“Are you insane?” Darius asked. “Look at him.”
Kirill was jerking at the chain again; blood seeping around the metal in his ankle. He paid it no mind, though; he was too intent on reaching us. His claws raked through the air, and he bared his teeth savagely. When I focused beyond him, I saw that the walls were gouged with claw marks.
“Kirill!” I snapped. “Stop that this instant!”
The lion shuddered at the sound of his name and cocked his head at me. A small whine left his lips as his stare connected with mine. That's when I knew that I wouldn't be leaving Niyarvirezi's territory without him.
“Now, open the door,” I said to Darius.
Darius gaped at me for a second before lunging for a key that hung beside the door. He fumbled with the lock, opened the door, and got out of my way.
“I'll need a wrench and a bowl of warm water,” I said as I went into the room.
Darius ran off.
The lion just sat down and stared at me.
“Do you remember me, Kirill?” I asked softly. “I remember you. You're not supposed to be here; not like this. You're meant to be with me, and I'm going to remedy that right now.”
A low sound came from the lion; part growl and part purr. He couldn't decide what to believe.
“I know you're in the dark right now, baby,” I said gently. “But I'm going show you the way out. All you have to do is trust me. Can you do that?”
Kirill laid down and stretched his leg out to me; the one with the chain through it.
Wow; this is going so much better than the last time.
“Because there's something already between us this time,” I answered Alaric out loud. “Something between our... souls.”
Kirill sighed deeply, in what sounded like relief.
“Here.” Darius came in with a wrench, a towel, and a bowl of warm water. “Whatever you're going to do, hurry. Niyarvirezi already has lions looking for you.”
“Tell everyone to hide,” I said to Darius. “I'm not leaving any of you like this; by tonight, you'll all be free.”
Darius gaped at me and then joy filled his features. “Yes, Tima!”
As soon as that bitch shows her face, you take her magic, Vervain,Al said.Don't give her a chance to attack you. When you have all of it, you'll shift into a lioness. You'll claim this territory and the Pride, but then you must remember your true form in order to become human again.
Remember my true form?I asked as fear shot through me.I'm going to be a lion?
You've done this hundreds of times before, V; you got this.
“Okay,” I said determinedly as I knelt beside Kirill. “I'm going to soak your leg with water to try and loosen the blood.”
You should have thought of that the first time.
I didn't?I asked in horror.Did I just yank it out?
Yep; that was hard to watch.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “What a moron I was.”
Kirill's head shifted to look at me.
“Just give it a minute to loosen the metal,” I said to him. “It looks as if your flesh has fused to it. I'm going to undo the screw first.”
Kirill huffed and laid his head back down as if he trusted me completely.
