When I tried to shout again, my voice had completely vanished.

I launched forward into a sprint, but I’d barely moved a few feet when a sharp pain pierced my lower back, as though I’d just been hit by a bullet, and my legs collapsed beneath me.

As I fell, I looked around in horror to see Patricia—no longer invisible—caught in the arms of a warlock draped in black clothes.

Two more guards were approaching me and, looking down at my own body, I realized that the invisibility spell had lifted from me too.

They both gripped my arms and pulled me up, and before I could even look around the place for my brother and Abby, the guards vanished Patricia and me from the spot.

Chapter 27: Abby

It all happened so fast.

One minute, I was staring at Mona walking toward us on the road in the distance, and the next, I whirled around to see a guard lunging in mid-air and landing on the floor with Patricia fully visible in his arms.

Then, when Kiev yelled, they managed to hit him with a spell and he got caught too.

We hadn’t even noticed the guards approaching us from behind.

Holding my breath, I stumbled back and stared down at my own hands.

I was still invisible.

I looked back at the spot the guards, Kiev and Patricia had been a few seconds before only to see that they had disappeared.

No! “Abby?” A whisper behind me, barely louder than a breath.

Erik.

“Yes,” I replied just as quietly.

I felt his hand brush against my arm, which he then gripped and pulled me back against the wall.

Mona and her companion still walked toward us, apparently oblivious to what had just occurred.

“What are we going to do?” I whispered.

“I think our best chance is Mona,” he replied after a tense pause.

“If we can get through to her, she’ll be able to help us find Kiev and Patricia… wherever they’ve just been taken.” I felt his body shudder next to me.

“Do you think we should try to just speak to her as she’s approaching?” I asked.

Another pause.

“No,” he replied.

“Not while that man is with her.

We need to try to get her on her own—” His voice trailed off as Mona and the warlock were now too close for us to speak even in whispers without the risk of being detected.

Erik’s grip on me tightened as they walked right past us and reached the gate.

Mona pulled out a key from her gown and, unlocking the heavy gate, pushed it open.

I almost left my head behind as Erik jerked me forward with speed that knocked me breathless.

It was just as well.

If we’d delayed a moment later, the gates would have slammed shut in front of us, locking us out.

Erik continued leading me forward at a safe distance from the two of them.

As we reached the foot of the stairs and began ascending toward the palace entrance, I kept fearing that they would vanish themselves, leaving us stranded and without the slightest clue where to find Mona.

But, as we reached the top of the stairs and walked through the front door into a stunning entrance hall, I began to allow myself to hope that they were enjoying the exercise.

We began climbing staircase after staircase as we moved up the floors of the palace.

I would have been stunned by its beauty had my stomach not been in knots.

I was thankful that Erik was taking it upon himself to regulate our speed and distance from the pair in front of us.

On more than one occasion, I became anxious that we might lose them and I got too close, and Erik pulled me back.

Finally, we reached what appeared to be the top level of the palace and, walking along the corridor, stopped outside an engraved wooden door.

Mona pushed it open and stepped inside.

“Well, Coen, I’ll catch you later,” Mona said.

“I look forward to it.” Coen smiled and began to walk back down the corridor.

Erik lurched forward with me once more, but before we could enter the door, Mona closed it behind her.

“Wait until the warlock has disappeared,” Erik breathed.

“Then we’ll knock.” I was hoping Coen would hurry up and vanish, but, apparently still enjoying the exercise, he ambled along the long corridor until he finally descended the steps down to the floor below.

“Now,” Erik said, moving closer to the door.

He knocked quietly at first, then louder when nobody came to answer the door.

Footsteps sounded.

Erik was barely breathing as the door clicked and swung open.

I was sure that during our walk through the palace, Erik had been mulling over what to say to Mona once we finally got her alone and he was now preparing to spit it out.

But it wasn’t Mona standing before us.

It was a dark-haired witch wearing a navy blue smock and a white apron.

I was about to blurt something out anyway, but Erik’s hand closed over my mouth and he pulled me back away from the door.

We retreated further down the corridor as the maid poked her head out, looking up and down with a confused look on her face.

Once the door closed again, Erik whispered, “We can’t risk trusting any of these witches.

We have to find a way to speak directly with Mona.

We’ll have to wait here and hope to catch her the next time she comes out alone.” Exhausted from the tension, I slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

“Okay,” I said.

“Hopefully it’s just a matter of time.” Erik’s hip brushed against mine as he slid down the wall next to me.