***
Ranealya lifted her head from the bed and watched the steady rise and fall of the children’s chest. At last, they slept. After destroying nine of the princess’s ribbons, their nursemaid finally had declared that enough damage had been done and it was time for bed. Thankfully, both the prince and princess were in the same room tonight, making them easier to guard. She really didn’t want to be forced to choose between them if attacked.
She hopped off the bed and sniffed the air. So far, no sign of Malinius or the other shapeshifters. A quick circle of the nursery showed only one way in. The locked windows were too small to allow a bird to fly in and too high to allow a small creature like a mouse to climb up. A small wardrobe stood in the corner with the key still in the door, but a quick inspection showed only clothes inside. Everything was as safe as it could be for the royal heirs.
But this wasn’t the royal palace in Dromore, and if Malinius wanted to attack, this would be the ideal place to do so. No thick walls with soldiers patrolling the ramparts. No collection of knights sworn to protect their king. No maze of defenses to overcome before he got to his prey.
She cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the children, making sure they were asleep before shifting into the maid who’d attended them earlier. Surprisingly, the door to the hallway was unlocked when she tested it, and she slipped out of the nursery to find the king.
All the rooms in the castle clustered around the main tower which housed the great hall below. King Dezrik was deep in conversation with another man, and a few soldiers stood guard around the perimeter of the room.
“There was a report of a group of shapeshifters causing a fight at an inn in Wellix,” the man said.
The king nodded, his face grim. “How many killed?”
“Seven, Your Majesty. One of them was a shifter.” The man gripped the hilt of his sword so the firelight caught the crest on his scabbard. The Knight Protector, the king’s closest bodyguard. No chance she could stroll up to His Royal Majesty without getting past him. “They are becoming bolder since you had that argument with Malinius.”
“I know.”
“Have you given any thought to his demands?”
“What can I do?” The king rose from his throne and paced in front of the fireplace. “By giving him what he wants, I’d be acknowledging his race as a legitimate part of our kingdom, not to mention exposing the fact he’s been a royal spy for generations. What would my people think if they discovered the creatures they feared had been mingling with them on my orders? How would they react if one of them became their lord and ruled over them?”
“How would it be any different from any other races?”
“The other races have gone out of their way to avoid us. They keep to themselves and wish only to be left in peace. As long as they continue that way, I have no issue with them. These shapeshifters, however…” His voice drifted off, his face becoming drawn with worry. “I fear their ability to become whomever they choose to be. What’s to stop them from mimicking you or me?”
“You think I haven’t considered that?” The Knight Protector rubbed the hilt of his sword. “I’ve been studying Malinius for years. The one thing I’ve always noticed about him was that his eyes never appear to be human, no matter what form he takes.”
“I’ve noticed the same as well. Perhaps that is the only sign we have to differentiate them from our people.” The king paused and stared at the floor. “I have made my decision, and I stand by it. But, on that note, I will no longer rely on Malinius’s service. To do so will only strengthen his claims.”
“And his frustration.”
The door to the great hall opened, letting in a blast of wind that flickered the candles and made the hair on the back of Ranealya’s neck stand on end. Malinius’s scent hung heavy on the air.
“Your Majesty, might I have a word with you?” a man dressed in noble finery asked as he strolled into the room.
“Of course, Lord Tevron,” the king said, but the Knight Protector stiffened as though he could smell Malinius, too.
“It seems we have some unexpected guests tonight.” The lord’s voice deepened into Malinius’s. “Perhaps I should introduce them to you.”
The door banged open, allowing a pack of over thirty feral wolves into the great hall. The Knight Protector drew his sword and moved front of the king, followed by the soldiers in the room. But the wolves crept closer, their lips drawn back in growls to reveal their razor sharp fangs.
Malinius slid into his natural form, still clad in Lord Tevron’s clothes. “You see how it easy it was for me and my people to slip past your defenses, Dezrik?”
The king’s face hardened, showing no evidence of fear. “You’ve made your point, Malinius, but more importantly, you’ve shown yourself to be a threat to the crown and will be dealt with accordingly.”
“If you survive the night.” Malinius laughed and waved the pack forward. “It’s time for the new King of Elgeus.”
The wolves sprang forward to attack the first row of soldiers. The king’s gaze never wavered as he lifted his hand into the air. Bolts of blue lightning rained down upon the shifters, turning their growls into whines.
“Hold your ground,” the Knight Protector shouted over the chaos. “Remember our first priority is to protect the king.”
The king and his men were so focused on driving back the wolves that they paid little attention to Malinius as he climbed the stairs to the floor where the children slept. When he spied Ranealya outside their door, his mouth curled into a cruel grin. “Had a change of heart?”
She shook her head, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings. “I won’t let you kill innocent children.”
“Watch me.” He lunged toward her.
She waited until the last second before she twisted to the side, shoving Malinius to the thick wooden railing as he passed. He toppled over the side and crashed onto the stone floor below. But even that fall wouldn’t stop him. It only spared her a few moments to hide the children.
Locking the door behind her, Ranealya shifted back into the kitten and yowled near the wardrobe.
The prince sat up as a crash sounded from below. The princess pulled the covers up to her nose and starting crying. “I’m scared.”
Ranealya yowled even louder. Then get inside the wardrobe before they break their way inside.
The prince stared at her, understanding dawning on his face as she rubbed her side along the open door. “We can hide in the wardrobe.”
He grabbed his sister’s hand and dashed inside just as the first blow hit their bedroom door. Ranealya shifted back into her natural form and shut the wardrobe behind them, locking the key and throwing it out an open window just as the wooden door began to splinter. She turned and crouched behind one of the beds, waiting to jump on whoever was trying to break into the nursery.
The next blow shattered the door, and Malinius roared into the room. “Where are they?”
A whimper came from inside the wardrobe.
“I’ll use their guts to hang them from the ramparts once I’m done with them.” Malinius leapt toward the wardrobe.
Ranealya timed her jump to intercept him. They tumbled back onto the floor, their claws extended. “Leave the children out of this,” she hissed.
“Not until they’re all dead.” Malinius knocked her off with enough force to slam her into the wall.
The wind rushed out of her lungs, leaving a stabbing pain their wake. Her head swam from the impact. By the time her vision had sharpened, Malinius was rattling the wardrobe from side to side to tip it over.
The children’s screams healed her injuries faster than any magic could. She rammed into Malinius, driving him toward the door and as far away from the young royals as possible. His teeth and claws ripped at her bare skin, but she dug in her heels to keep him from moving forward.
Shouts filled the stairwell below, distracting him long enough for Raneaya to stab her claws into his gut and run the
m along the flesh from his ribs to below his navel. This time, it was his turn to struggle for air through the pain. His eyes bulged as she withdrew her bloody claws and pushed him back.
“Malinius is attacking the children,” Dezrik cried from the top of the stairs.
Ranealya ducked back into the room a split second before the first bolt of magic struck Malinius. By the time the next one hit, she’d managed to shift back into the form of a kitten and retreat to the wardrobe. From there, she watched as the Knight Protector sliced his sword through Malinius’s neck and sent his head rolling into the room.
An eerie silence followed. The Knight Protector’s chest bellowed from the exertion of running up the stairs and delivering the death blow. He lifted his eyes and stared straight at Ranealya as though he could see the wildness in her eyes. Her heart rose into her throat. Would they believe her if she was forced to shift and proclaim her innocence?
Dezrik ran into the empty room, his face a ghastly shade of pale except for the single line of blood that streaked his cheek. “Where are my children?”
“Father,” the young prince shouted from inside the wardrobe. The locked door rattled. “We’re in here. The kitten locked us inside.”
The king pressed his ear against the door. A single tear broke free from his eye. “Is your sister in there with you?”
“Yes, Father,” the princess answered, and Dezrik lost the last traces of his composure. A sob of relief rose from the king’s throat as he wrapped his arms around the wardrobe.
“We’ll send for a locksmith immediately, Your Majesty.” The Knight Protector laid a comforting hand on his liege’s shoulder, but his eyes never left Ranealya. “I wonder if there’s any truth to what the children said.”
“If there is, that kitten will have a bowl full of cream three times a day for the rest of her life.” The king wiped his eyes and stood, his royal mask back in place. “Mariliel must have been watching over us to place that kitten along our path this morning.”
Mariliel, nothing. If I hadn’t decided to intervene…
Ranealya stopped herself mid-thought. Why had she decided to intervene? After all, they were just humans. She owed them nothing. In fact, they probably didn’t need her help. The king and his Knight Protector looked like they had things well in hand. Malinius’s plan to kill Dezrik would have failed.
Except that if she hadn’t been there, would either of the children survived?
As much as she wanted to believe she had complete control of her destiny, she’d seen the hand of the goddess interfere in her life before.
A soldier ran into the room. “Your Majesty, we’ve found Lord Tevron’s body. He hasn’t been dead long.”
“Tonight has shown me we can no longer ignore the threat among us.” Revenge hardened the lines of Dezrik’s face as he pointed to Malinius’s severed head. “Let it be known throughout the land that I will no longer tolerate any member of their race within my borders. When I return to Dromore, I will issue a royal proclamation rewarding any subject who kills a shapeshifter.”
The Knight Protector nodded, his expression unreadable. His gaze slid to Ranealya once again.
She stared back. Any retreat on her end could be viewed as an admission of guilt.
A man with a set of picks entered the room, and within a few minutes, the children were free from the locked wardrobe and safely in their father’s arms. Ranealya used the distraction to slip out of the room and descend into the Great Hall.
The bodies of the slain shapeshifters littered the floor, a wild mangle of fur and feathers that mocked the humans they’d been before Travodus created their race. The soldiers dragged them outside to the pile forming in the center of the courtyard. The last body they removed was Malinius’s. Once they placed him at the top of the pile, they doused the bodies with a barrel of wine, the purple liquid mixing with the red blood that still dripped from their fresh corpses.
Three soldiers bearing torches approached the pile. Dezrik stood in the doorway, his children on either side of him, and gave a slow nod. The flames ignited the wine-soaked bodies with enough light to drive away the darkness. The smells of singed fur and burning flesh filled the courtyard, turning Ranealya’s stomach.
She crouched in a crevice of the Great Hall’s walls, her body refusing to move. Malinius’s reckless plan had damned them all, just like she’d predicted. How much longer did she have before she was discovered and hunted for the price on her head?
Then from the memories of the night she longed to forget, the words of the goddess, Elios, filled her mind. You did not choose this fate, yet it has been given to you. But all this has happened for a reason, Nyelle. You are the first of your kind, and you will be the last. Do not squander these gifts.
Was tonight the beginning of the end?
A pair of boots crunched against the gravel beside her, and a man scooped her up into his hands before she could escape. Dezrik held her up to his face, a deep furrow creasing the skin above his nose. “Little kitten, I am at a loss of what to do with you. You saved my children, and for that I am grateful, but I cannot allow you to stay here after what your kind has done tonight.”
Her heart squeezed so tightly, she almost doubled over in his hands. He knew what she was.
He leveled his gaze with her, his dark eyes serious. “Therefore, I will grant you mercy and a chance to run before my edict takes effect. If you are wise, you will be far outside my borders by the end of the week. Do you understand me, little kitten?”
Anger boiled up inside her, and she resisted the urge to take a swipe at him with her paw. Mercy? Why not a pardon? Why not an exemption to the fate that awaited the others? Why not a warm room with plenty of food in a place where she could live out the rest of her days in comfort?
Her body wanted to shift into something more powerful, more threatening than her current form. She was more than just a little kitten. She was a huntress, a predator, a creature of legend. But self-perseverance overruled her hot temper, and she stayed as she was.
Or so she thought.
Her reflection in the king’s eyes revealed the tiniest of shifts, the unnatural glow that emanated from her own eyes. Dezrik’s face paled, and he tightened his grip around her. “I’m giving you one chance. Do not waste my act of gratitude.”
He set her down, leaving her outside the Great Hall when the door closed behind him and his entourage.
Ranealya stared at the fire as the flames rose higher. For centuries, she’d stayed on the fringes of society by choice.
Now she would be forced to if she wanted to survive.
Master Tyrrus Takes an Apprentice
A Thread of Magic Page 5