Chapter 45

S carlet could barely hear past the rush of wind as she finally untangled herself from the knights on the floor. After a quick glance to assess the situation, she formed a plan.

It wasn't perfect, and part of her wondered if it wouldn't be better to fail. If they failed, Bella would be sucked into the mirror. Then Scarlet couldn't kill her like she'd sworn to do, and Wulfric couldn't stop her like she knew he would.

Her heart wasn't in killing her anymore though. There was so much more involved now than just her desire for revenge. She'd said Bella being his daughter didn't matter, but it did. She wasn't so heartless as to wish him more pain. She'd seen how much he struggled with memories of losing his wife.

As the wind howled around them, she desperately pointed to the ornate chandelier above. "We have to break that chandelier and shatter it against the mirror! It's our only chance to break this spell."

She crouched, ready to leap over the knights, but Wulfric grabbed her arm with a trembling hand. "Wait! If we believe what she said earlier, that mirror will suck us in too. I won't let us be trapped in there while our friends fight on. We have to stay together and fight side-by-side."

She could see the fear in his face as the wind blew stronger. She gripped his hand and squeezed, drawing comfort from his presence. "We don't stand a chance side-by-side. We have to fight with our strengths. It's the only way that stands a chance of getting all three of us out of here."

Wulfric searched her eyes and looked around the room. His hand gripped her arm harder when he saw Bella fly through the air, a scream echoing in the room. He nodded in determination and shouted back, "I'll jump over these knights and try to smash the mirror with my own hands!"

With a swift kiss on Wulfric's cheek, she leaped over the scrambling knights and shifted into her wolf form to claw her way to the wall. She prayed that they would both come out of this alive and unscathed.

When she reached the wall, a quick glance over her shoulder showed Wulfric fully shifted, his claws scraping against the tiles with a piercing sound that made her heart ache.

She took a deep breath. She'd wanted to reverse her curses or kill the queen. She'd finally gotten some alone time with her enemy only to realize she wasn't the enemy at all. Eirwyn had been right, and Scarlet had been too pigheaded and stubborn to see it.

But she couldn't just sit aside and let her be trapped or killed in a mirror. It wouldn't solve any of her problems. They still needed answers, and Bella was her last hope for reversing the curse. If they could get her body back, maybe she could figure out the reversal.

Scarlet stepped along the wall, one paw feeling the material to the gold trimmed baluster. She smiled, finding where the plaster changed to painted wood. The wind tugged at her fur, growing stronger as the tornado swirled.

She felt the thick edge of wood trim that wrapped around the three sides where it jutted out from the wall. She concentrated, her lip sweating as she shifted her back legs into the deer and her hands into human. She jumped, going higher than she could've as a human, and grabbed the next trim piece a few feet up. They were just too tall for her to reach comfortably, but she'd scaled smoother walls before. She closed her eyes and shifted the rest of her body to human so she could climb.

She looked at the ceiling, planning her route to the big chandelier. She didn't dare look behind her, afraid that she'd see Bella already sucked in and Wulfric close behind. She refused to believe that was their fate. This was a moment for trust and focus.

She pushed herself, her muscles screaming as the gilded wood slipped beneath her fingertips. She hung by one hand, then quickly grabbed the edge with the other.

The ceiling had several beams going up to it from the balusters toward a central point in the middle where the biggest chandelier swung in the wind. In between the beams were paintings of gods, goddesses, dragons, trolls, and sirens, along with famous battles from the nation's history. Their faces leered down at her, daring her to let go and be swept into the maelstrom.

The wooden beams above had been painted gold too and several smaller chandeliers swung from each. She wasn't close enough to stab at the wood trim with her daggers, but maybe…

Her hand slipped as her muscles seized. She pursed her lips and shoved away from the wall, her back legs partially shifting to a deer. The added muscles sent her further than she thought she could go, but she barely landed on the closest of the smaller chandeliers.

The glass clattered together, and several pieces fell to the ground only to be sucked into the whirling vortex below. She paused, taking in the scene. Wulfric was still crawling low toward the mirror, the wind pushing him almost flat against the floor. His skin pulled in the too-strong wind, and fear raced up her spine. Her nose twitched, but she refused to give in to the shift into a rabbit, the need to hide.

Bella was halfway down the tornado, spinning around and around as she screamed. The windows shattered and glass joined the tornado. The chandelier's chain jerked, and Scarlet looked up.

The chain had cracked on one side. She looked at the next light fixture and rocked her body. She had to build up momentum or she'd never make it.

Another jerk, and she held her breath as she pushed off it toward the next, flying as it crashed below. She fell lower, but grabbed the bottom of the chandelier and climbed atop it.

The chain jerked, and she began the process again, rocking back and forth only twice before launching. Twice more she jumped, each time her muscles screaming in protest. Each jump became more difficult as her energy waned, but then she was just one jump away from the biggest chandelier.

The chain jerked and she looked up as she swung back and forth. The distance was farther and the momentum wasn't enough. She scrambled up the light, glass scraping and burning until she reached the chain.

Her hand wrapped around it as it swung away from the big chandelier and the one beneath her snapped and dropped. The wind caught it halfway down and added it to the tornado, but Scarlet clung to the chain. With a grunt of effort, she stretched up and kicked her feet harder as she swung back to the big chandelier.

With a deep breath, she let go. Feet first, she tangled with the lowest glass. Her hands grabbed wildly, the glass burning her palms. There wasn't a moment to lose as she scrambled up the sides.

This chain was thicker than the others, and though it rocked and swung with her weight, it didn't immediately begin to snap. She grabbed her dagger and drove it between the chain links to pry the metal apart.