Henri gasped, and I looked up to find the net taut against his arms. I released my grip on the net and he sighed with relief.
“Sorry,” I murmured.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Henri told me. “You came for me.”
“Of course I did.” I met his eyes. “I will always come for you.”
His lips quivered. “Emile … I’ve put you in danger once more. I—”
“Later,” I silenced him. I dropped from the cart to procure Bertolino’s dagger, before kneeling at Henri’s side and beginning to saw at the net where it attached to one ring. Luckily, the dagger was made of solid silver and was up to the challenge. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”
“Please, save yourself. Montoni … he’s so much stronger than we are. We won’t be able to last long against him. At least if you all run, you might escape. At least some of you.”
I stood and reached through the net to grasp one of his hands. I squeezed it, looking into his face with a smile. “Henri, I am not leaving you. We haven’t been through all we have just for me to run away now.”
“You’re a fool.” Henri’s lips pressed into a thin line to hold back his emotions as I dropped his hand and returned to the task at hand.
A squeal pierced the air and my head shot up to find the gray wolf lying in a heap at the bottom of a nearby wall, blood coating one of its shoulders. Montoni heaved as he stood over the other wolf, eyes promising death.
“Mother!” Henri cried.
“Mother?” I asked, turning to him with wide eyes. “That’s …?”
“I’d recognize her anywhere, in any form,” Henri confirmed.
I turned to watch Montoni’s wary eyes travel over the gray wolf, then growl deep in his chest, a warning of intention. I swallowed hard, wondering if I could watch what was about to happen.
But the gray wolf wasn’t finished. She was up in a flash, darting between Montoni’s legs. Before he could turn to face his opponent, she was on his back, shifting into full animal form. She clamped her jaws down into Montoni’s neck, earning a scream of rage from the count.
“Emile.” Henri gestured to the ring I’d been sawing at. “Hurry, so I can help.”
I nodded, resuming my work. A moment later, one ring was free of the net. I sighed with relief. My arms were already burning from the effort of the first ring, but I didn’t hesitate before moving on to the next. And then the next. I did my utmost to ignore the snarls and cries behind me, focusing my energies on the knife slicing over and over again.
When three rings were free, Henri tried to climb out from under the net, but the gap still wasn’t wide enough. I needed to cut through at least one more.
“You’ve performed admirably for a human.”
Montoni’s voice was right behind me. I sawed faster, but I couldn’t escape his grip on the back of my neck as he yanked me from the wagon. He tossed me to the ground like a rag doll, and I grunted upon impact, biting my lip and drawing blood. I swiped at it, grimacing as Montoni stood over me, back in human form.
“You’ve been far more trouble than you’re worth.” Montoni scowled.
My eyes darted past Montoni to the gray wolf, unconscious and covered in bloody wounds.
“Yes, I’ll take care of her later,” Montoni sneered, running a hand over his neck, where he still bled from deep teeth marks.
I swallowed hard and glanced behind me, past Bertolino’s prone form, to the carriage where Ludovico had been tied up. Hopefully, the others had been smart enough to make their own escape.
“They won’t get far either,” Montoni promised, as if reading my thoughts. His lips curved into a smile. “Right now, it’s just you and me.”
He reached down and I tried to scramble back, but he was too fast. His hands gripped my throat and yanked me to my feet, and then up into the air, my feet dangling beneath me uselessly. I gasped for air and clawed at his hands, trying to break his grip. He was too strong. I was helpless as his hands squeezed my neck, red dots beginning to dance in my vision. My lungs screamed for air while my head grew fuzzy and light.
My eyes found Montoni’s, dark and full of violent delight. He wanted to watch the life drain from my eyes, and I wasn’t going to be able to stop him.
I heard Henri screaming behind me, begging for his uncle to stop, but Montoni’s eyes were sadistic, beyond reason. He would not loosen his grip unless it was to drop my lifeless corpse to the ground.
Movement beyond Montoni drew my eyes, and I saw a blur of blonde fur before Blanche’s jaw buried into Montoni’s side. Dark blood immediately oozed from Montoni’s flesh, but Montoni merely grunted and held firm to my neck.
I blinked, vision hazy as I noted the flesh missing from Blanche’s leg, leaking heavily into a pool at her feet. She had freed herself from the bolt. I’d read of wolves biting off their own legs to free themselves from traps. Blanche had done that, chewing through her own flesh and muscle to free herself. For me and Henri.
