30. Thirty-One Maeve

M y heart broke as the wooden doors splintered and the villagers pushed their way inside Briarwood. Our castle wasn't ours any longer. We'd lost. I watched in horror as people shoved each other in their haste to be first through the doors to attack us.

Not for long. There was a loud thump, followed by a scream, and the crowd surged back as those inside struggled to get out again.

"Got ‘em," Flynn grinned.

I glared at him. "What did you do?"

"You remember there's a hole just above the door where the castle's inhabitants could throw burning pitch down on any marauding forces who made it inside?"

"You didn't! We swore we wouldn't hurt anyone?—"

Flynn's grin spread wider. "How little you think of me, Einstein. I rigged up a huge pot of Rowan's scone mix. They're covered in sticky, gloopy, dough, and the floor will be pretty slippery. That will slow them down."

I slapped his shoulder. "I love you, you mad Irish bastard."

"Don't say I never listen to Corbin's boring history lectures."

"Why are you standing here gabbing?" Corbin shoved us toward the door. "Flynn, get downstairs. Hit them with whatever you can. Don't let them start another fire. We can't lose the castle. Maeve, you're with me."

"Where are we going?" Corbin dragged Rowan and me down the steps from the roof and into the library. He scrambled for the bookshelf, releasing the secret panel that hid the priest-hole.

"Hurry, get inside!"

"Corbin, no. I'm not hiding while the rest of you fight."

"Maeve, we don't have time to argue. We need to keep you safe so you can use your spirit magic. Rowan's here to protect you. Both of you, get in."

Corbin shoved me inside. My back hit the back panel. Pain shot down my spine. Rowan crammed in after me, wrapping his arms around me and planting his legs against the opposite wall.

"What about you?" There was barely enough room for Rowan and me inside, let alone his bulk as well.

"I'm hiding somewhere else. Don't worry, I've got a plan. I'm going to get us all out of here. I promise." Corbin blew us a kiss and slammed the panel shut, plunging Rowan and me into complete darkness.

My heart pounded against my chest. Rowan searched out my hand and squeezed it. Corbin's footsteps padded out of the library, leaving us with the company of our own breathing and the faint sounds of fighting and shouting from downstairs.

It wasn't long until the air inside the hole grew stale. My limbs cramped from not moving, from the fear clawing its way down my spine. Rowan's body shook, and he gasped against the stale air. Is he going to have a panic attack here? Is he already having one? How can I help him when I can't even straighten my legs?

I didn't know what to do.

Desperate for some activities to take my mind off the horror, I felt around the top of the compartment, figuring if the stories Corbin told me were true and priests had hidden inside this cramped space for hours while the castle was searched, they must have thought to put in an air vent. Sure enough, a tiny hole above Rowan's head emitted the slightest rush of cool air. At least we wouldn't suffocate.

"Rowan," I whispered against his trembling cheek. "There's an air vent. We won't suffocate. Rowan, we're going to be okay."

He trembled harder, his whole body jerking. He let out a strangled sob. I squeezed him as hard as I could, pushing spirit magic into him to try and calm him. I counted silently backwards from a hundred, then from a thousand, then I listed all the elements on the periodic table and moved on to the names of all the different constellations. Bangs and thuds and shouts sounded from outside, closer now but still muffled like I was listening from underwater. What's going on? Are we winning? Is Briarwood ours again ? —

The door flew open. "I've found two of them," an unfamiliar voice called.

I guess we're not winning.

Terror gripped me. I froze. Rough hands reached inside the priest's hole and grabbed my arms, dragging me out into the light. Rowan's arm was wrenched from mine. He howled and thrashed like a wild animal as they tore him from me.

After being in the dark for so long, the bright light from the library's chandelier made my eyes water. I blinked, waiting for the white welts to disappear so I could get a look at my attackers. Beside me, Rowan thrashed about, knocking one of them in the teeth so she fell back in pain. I copied him, kicking out with my feet, pooling my terror into fighting against whoever held me.

"Restrain them!" A familiar voice barked. I was pushed to the ground, and my hands were yanked behind my back and tied with something coarse and rough. A knee jammed into the small of my back, keeping me in place. Beside me, Rowan was getting the same treatment. His eyes had gone dark, feral, and he bucked and thrashed and even made a run for the door before they jumped on him and got his hands tied, too.

The vicar stood over us, his robes torn and filthy. The light of righteous justice glowed in his eyes.

"We got ourselves a couple of witches," he snarled.

"Better a witch than a murderer," I shot back. "Isn't that one of the Ten Commandments?"

"Silence, witch!" He kicked me in the side. I gasped as my breath left me. "Take them to the meadow with the others. It's time for them to face God's final judgement."