My hand slams inside my pocket, gripping the stone. If I give it to him, Pliris is defenseless. But if I don’t, we have no king to wield it anyway. No matter what I choose, the Imperium is useless to me. At least I have the chance to walk out of this place with Kyron alive. It’s a miniscule chance, but one all the same.
Kyron glares at me, his dark eyes burning a hole so deep it sears my soul. “Raelle,” he whispers in warning.
I extend my hand and uncurl my fingers. The Imperium lies in the center of my palm. As if it is breathing, it pulsates against my skin. The stone is powerful. I never felt the presence of the Eporri the way I feel this energy. Not even the colors can remain motionless inside the delicate surface, swirling inconstant motion. In my hands is the power to give and take the gifts of the creator. Retrieving this one small stone was to be my redemption, but I’d rather be damned than live in a world without Kyron.
“Take it,” I say.
“Elle, what the hell? You just left...” Greer comes around the corner with Ashavee at her heels. They stop in their tracks, sizing up the situation. I hold my other hand up, signing for them to stand down. They don’t come any closer, but the hackles of the two shifters guarding Niko rise.
The tension in the air is so palpable that to move I’d have to swim through it. It’s saturated with the brutal truth—not everyone here will make it down this mountain alive. In fact, some will die right where they stand.
Niko lifts his chin, motioning me forward. “Bring it to me.”
I keep my eye on Kyron as I close the distance between us. If I could find a way to sneak the stone to him, we might have a fighting chance if he could tap into this power. Unlike the Eporri and Posseda, he was made to wield this energy. There will be no need to acclimate, no training to wield its power. I have to believe it will bend to his will as soon as he touches it. Otherwise, what was the purpose of sending us on a mission to find it? Our kingdom will fall if he doesn’t command it.
I lower my hand with the intention of slipping the Imperium into Kyron’s, but Niko misses nothing.
“Careful,girl. Keep that stone where I can see it, or I’ll be knuckles deep in your king’s throat.” He pivots Kyron away from me, shielding him with his massive body. “Slip it into my pocket and I’ll let him go.”
With all options gone, I cram the Imperium into the pocket of Niko’s pants. “It’s yours. Let him go,” I say.
Niko shoves Kyron forward. He rams into the alcove wall with a thud. Greer rushes forward to catch him. The shifters charge in her direction. And everything erupts into utter chaos.
“Let’s have one more go for old time’s sake,” Niko growls as hair sprouts from every inch of skin, covering him in dark brown fur. His mouth and nose stretch forward, distorting his face. Razor-sharp teeth grow out of his maw. Bones crack and rearrange. The leather of his pants tears at the seams until they’re nothing but panels hanging from his waist. It takes only seconds before I’m face to face with a bear standing on its hind legs.
I pull my sword from my side. Every emotion that was ripped out of me with a whip as he watched washes over me. The humiliation of clinging to Zek’s throne while topless. The breathtaking pain jolting through me with every crack against my skin. The terror of him holding me to the floor as Zek straddled my legs. And the rage. All the rage thrashing through me as I was sliced open. He took and took, and now it is my turn to make him pay.
We clash—blade, teeth, and claws. He slams his paws into me, the tips sinking into my skin. I stumble back, but only for a second before I’m running and slashing my blade through the air. It glides through his fur and pulls away, dripping with blood. He roars and swipes at me as I back out of the alcove, desperate for space. With his head lowered and black eyes on me, he stalks forward.
I shouldn’t look away. I need to keep alert, but I can’t help but spare a glance at Kyron. He has made his way to Ulric and Terro and is working to set them free. I take in the sight on the other side of me. Greer uses her water to combat the wolf, hitting it in the face with a steady stream as she moves closer to it with a dagger. Ashavee and the gorilla aren’t as tactful. They bat oneanother with extended claws and fists while searching for the perfect opening to sink their teeth into the other.
A shadow crosses overhead, and I find Niko standing before me. He lifts his arms wide, exposing his stomach. I plunge my sword toward his vulnerable spot. His claws sweep down and clank against the metal. The impact vibrates through me, rattling my teeth and making it difficult to keep hold of my weapon. He swipes at me, and I duck just as his claws cut the air where I once stood. We find our tempo. It’s fast. Swipe, thrust, jab, and kick, we battle like a vengeful woman and a wild animal. I want his screams, his blood, his last breath, and he wants mine.
Niko opens his mouth and aims for my face. I block him with a punch to the side of his head, and he snaps at my hand. While I’m distracted by his teeth, his paw lands in the center of my chest. My feet fly out from under me, and my back slams to the ground. He places his huge paw on my chest, holding me down. His other leg pins my hand with my sword above my head. I yank his fur, scratch, and punch. But my one-handed efforts are laughable.
I twist my head to the side, watching Greer and Ashavee fight. They’re relentless in their attack. Greer doesn’t let up, taking every free swipe she can at the wolf. My shifter friend isn’t faring quite as well. Blood oozes from a wound at her side, but she forges on, clawing and biting. Their opponents are panting, and their movements are slow. It won’t be long before my friends take them down, but it won’t be in time to save me.
I’m completely dependent on myself, so I let go of all my training and let my fury loose. I thrash, swinging my arm and kicking. Lifting my head, I bare my teeth and snap my jaw. I can act like a rabid animal, too.
My knee jerks up and makes contact with the apex of Niko’s legs. He roars in pain and releases my other hand. I fumble for my sword, but don’t grab it in time. He pins both my arms to myside, making it impossible to move. I curl my fingers, grabbing for anything I can. Something hard bounces off my palm, and a shot of energy zips through me. I buck my hips, trying to jar him away from me. The same object falls into my hand again. This time I clench my fist around it. The pulse of energy continues to flow through me, but it’s not enough for me to gain the upper hand. I tug and tug at the object, realizing it is inside something and stuck. Inching my fingers up, I discover I’m pulling on a pocket. The side of Niko’s shredded pants that holds the Imperium. I need it. I’ve never wanted to feel something in the palm of my hand as much as I want that stone. I pull on the opening of the pocket, ripping the fabric. The Imperium breaks free and falls to the ground.
All I need to do is get a hold of it and somehow throw it to Kyron. He could end this madness.
I continue to flail underneath Niko, my fingers searching for the stone. He growls and slaps his paw against the side of my face, dragging one claw down my cheek. I scream as my skin splits in two, burning pain searing through me. He opens his mouth, saliva dripping onto my chest, and leans down. This is the end—the part where he sinks his teeth into my neck and rips out my throat. I squeeze my eyes closed and move my hand faster. My fingertip grazes something smooth. I reach further, stretching the tendons in my arm until a shooting pain races down my forearm to my hand. Flicking the stone with my middle finger, I rock it toward me. Hot breath blows over my face and teeth prick each side of my neck. I clench the Imperium. The overwhelming sensation to pull comes over me. I yank at the power.
In a blink of an eye, Niko is no longer a bear but a man. His naked body pressing down on me. I jab my knee up again, hitting the vulnerable flesh between his legs. This time he rolls off me,his hands cradling his smashed testicles. I snatch my sword from the ground and scramble to my feet.
I don’t make it upright. Niko grabs my hair and pulls me down again. “What did you do to me, you fucking bitch?” he wails, wrapping his meaty fingers around my throat and squeezing. It’s not his injured testicles he mourns for; it’s much worse. The power of the Imperium stripped him of his gift to shift. He is just as helpless as my people that he tortured in the Allaji fields.
“I made sure you would feel worse pain than you inflicted on me before you died,” I croak and shove my blade up. It pierces through the front of his neck and exits at the base of his skull. I shove him away with my boot and tug my sword out of him. With wide frightened eyes, he chokes on his blood, and I leave him to die.
Getting to my feet, I sheath my sword and hold the Imperium in the center of my hand. Grasping that same thread of power I felt before, I pull. The two Allaji fighting with Greer and Ashavee gradually shift back to their human forms. Neither of them makes a full transition before Greer runs a dagger through the gorilla’s heart, and Ashavee strikes at the wolf’s throat.
Greer wipes her blade on the thigh of her trousers and raises a brow at me. “Should have known you wouldn’t need a king to save you.”
I turn to the alcove as Kyron and Terro pull the last restraint from Ulric’s wrists. The two collapse against opposite walls, but Ulric staggers to his feet. He grabs a blanket from the ground and stalks toward Ashavee. The jaguar remains frozen at Greer’s side as Ulric wipes the blood from her mouth.
He wraps the blanket around her and gently says, “Shift. Let me clean up your wound.”
