kill them.”

We didn’t have time to scout the whole river for a crossing—which I seriously doubted we would find—and I could feel no bridge beneath the earth. Not that I wanted to try that again. If we fell into this stuff, no shield on earth would protect us.

A rumbling shook the earth, dragging my thoughts from the river.

Lachlan turned. “It’s coming from behind us.”

The ground trembled beneath my feet, like massive footsteps were shaking the earth.

“Twenty bucks it’s one of those stone monsters.” Bree’s voice shook slightly.

We were trapped. I looked behind me, my heart pounding and breath coming short. The branches were beginning to tremble, leaves quivering.

It was coming.

I turned back to the river, panic driving me onward. My magic had to work. Had to.

We didn’t have much hope, otherwise.

I called upon my power, commanding the water to part. I could feel the thick, poisonous sludge, as if it were part of me. Normally, I didn’t mind it. Not with clean water, at least. This made me shudder. It felt like black oil was coating my insides.

I tried to ignore it and forced my magic into the water. The yellow sludge began to part, forming a channel for us. Eight feet wide and covered with yellow slime at the bottom, it didn’t look inviting.

No one seemed to care.

A massive stone lion had burst from the forest behind us, plowing over tree trunks that were wider than I was.

“Go!” Jude shouted.

My friends raced through the dry passage as the water roiled on either side, threatening to cave in and kill them. I sucked in a deep breath and steadied it, holding it back so they could make it across safely.

Muffin flew through, while Bojangles jumped onto Rowan’s back, climbing up onto her head. She laughed and raced across, Bojangles holding on for dear life. He didn’t want to get his paws in the slime, and I didn’t blame him.

Almost everyone had already crossed, and the lion was nearly to us. Only ten yards away, so close I could almost feel its stone paw smashing into me.

“Come on.” Lachlan bent and grabbed Princess Snowflake III, then ran.

I followed, sprinting as fast as I could. As soon as I stepped onto the river bed, I could feel my magic falter, just like before when I’d climbed onto the bridge. It became exponentially harder to hold on to my magic when under duress.

Within the walls of putrid water, it was harder to breathe. The stink was stronger, and a bit of the poison mist remained, burning the inside of my lungs.

“Faster!” I shouted to Lachlan.

He had to get across before my magic failed me. The water was pushing in on me from either side, crushing. It felt like it squeezed the magic out of me, making it nearly impossible to hold the water back.

We were nearly to the end when I felt it really falter. It pushed and pushed, until it finally gave way.

I lunged for the edge, barely making it out as the water crashed in behind me. Acid splashed me on the back, pinpricks of burning pain as I sprinted away.

“He stopped!” Bree shouted.

Panting, aching, I turned.

The stone lion stood on the other side of the river, staring at us. He clearly wasn’t going to cross, thank fates.

I propped my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath.

“Good work, Ana,” Jude said.

“My magic is still faltering.” I stood, my heart still racing.

“But you got us across,” she said. “You’ll figure out your magic. Eventually.”

It was the eventually part that I was afraid of. This kept getting harder and harder, demanding more and more magic. What if I didn’t have enough? What if I wasn’t strong enough?

It was becoming clear that we’d have to face off with the Fates, and somehow I was tied to this fight with them. If I had to go up against them with half an arsenal of magic, that wouldn’t go well.

Lachlan appeared at my side, his hand outstretched and a little glass vial within. “Drink this.”

“What’s that?”

“Healing potion.”

“No, you might need it.”

“I have more than one. And your back looks like hell.”

Now that he said it, it felt like hell, too. With the adrenaline fading, I realized that I’d been burned by the river. Badly.

“Drink it,” Rowan said. “You need it.”

“Thanks.” I took it and swigged the contents, downing it in one gulp.

Immediately, warmth flowed through me, making my back feel immensely better. Even my shallow leg wound closed up, and I couldn’t lie—losing that constant ache was nice.

I turned back to my friends, who were inspecting the forest around us, weapons ready.

“It feels darker over here,” Nix said. “There’s more magic.”

I shivered. She was right. We were getting close.

“Let’s keep going,” Lachlan said.

We set off through the forest, sticking close together and moving as silently as possible.

We made it another four hundred yards through the forest before all hell broke loose. We’d entered a large clearing when the earth shook and the trees trembled.

“Monsters!” Del called.

And boy was she right. All around us, giant stone statues burst from the trees. They’d been so well hidden amongst the foliage that we hadn’t seen them.

But they’d seen us.

To my left, a giant stone leopard and wolf prowled closer. Ali and Haris raced for the statues, the two Djinns swift on their feet. Ali ran for the leopard while Haris ran for the wolf. When they neared them, they leapt into the air, flying toward the statues and then disappearing inside of them. Djinn could possess people. Apparently, they could possess animals, too.

The stone leopard and wolf turned away from us, clearly seeking other prey. They spotted an enormous tiger and ran for it, their big stone paws shaking the ground. The three animals collided in a fight that made the trees tremble.

The leopard—Ali—struck out with a big paw and smacked the lion in the head. The lion staggered away, then regrouped, surging toward Ali and Haris.

“Holy fates.” I dragged my gaze away, getting my magic ready.

The clearing had erupted in a battle of us against the monsters. There were at least six of them, but from the way the ground rumbled, there had to be more on the way.

Bree flew through the trees, striking lightning at any statue she saw. Constant thunder rolled through the sky, shaking my bones.

Lachlan squeezed my arm. “Be careful.”

“You too.”

But he was already shifting into his lion form, joining the other predators in our group. Aidan and Cade, in their griffon and wolf forms, were charging a giant stone boar. Lachlan joined him, sleek as a black lion.

The three of them leapt up and slammed into the boar’s side, knocking him over. They circled, ready to continue the attack.

To the right, Del raced around in her blue Phantom form, distracting a giant ogre who kept swiping at her with his massive stone hand. The hand flew right through Del as she laughed. Behind her, Nix conjured a giant mallet and swung it at the distracted giant.

She smashed his leg right off, and he tumbled to the ground, landing right on top of Del. My heart jumped into my throat, fear for her gripping me tight, but she ran out from underneath him, as incorporeal as a ghost when she was in her Phantom form.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I turned, catching sight of a stone serpent streaking toward me.

I called upon the fire within me, creating an inferno that I blasted toward the serpent. The fire was so big that I stumbled backward, finally righting myself and pushing harder. More flame. More.

By the time it died down, the serpent was nothing more than a blackened hunk of stone.

My heart thundered as I spun, searching for another monster to destroy.

Across the clearing, the Cats of Catastrophe were riling up two giant stone horses. They jumped all over the creatures, clearly pissing them off until they slammed into one another like fighting goats.

Well, that was one way to do it.

Next to them, Jude used her electrical whip to catch the leg of a large stone bear while the other Protectorate members hurled spells at it. Magic burst against the bear, flashes of green and red. I didn’t know what the magic was, but it was clearly working.

In the distance, Ares the vampire yanked a tree out of the ground and used it like a bat to smash in the head of a giant stone man. Rowan distracted another stone man, while Connor hurled potion bombs at it and Claire and Cass shot fire. Del hurled bolts of ice that flew so fast they plowed right through a statue of a mermaid who was using her twin tails to smash trees at my friends.

We were doing all right—no one was dead yet—but we weren’t winning.

And more were coming. I could feel it.

This wasn’t going to work. No matter how well we did, there were still going to be too many of them. And they were too big.

We’d die before we reached the compound to save our friends, and I couldn’t let that happen.

We needed a new plan.