Ella steps forward. “No more,” she states firmly, as she meets the eyes of the king and queen. “It is wrong to condemn someone to death simply because they are different.”
The king gives her an imperious look as he gestures to the dead body beside them. “And what of this? It was shifters who took my son and replaced him with one of their own, was it not?”
Ella straightens her shoulders as she stands before him, her expression firm. “You cannot judge all people by the actions of only a few.”
The king’s gaze holds hers, but he says nothing. After a moment, the queen turns to him. “She’s right, Victor.”
“Shifters are dangerous,” he says as he narrows his eyes at Rina and her husband. “Their kind have killed many of ours.” He turns his attention to Ella. “Are you a shifter as well?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’m not.”
I note she does not reveal that the rest of us are. She is cautious, not trusting the king not to harm us.
“Our people have murdered many shifters as well,” Ella adds. “Where does the bloodshed end if not here? Today?”
The king considers her a moment, then stands. “If you find my son, I will consider it.”
Ella looks to Rina, then the queen. “We will find your son, and we will return him to you.”
Chapter 32
Ella
As we leave the palace, the guards watch us with narrowed eyes. They trust us even less than they did before, now that they know Rina and her husband are shifters.
Kai takes my hand. “You were very brave, my love.”
I smile. “So were you.”
He lifts my hand to his face, pressing a soft kiss to the space between my thumb and forefinger. Once we are outside the palace gates, he turns to Rina. “What do you need to do to find the prince?”
“I must go back to my shop. The sewing machine is enchanted. It carries the memory of each thread that passes through it. I will call upon the magic within to help me find the prince.”
I don’t quite understand how it will work, but I only hope that it will. If the prince is wearing something not made by Rina, I don’t know how we’ll find him.
As if sensing my troubled thoughts, Devon turns to me. “If Rina cannot locate the prince, we will have to go before the wolf shifter queen. I suspect she will have the answers we seek. It was her cousin who lay dead in the castle; there is no denying she had a hand in this plot.” He looks to Kai. “The words of the Elder confirmed it as well.”
When we reach Rina’s shop, she leads us inside, locking the door behind us. She moves to the back, and I notice the sewing machine in the corner. I blink in astonishment as I watch it working on its own, creating a fine dress before my eyes.
Rina turns to me and smiles. “It is how I get my creations done quickly.”
I turn to Nyx, remembering his gift with illusion magic. “Does every shifter have a magical ability of some sort?”
He shakes his head. “Not all practice the arts. It takes great concentration and years of patience to master a particular type of magic.”
“What made you want to learn illusion magic?” I ask, curious to know.
“My family is rabbit shifters. As such, we are underestimated by many others. Specifically, the larger shifters,” he says. “I have found illusion magic can make us appear much larger or greater in number than we actually are, thus intimidating a foe. It can also shield us from danger by hiding us behind magical barriers, such as the one I placed around the cottage.”
This makes sense. I understand now why he would choose to learn these types of spells.
Rina closes her eyes and begins speaking a string of strange words. After a moment, she lifts her gaze to us. “The prince is in a tower on an estate near the edge of the dark forest. It is one of the only green spaces for many miles around it.” She cocks her head to the side. “It is odd, is it not? So that should not be too difficult to find.”
I look to Kai and the others. “She is describing my home. But why would he be there?”
A loud knock from the front of the store startles me.
Rina looks to us. “I’ll go see who it is. I will be back shortly.”
She leaves to go to the front of the store.
A scream pierces the air, stopping my heart, followed by a loud crash and growling.
Devon grips my forearm, pulling me behind him as Kai and everyone else moves in front of me as well. I’m so terrified I can barely breathe as we wait while Devon goes to the door. Carefully, he pulls it open and peers into the room.
He bristles and begins growling. “Who are you?” he asks in a low and threatening voice. “Why are you here?”
“I’ve come to speak with the girl,” a man’s voice answers, and I note the gravelly rasp of his tone.
“There is no girl,” Devon replies. “Leave. Now. Before I end you.”
“I can scent her,” the man replies. “I know she is here. I mean her no harm. I merely wish to speak with her. It is about the prince.”
I push past my mates and step through the door into the front entry room. I notice Rina is unharmed and standing off to one side, her eyes trained on the man. “What about the prince?” I ask, but then still. My entire body begins trembling as the man stares at me, partially shifted in his wolf form.
Sensing my fear, he changes until he appears completely human. He bows low. “Forgive me, my lady. I mean you no harm. My vow. Yes, I am a wolf shifter, but I
