Norah came over to her and placed her hands on Bree’s shoulders. Her best friend let out a little sigh and closed her eyes. “This might feel a little strange. I’ve not done this on a person before now.”
Alarm blasted through Bree, though the source of it was Taveon.
He asked, “Are you certain this is safe?”
“It won’t harm Bree, and the illusion will only last as long as she’s accepting of it. So, be careful of that.”
Bree thought back to when she’d first arrived at court and Ethne had cast a glamor on her so that she could spy, pretending to be Ethne herself. It hadn’t gone particularly well, because Bree hadn’t been at ease with the situation. Something to remember when she stepped out of this castle and into the enemy camp. As terrifying as it was, she’d need to stay calm.
Otherwise, she’d lose this illusion.
“I understand,” she said in a voice that was more hoarse than she’d intended. Fear ticked a muscle in her jaw, but she refused to back down. “Go ahead and just get it over with. The anticipation is killing me.”
“It may take a few minutes,” Norah whispered, clutching her shoulders tighter. Bree stayed steady while her friend called upon the magic that singed in her veins. Moments ticked by with nothing but the crackling of the torches and the heavy thump of her own heart. She felt no magic rush along her arms or any change in her body at all.
She knew something had happened, though, when she heard Eurig let out a strangled grunt.
“That’s incredible,” Rafe murmured.
When Bree flipped open her eyes, she found everyone staring at her. Even Taveon looked uncomfortable, and he could still feel the truth of her through the bond. With a deep breath, Bree looked down. A shocked gasp ripped from her throat.
Every single part of her had changed. She now towered above the ground at over seven feet tall. Her arms and legs had expanded, muscular, thick, and long. Hair had sprouted over every inch of her, including her hands and her clawed bare feet. Norah had made her clothes looked ripped, dirty, and bloodstained.
She could only imagine what her face looked like.
“Well, I certainly don’t look like me anymore,” she said in a low, garbled voice that sound like nails dragged down a chalkboard. Bree winced.
“Here’s some rope for Taveon,” Norah said matter-of-factly, as she held a spool of it up. She tossed it my way and grinned. “You’ve never looked better, by the way.”
“Wonderful, thanks,” Bree grunted out.
With a shake of her head, Bree wound the rope around Taveon’s outstretched wrists, not daring to meet his eyes. Every single one of them still stared at her. After a moment of tension, though, she had to ask. “How bad is my face? Just go ahead and tell me.”
“Absolutely beautiful,” Rafe said with a laugh. “But you look like you could bite my head off if you really wanted to.”
Bree scowled. “Laugh it up at my expense. You won’t think it’s so funny when I save all your asses.”
“Best get going then,” Norah said tightly. “Before the demons knock down the castle gates, swarm this place, and kill every single one of us.”
24
BREE
“All right,” Bree whispered from where she had her back pressed against the dank walls of the tunnel beneath the castle. It led out onto the field, where the demons were waging their war against the dark fae. She peered around the corner. Torchlight flashed against their angry faces, and smoke curled up into the cloud-studded sky. Swallowing hard, she ducked back inside the tunnel and winced. “This is going to look so suspicious.”
“Just do it, Bree,” Taveon said.
“What if they hurt you?”
“I don’t think they will. They’ve come to take me back to their realm, not kill me.”
That didn’t settle her nerves at all. Why did they want him? That was one piece of the puzzle they’d never been able to find. The demons wanted him, enough to destroy an entire realm. She understood the rest of it, why they wanted to fight their way through to Underworld and beyond. But why did they want Taveon so badly? Why had his father come to mate with a dark fae female in the first place?
The questions haunted her, especially when faced with their impossible task.
What if they just killed Taveon the second she handed him over to them?
“Bree, I can feel your hesitation and fear through the bond,” Taveon murmured to her, his voice barely heard over the demons launching their spears at the castle walls. “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m immortal, remember?”
