“I supplicate myself to your carnal majesty.” Noora whispered as she curtsied.
“I supplicate myself to your carnal majesty, which is looking pretty fresh,” I repeated, bowing. Bowing seemed more appropriate in pants.
The Queen didn’t so much smile as bare her teeth. “I see you have a gift for me.”
“Yep. Prime man meat right here. Top grade. Good for lifting, reaching things on top shelves and…” I couldn't think of a third thing to really sell my joke.
“Linguistics,” Ward said under his breath.
My core clenched at the memory of his tongue running through it. I was blushing as hard as some of the harem, who didn't miss Ward's grumbled addition.
The Queen licked her lips. “I will be pleased, if his boot size is any sign.”
Noora chuckled. And I should have, too, but a spurt of jealousy rose instead. I wasn't handing over Ward for real. Thank Godds. It was fine when I made the joke, but no one else got to claim him. I promised. I tugged his chain and drew him a little closer. His big hand found the back of my neck and the tension eased again. A scratching cough sounded in my mind. Was Ward laughing? It took him a moment, but he pulled himself together and went silent again.
The Queen of Flesh circled Ward like a bird of prey. “Thank the Godds, a real sacrifice.”
Noora and I looked at each other. Maybe we should have planned past getting in the door. What were we supposed to do with the relic not in plain sight?
A snarl ripped through the air. We all turned, but I did a double take at the biggest, fluffiest dog I had ever seen. Every one of the harem pressed into the corners of the room.
“Puppy!” I shrieked.
That’s a wolf,Ward warned me.
But he looked like a giant dog to me. The sight of the Chain of Flesh around his neck sent fear straight into my heart. The black floofball might have had his long teeth bared at the Brother of Zophiel yanking at him, but he was still adorable. It didn’t matter that he appeared to be a barbarian mer-dog—heavy-boned and shaggy, with webbed feet and a snuffly snout. Fluffier than any wolf I had ever seen, the rippling fur in his eyes begged to be petted endlessly.
“You’ll not bite me again, you mangy shifter.” He kicked the wolf, who let out a wail that drove into my heart. “We’ll guard our own cemetery.”
The wolf whipped around with frightening strength, yanking the brother with him.
The Queen of Flesh gave them a harried frown. “We don’t need any more. The pen is full. They should empty it tomorrow. Come back then. I’m in the middle of a genuine sacrifice.”
With a mighty yowl, the wolf slipped through the collar and savaged the man in the robe. The tearing of flesh and crunch of bone made most of the harem go pale. Blood spurted everywhere before any of us could react. The Brother of Zophiel’s screams died quickly enough, and the wolf turned to us next.
Terrified outcries ripped through the audience hall, mainly coming from the harem, so I didn't think we were going to get any help from that corner. The Queen of Flesh looked annoyed as hells, and my new doggy friend stalked toward us with lethal intent.
“You're going to have to bite him, Evie,” Ward said, placing himself in front of us. “Just like the Wolf of Acerni.”
I released his chain, so he was free to fight. Better him than me. “That was a onetime deal, teddy bear. You were in danger, and I acted out of instinct. I have no idea how I did that.”
“If you haven't noticed, viper, we're in danger right now. That wolf will tear everything and everyone apart, monster or not.”
Why couldn't the wolf just be a cute fluffy squish dog? I didn’t want to fight a wolf-shifter. Even one bunching all his muscles to pounce.
“Now! Evie, now.” Ward shifted and his gigantic fuzzy butt was suddenly in my face.
“No more shifters!” I heard the Queen of Flesh cry out behind us. “Take them to the pens.”
I didn't want to be stuck in any sort of pen with a monster who wanted to tear us apart. So I reluctantly shifted and wiggled side to side in indecision as the wolf dove for Ward. I could do this. I just wrapped my arms—or body, I guess—around him like a big hug! Ward held him still enough that I coached myself into giving him a love bite that delicately injected my venom into his shoulder. And when he didn't immediately turn any soulful puppy eyes on me, I bit him again for good measure.
It didn't help that he shifted into a little curly-haired King just as the cat women dragged us away because he wasn’t in any shape to walk. They would not get Ward to move, but they latched on to the man-snake assemblage and Ward had to follow. I wasn't too difficult to drag along as a tube. I did my best to end up around the strange man's chest and away from any potentially lower naked bits. Not that in his groggy state was he going to try anything as they dragged us across the beautiful temple floors, deeper and deeper, into what looked like unused parts of the building.
Noora's protests mingled with Ward’s growls, echoing through the tall hallways. The temple guards dragged us all the way through to the other side where it looked like they kept various broken furniture, dented vessels, ripped linens and cloths, and even a few neglected sets of swords and armor. The call of the relic pounded hard in my head. It had to be in there. Nothing looked obviously relic-y other than a gleaming set of armor amongst the shoddy pile.
The dragging didn't stop when I noticed a few silver boxes in there as well. They looked suspiciously like that thing behind the relic in the first temple. They glowed in the same way, but they were bigger, apple-box size, and they stood straight amongst a pile of haphazardly thrown things. Were they related to those mysterious people ready to “pick us up”?
“What's happening?” the wolf said, his adorable, dark bangs falling into his eyes. It was a good thing I had no hands to brush them back with. I don’t know if I could have kept them to myself.
