“Come on, you brute,” I yelled, racing across the floor. I jumped for him at the last second, rapid-shifting. As I launched into the air, I could feel the tug on my muscles, the lag in my responses—I wouldn’t be able to rapid shift again.
I swatted his jaw away only to have him slam me to the ground beneath a paw. He growled, a low, victorious sound that vibrated through my body. I couldn’t get free, my wings splayed across the ground beneath me. Flames burst to life in his maw again. I clawed frantically at his nose, but the wolf didn’t flinch.
A million images flashed through my mind. One lingered—a glimpse of emerald eyes free of pain and filled with gratitude—and I held onto that image as I squeezed my eyes shut.
This is it.
This is how I die.
When Reagan bolted from the medical room, I went the opposite direction. After fixing my broken legs, I had discovered that the Genesis Crystal’s energy wasn’t bottomless. This would be my last chance to acquire some more. It made me stronger, it made my healing ability stronger, and I couldn’t waste the opportunity—not when I knew of someone who desperately needed the crystal’s power.
Micah followed me into the Green Room, babbling questions, asking if I required assistance walking in the right direction. I ignored him even as I marveled that he was here. That they all were—despite the hurtful things I’d said and done to push them away. Maybe I was simply a byproduct. Maybe their mission had been to free the other trapped Fae, and I just happened—
“So, is she really your girlfriend? And a shifter, too. How did that happen?”
His newest question gave me pause. I picked up a crystal—uncut and foolishly left out in the open—and strode across the massive cavern, hoping to never lay eyes on it again. “Now is not the time, man. Ask me questions when we get out of here.”
If we got out.
Because as we drew closer to the stairs, as we squeezed past dozens of my nervous coworkers, something in the chamber ahead chilled my blood. What used to be an unassuming, squirrely little butler had transformed into a hideous, fiery-eyed beast.
“Crap, Bushy, I thought you’d be cute and cuddly.”
“What?” Micah asked. I must have said that out loud.
I scanned the shuffling and bobbing heads for blue hair. The search took way too long, her short frame swallowed by the crowd. When I got to her side, she was already barking orders, her Night Enforcer tone brooking no argument. I opened my mouth, but before I could stop her, before I could tell her about the crystal, she shifted.
Several of the Fae leapt away from her, pressing themselves against the walls as a great white lion filled the hallway.
“Malachi!” Micah shouted in panic, and I saw his twin next to Bushy, about to be snapped in two.
I lurched forward, but Reagan was already there, smashing into the beast three times her size. I became aware of Sebastian ordering the Fae up the stairs, telling them to hug the walls and avoid being burnt alive. If I wasn’t so focused on the two animals tearing into each other, I would have rolled my eyes.
A shot of flame burst from Bushy’s maw, singing Reagan’s fur. She thrust those brilliant wings wide, snuffing the fire out, but I knew she was in trouble when he slammed her into a wall. At the sound, my wings strained against my skin, and I let them rip free.
“Flynn!” I yelled to the silent Fae I’d recognized amid the growing chaos. “Distraction.”
He nodded, pulling out darts as he slipped to the far side of the cavern. By now, the crystal’s mysterious power had leached into my bloodstream, infusing my muscles, my very bones with strength. I lunged for the frothing wolf as Reagan shouted. The beast chased after her and I caught nothing but air. He tackled her, pinning her lion form to the ground. Maw open, he readied to spew bright orange fire into her growling face.
The world stilled as a deadly calm stole over me. No, calm wasn’t what wrapped around my bones, giving me courage and strength. Giving me purpose.
Rage was.
I unleashed my fury on the foul beast who dared threaten Reagan’s life. With a snarl, I slashed a wing toward his one front leg still uncut, severing the muscles at the back of the knee. Blood sprayed on my face. He howled and his front legs collapsed.
I knew what I needed to do next.
Send a message.
I wrapped my arms around the beast’s thick neck, grappling for a better position. He shook his head and almost launched me from him. Not caring if he blasted me with fire, I latched onto his snout instead. Securing his maw shut with one arm, I dug something out of my pants pocket.
And, without hesitation, thrust the scalpel through his eye.
“I’m glad you’re not a cute little squirrel,” I grunted. “Or I might actually feel bad for doing this.” He continued to thrash, so I continued to thrust, deeper and deeper. Until at last, the blade penetrated his brain.
We crashed to the ground and I rolled off, flinging the already-shifting butler to the side. A pink, gooey substance dripped from my hand and I grimaced, wiping the slime on my stolen pants.
Reagan lay on the floor, naked and bleeding, but alive. A relieved sigh shuddered through me and I bent to help her up.
“Come on. We have to go,” she said breathlessly, already pulling me toward the stairs before I could straighten. I
