Horace stepped forward, the purple glow illuminating his sharp cheekbones and sunken, deep-set eyes. “Would it matter? We won’t be sure it’ll work on our old friend Ludolf until we try.” He leveled his half-lidded gaze on Peter, a mix of power and turbulence radiating off him despite his almost lazy demeanor.
Prince Harry nodded. “It’s true. The healers said every shifter reacts differently to any given potion.” He pressed his lips together and gave Peter a quick nod. “But rest assured, this is our best hope, and we’ll do all we can to protect Jolene.”
Peter nodded but didn’t look any more reassured. He kept a tight grip around my hand, his arm stiff and jaw set.
Francis drifted closer and looked down his hooked nose at me. “You’re sure no one knows of Ludolf’s second form?” He narrowed his dark, lined eyes and sniffed. “You smell of fear. You realize our lives depend on this part of the plan? As powerful as we all are, we stand no chance against an entire army of shifters.”
“Oh!” Iggy peeked out of the lantern, eyes narrowed. “A real vote of confidence from the vampire. By all means, charge right ahead with this plan.”
The princess shot him a look. “I said you could only come if you were going to be helpful.”
Iggy crossed his little flaming arms. “So it’d be more helpful if I was all for this suicide mission of yours?” He widened his eyes. “Then by all means, waltz right into the shifter lair armed only with a vial of untested potion. No way this plan could fail.”
Peter stiffened next to me. Great—at this rate, he’d probably handcuff me to him and refuse to let me go.
Horace, hands stuffed in the pockets of his black jeans, shrugged. “We wouldn't need to fight off all the shifters. We could change form, blend in with the other animals, and escape.”
Peter let out a choked sound and gripped my hand tighter. “Not Jolene—she’s lost her powers, remember?”
The prince squared his shoulders. “We won’t abandon you, Jolene.” He looked between Peter and me, his expression grave. “I give you my word.”
Horace raised his brows. “No promises here.”
The princess shot him an exasperated look.
Iggy spoke up from the lantern in her hand, peeking through the shutters. “Jolene hasn’t lost all her powers—it’s not like she’s totally defenseless.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” It was nice to have some support.
The little flame huffed, embers floating from his mouth. “Yeah, I mean, she could talk to the horde of shifter animals descending upon you all if things went south, right? Like, ‘Hey, tiger man, please don’t eat our faces off!’”
Princess Imogen shook her head at him. “So helpful.”
Peter sucked in a breath, as if he was about to put the flame in his place, but I leaned close and whispered, “He’s kidding.”
My boyfriend turned his pale face to me, lips pressed tight together, and gave a slight nod. I nodded back and forced a tight smile. “It’ll be okay.”
Daisy growled. Lie.
What little color Peter had drained from his face.
I flashed my eyes at her, then turned to face Peter. “Okay, I don’t know for certain it will, and I’m pretty scared, too.” I shot Daisy a flat look. “How about that?”
She wagged her tail and whined. True.
“But I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think we had a good chance of it working. I’ve got some powerful folks on my side.” Though one of them might be a bloodthirsty ancient being who could smell my body odor from a mile away, and another was a wanted criminal in every kingdom.
I turned to said wanted criminal. “Horace—did you know Ludolf shifted into a heron?”
He shook his head. “No.” A wry smile tugged at the corner of his full lips. “And I know everything.”
Iggy scoffed. “And they say evil geniuses aren’t humble.”
I looked back up at Peter’s drawn face. “See? This is our best chance.” I stepped closer. “Now wish me luck. The sooner we get going, the sooner we get this over with.”
“I don’t like this.” His eyes brimmed with tears. “But I know it’s our best shot, and I believe in you. Good luck, Jolene.” He leaned his forehead against mine and whispered, “I love you.”
Daisy’s tail wagged. True.
My own eyes stung with tears. “I love you, too.” Man, I hoped this wasn’t the last time I got to say that to him. Ever since I’d been cursed and lost my fiancé, my career, all my money—I’d been in survival mode. Now that my life was filling up again, with love, excitement, purpose, and friends, I stood to lose it all. And I wasn’t going to let that happen—not again, and certainly not because of Ludolf Caterwaul.
I rose on my toes and kissed Peter, full and deep, while Iggy let out a wolf whistle. After I reluctantly pulled away and sank back down onto my heels, a pink flush rose to Peter’s cheeks.
I grinned. “Good to see you have some color back.” Before Daisy could react, I reached down and scratched her head. I’d expected her to pull away, but she let me pet her and even looked up and gave me the tiniest lick on my hand. She whined. Good luck. You’re kind of a disaster—you need it.
I grinned at her and woofed. Thanks, you mangy mutt.
I sucked in a breath, tightened my hand around the vial of potion, and nodded at the others. “Alright—let’s do this.”
36
LUDOLF CATERWAUL
No one spoke as we trudged through the sewers. The only sounds were our splashing feet, the chirping rats scurrying along the edges, and the drip of water echoing through the round tunnels. Francis winged overhead in bat form, and the prince, princess, and Horace took on the forms of Neo, Sacha, and Viktor. I clutched the vial of potion tightly in my hand, looking down at it every few minutes, as if it might spontaneously disappear.
My nerves made my steps stiff and jerky, and I
