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17

Victor beheld his brother for only a second. His eyes were needed elsewhere. Fighting had broken out throughout the great hall and if he wasn't imagining it, his guardsmen now grappled with the princesses for weapons. The men seemed reluctant to use full force on the ladies. They were being clobbered!

"What's happened to them?" Victor demanded of Francis.

"It's a spell, Sire. They're in Ivan the magician's thrall, under your brother's orders. There they are, disguised as musicians!"

Not far from where Robert crossed swords with an off-duty captain, Ivan was still on his knees, struggling to get Danny off the backs of his legs. Robert's men had exchanged their instruments for concealed weapons and now pushed for royal table as Victor's other military guests met them in a line of resistance.

Frederic's jaw dropped to the floor. "Why did nobody tell me?"

Robert dispatched his opponent and finally locked eyes with Victor. After so many years, he showed him no signs of tiredness or regret, just pure, bitter hate, and a smug certainty that the day with end with Victor begging for mercy from a brother without a drop of it.

Victor called on his brothers to help round up the traitors. Well, not Edward the Excused. Or Bruce for that matter. But all in all, Victor's side outnumbered Robert's two-to-one. Three-to-one if you didn't count the princesses. As the royal partners were clumping together in the corner behind Fred, one of Robert's soldiers broke through the line of Victor's defenders to leap from out of the melee and hurl himself at the Queen. As Victor seized him by his coat, Betina was thrown to the floor. The assailant spun around to face the King and almost lunged right into Victor's sword. A furious clashing of steel began. Francis helped the Queen to her feet and shielded her from the fight.

"Francis, you must protect the princesses! How do we break the spell?" Victor grunted as the hilt of his sword became locked with his opponent's. He stopped trying to break free and ran the soldier backwards, slamming him into the wall. He managed to disarm him and held him at sword point until the man was seized by two of the royal guards.

"They have to sleep, Sire."

"Tell the men to subdue them then. Go!"

So of course, Francis ran into the fight as Frederic directed fleeing dinner guests away from it. And Danny? He was still pinning Ivan to the floor. It was like having a venomous centipede trapped under a jar; he was terrified to be near him, but terrified to let him loose.

"Get off of me you insignificant oaf!" Ivan spat, trying to see Danny over his shoulder behind him.

"No way are those crazy eyes going to be the last things I see. Did Medusa have a skinny uncle no one talks about?"

Ivan clenched his everything. His body began to surge with crackling energy. He reached behind him to jab his finger into Danny's side. A zap of electricity forced Danny to yelp and jump as Ivan tried to crawl to stand.

For the moment Danny was too angry to be scared. "Zap me will ya? Why don't you get up and fight like a man?"

He picked up Ivan by his armpits. Ivan turned, his eyes ablaze. "On second thought," Danny gulped, using a leg swipe to knock Ivan to the floor again before running away.

Back on his feet, Ivan trained a pointed finger on Danny who was ducking and weaving through the fray. He aimed his finger and squinted an eye, firing another lightning-like zap through the crowd. He missed Danny once, exploding a jug of water. He missed again, singeing and sizzling the tassels of a tapestry. Zap! Danny ran for one of the displayed decorative suits of armor Sir Fred was so fond of, thinking he could hide behind it long enough to strategize, but he was gripping its arm when Ivan fired another magical shot at the suit. Danny felt the current pinch every cell in his body immediately before he blacked out.