33. Chapter 33
Chapter thirty-three
Leena
I couldn’t move. I was taught to defend myself and was even starting to learn the basics of attacks, but it had been for nothing. In the face of danger, I froze. All I could manage to do was look at Ani while two gruff men grabbed me roughly by the wrists and tied them behind my back. I wouldn’t have stood a chance anyway. There were too many of them, and I’d only just recovered.
“You knew about this,” I hissed to Ani, who merely looked at me coolly, that familiar glint of disgust in her sneer. “Why?” The maid watched me in what looked to be disinterest until a villager I recognized as Casimir’s father walked forward and muttered something in the maid’s ear.
“Tell Tomlin I’ve done my part,” she replied. “You better do yours.” When her eyes shifted back to mine, she grinned. “Why what, Your Majesty?” Those last two words oozed with hatred. One of the men grabbed me by the forearm and threw me onto a cart while another man tied my ankles together .
I was mortified. Humiliated. Ani wanted to see me like this; she knew what I was asking. She just wanted to see me crack. I begged to know the answer despite any pride that may have stopped me. “Why are you doing this to me?”
The small maiden laughed, clapping her hands as she jumped to where I lay.
“You’re not worthy of the throne.” She hopped nimbly into the cart, moving on hands and feet like a crooked beast until her face hovered above me, eyes wild as she pressed her nose against mine. “You aren’t worthy to lick his boots, let alone carry his child, and that’s all you’d be good for. A half-breed royal to take his place one day?” She scoffed. “The thought makes me sick. Besides, you don’t belong there. You understand, don’t you? That you’ll only ever get in his way and that you’d be subjecting any child you have with him to a life worse than death?”
I tried to speak, but my mouth felt like cotton, my throat like sand. Before I could try, Ani sent a claw across my face. The sting of the cut was fierce against the cool evening air. She hopped out of the cart and signaled to one of the men. “Take her to Tomlin and do what we discussed. There’ll be hell to pay if I see her pretty little face ever again.”
***
Brata n
The world was shaking, seizing, as I tore through the woods like a hound from hell. I had to transform soon, or I wouldn’t be able to go through the portal, and I needed some sort of stealth to find Leena before anything happened to her. Who knew what kind of torment she could be going through at this very moment?
My eyes blazed, my massive teeth grinding together before I let out a fierce, blaring cry that sent a blanket of crows soaring in every direction. As I shrunk to my other typical form, my vision was off, tremoring and jittery. Rage like I’d never felt was taking over me, which made shifting and staying in my human form all the more difficult. I limped to the portal, half-man, half-beast, my body undulating in protest between my two forms as I struck the gate between worlds. Snarling, I slashed at it, over and over, before finally summoning the magic to move it aside.
As soon as I could, I thundered through like a rabid beast, racing down the path. Nothing but the small chirps and skitters of wildlife could be heard, and there was nothing out of the ordinary in sight, but I could smell her. My instincts had been right. Leena was here, and she was close. I couldn’t stay in this form. It was too hard to maintain in this state. It wasn’t practical for finding her in time, but I couldn’t morph into my true form either; I had to be discreet.
Slowly, I shifted into something else .
Falling on hands and knees, my fingers grew claws, and thick, dark hair spread over my limbs. My human-like breathing turned to the huffs of a wolf. Thick cords of muscle ran along four legs, and that same burning stung my eyes as it did when I was in my monstrous form. I was more creature than animal—part canine, part wolf, and something not from this world.
It was just what I needed to race forward and follow her scent. I sprung forward, speeding down a dirt path formed from years of trespassers looking for our realm. I weaved through trees, dodging shrubbery, logs, deer, and the like while trying to keep the trail of scent that teased the rims of my nostrils. My chest ached from it.
The scent was close but not close enough. I raced faster, my legs snapping as they grew joints, pushing me along the path. My senses heightened, and I caught hold of her scent with a firm grip. Her delicious aroma sent a mixture of hunger, sorrow, and fear crashing through me in a dizzying rush. From what I could tell and from what I’d learned from my mother long ago, I’d have sensed my mated soul passing if she’d been killed. Fortunately, she felt very much alive. I still had time.
I was so caught up in thoughts of her and what I’d do to punish whoever touched her that I didn’t notice the person walking at a leisurely pace on the opposite side of the path. I couldn’t stop in time, and before I knew it, we were rolling in a clumsy heap until we cracked apart against the base of a tree. Blurred flashes of color passed by as I rolled down a hill until my back hit a fractured log. I groaned at the sharp pain; changing from form to form was putting more strain on my muscles. Agitated, I peered up at the young fae female laughing at the top of the hill.
My eyes widened at the sight of her staring down at me, unscathed. No creature of my woods could have left that encounter unharmed or be in the human realm without my explicit permission. I slowly rose, stalking closer. She was smiling—the insolent imp was smiling. I couldn’t take this. With a lunge, I grabbed her by the sleeves.
“You’re Ani, aren’t you?”
The girl still giggled. “You could say that.” Another laugh peeled from her lips. “Oh, Your Majesty. You’re too easy to fool.” My claw uncurled, dropping the maiden to her heels.
My fingers trembled as I watched her transform, involuntarily shifting back into my human self along with her. The girl’s laugh turned to a throaty cackle. Her face morphed in grotesque waves, pulling apart and rippling until she was the very creature I’d been trying to shield Leena from.
“You didn’t think I’d be so easy to fight, did you?” Melora grinned; the lines around her mouth cracked, splintering her face like an old dinner plate.
“What did you do to her?” I growled, snatching her by the peasant dress she wore as part of her facade. “I’ll rip you limb from limb and shred your flesh from your brittle bones unless you tell me exactly where I can find Leena.”
Her smile lengthened. “What did I tell you? She isn’t worthy of you. That little whore had no place with you there.”
“Shut the hell up!” I tossed Melora like the wicked ragdoll she was, watching her skate across the ground like a rock skimming the surface of a pond. She was a devil, an immortal demon, and could only be killed by being completely torn apart, so I wasn’t worried about losing the information I sought. But I did worry about losing control as my body tore through my human flesh, and I grew past the treetops.
“Tell me where she is!” My voice came from all directions, and the sky turned black. Thick clouds of gray gathered around us, following my colossal hand as I snatched the demonic woman and brought her to my eyes.
There were scrapes along the side of her face, but she had no blood to spill. She sighed, clicking her tongue in disapproval.
“What would your mother think of you behaving this way? You know better than to throw tantrums.” Even in this state, I felt my body heat with rage. She was trying to get in my head. “Besides, I thought you were smarter than this. Wasting your time with me when you could be finding your beloved. What an unwise Leshy you’ve become. Maybe you should’ve impregnated the little gnat while you had the chance. Then—”
Melora flew across the woods, again by my hand. She would survive, and it would likely not cause much damage, but I couldn’t help the satisfaction I felt at the sight of her clumsily flying through the air. Pride was Melora’s greatest possession, and I just stripped her of it for a second time tonight. She was right about one thing, though: I was smarter than to waste time with her. And I was starting to realize where Leena might be.
If Melora wasn’t with her demons or controlling them from afar, she needed help.
I shifted back into my canine form, in more control than before, and followed the scent that would bring me to my wife. Bounding through trees, I followed the internal map of the human side of my forest I held in my head.
I knew exactly where to go.