Her continued use of the strange moniker for Solari—Flame God instead of Sun God—confuses me, but her other words fill me with such joy that I push it out of my mind. Why concern myself with some regional idiosyncracy when I have a goddess beneath me?
I snuggle in beside her, pulling the blankets up to cover us and give added warmth, though to be honest her body radiates such comforting heat it’s not much needed. Within minutes, she’s asleep, and I content myself with watching her doze until I myself fall victim to exhaustion.
***
A thundrous crash jerks me awake, and I shift to my wolf on instinct to better protect Sable. Hackles raised, I scan the room in search of the origin of the offending sound.
My door lies in pieces on the floor, bashed in by several men, who appear to be armed to the teeth. Among them stands Corvin, wielding a nasty-looking sword. Rage twists his features, and I watch as his fangs extend from his gums.
“See? Bedding a monster. I knew that bitch wasn’t a wolf.”
What is he talking about? I move to position myself betwen Sable and the intruders, and I give them a threatening growl.
When my growl is answered with a feline roar, I freeze.
Wolves don’t roar.
I turn slowly, praying to Solari that I didn’t hear what I just thought I heard, begging Him to let me be wrong.
In the bed with me,in my bed, where moments ago Sable slept, crouches a panther.
Chapter 16
Cara
The shock of seeing Sable shifted into her panther form is enough to jerk me back to human, and I scramble off the bed in horror.
I mated with a panther.
Apanther.
Corvin’s commands to seize us, the soldiers’ shouts, panther-Sable’s ferocious roars, all come in a dull, muted hum to my traumatized ears. I go limp as rough hands yank my arms behind me and place me in shackles. Sable is tackled and collared, and we’re carried off.
I don’t even care that I’m being imprisoned in my own palace. I don’t care about the stares as we’re carted down the main halls to the dungeon. I don’t care that my whole world, my days-old empire, has just come to a crashing halt.
Sable is a panther.
So many things make sense now. Her use of Flame God instead of Sun God. Her odd deflection whenever I asked about her past. I realize now that there were so many signs I should have seen, so much I was blind to.
Blind to the panther in our midst.
Worse than that, though, is the betrayal. Sheletme believe she was a wolf. Never once did she correct me. She played me like a Goddamn fiddle.
Our dungeons are small and cramped, and when the dust settles, I see that I’m in the cell next to Sable. I know from experience that the chains she’s in have been magicked to prevent her from shifting back to human form, and for this I’m glad. I don’t want to be subjected to any vain attempts at winning me back over. Let her stew as a panther, unable to speak any more lies.
I sit in the far corner, well away from the barred wall adjoining our cells. Sable paces at the bars for several minutes, rubbing her head against the iron and purring, but I don’t allow myself to react. I stare at the stone wall next to me, following a roach’s path on the slimy rock. After what feels like an eternity of her manipulative begging, she lies down beside the bars, head resting on her paws.
Hours pass—or maybe days—with no news, no visitors, nothing. Not even Corvin comes to taunt me. It’s just me and Sable, alone in the frigid darkness.
When the torch outside our cells burns out, I try to summon my gifts to both warm me and provide some blessed light.
I try, but no flames come to pierce the black.
They magicked my shackles as well.
They were prepared with chains specifically designed to prevent me from using Solari’s magic.
Somehow, with all that has transpired, this is the part that breaks me. A strangled sob breaks the silence in the dungeon, and a feline whimper answers. I shift my weight, pulling my knees to my bare chest, and rest my head on them. With my arms still bound behind me, it’s not a comfortable position, but I highly doubt Corvin and the Elders have my comfort in mind.
