“Get Tansy up,” I told my wife. Neither of them moved. “Trouble’s coming. We need to move.”
“What? We can’t just leave him here,” Tansy choked out. “We have to take him with us.” She was clutching Devlinn’s cloak as if she held tight enough he might wake up. “Your Grace, please!”
The footsteps were close. The growls, too. “Fall back!” My wife, however, wasn’t listening. She had her arms beneath Devlinn’s shoulders, trying to help Tansy lift him. Something in my chest seized so violently I almost barked at her to stop. I’d carried plenty of friends to the pyres once battles were done. Plenty. But his death hadn’t happened because of war. It had been so senseless.
His head lolled to the side as they lifted him, and I was forced to look him in the face. He was so pale and lifeless. So unlike him. Black rot oozed from his mouth. The same oily blackness that Claire had thrown up.
The rot. The disease. Gorrath couldn’t be on the mortal plane. I’d ensured that. Butsomehow his influence was seeping into the world again. I glanced around the cavern like I might find him standing among my warriors.
But it was no use searching for ghosts.
“Soldiers,” I snapped, already moving. Already pointing. “Help them.”
Two men rushed forward, taking Devlinn’s weight from Claire and Tansy before they could protest. The relief that flickered across my wife’s face only made the guilt worse.
I should’ve been the one carrying him. He’d died because I hadn’t done my job properly.
Natalia burst through the dark with the warriors I’d sent to Chastity’s Stronghold. I was so relieved to see her face. To know she was alright. “Reform your lines! Weres!” she shouted. “Three of them!”
I tucked the grief back inside my chest and told myself I had to lead these soldiers. I had to be their commander now in order to protect my wife.
“You heard Lady Natalia! Reform your lines!” I commanded. My vision darkened at the edges as the change happened. The world stripped down to the things that mattered—heat signatures, heartbeats, the wet rush of blood through veins.
And somewhere ahead, three new pulses moved through the dark.
I planted myself in front of Claire. “Fall back with the others,” I told her. “Go with Sir Gavin.”
“No! I have magick too. I can fight.”
I gritted my teeth. If anyone else had spoken to me like that before a battle, I’d have barked them into place.
But this was my wife.
Yes, she finally had control of her power, and I’d seen what she could do with it. But she knew no spells, only raw power.And once the wolves knew she was the biggest threat, they’d come right for her. I couldn’t let that happen.
I turned just enough to look at her. Her chin was lifted. Grief and fury burned in her eyes. Blood and smeared black rot on her face and hands.
Natalia slid into position at my right, sword read. She didn’t spare Claire a glance. “That is not your place.”
“My place is with His Grace.”
I hated how much I loved hearing that. Her placewaswith me. But we had new responsibilities now.
“If you stand and fight against orders,” Natalia said with forced calm, “then you risk all our lives. Because His Grace’s attention will be divided. By standing down, you are doing your part.”
Tyson took my left. “I hate to agree with my cousin, but Natalia is right.”
Claire’s heart pounded out a too-fast rhythm, and I could feel her fury building behind me. She wasn’t going to move. Every instinct screamed to pick her up and carry her back myself, but it was too late now. The stench of the wolves was everywhere.
Wet fur and blood and that same stinking rot. Three men stepped into the circle of torchlight, and I realized they weren’texactlymen. They had snouts where faces should’ve been, and fur split through torn skin. The only weapon they had was their claws, which were long and hooked. They weren’t fully transformed werewolves.
But there was something else wrong with them. Their bodies were speckled with black pock marks, and thick, inky saliva dripped from their jaws. A bit dribbled ontoan opalescent necklace.
I snarled, and they stopped when they saw the number of good swords behind me.
“They’re living in the tunnels,”Natalia explained.“Which is why Chastity sealed them.”
“Ah, that would’ve been good to know before we opened the door,”Tyson added unhelpfully.
