Rowan’s eyes shifted instantly as he ripped the heart from another guard. “Amy.” He stepped towards me, but Garith reappeared behind Shannon. He smiled as he pushed her away, taking the knife in his own hands.
“If I were you, I would tell everyone to stop fucking moving.” Garith shoved the knife deeper inside of me, making me groan, and Rowan slammed his aura out, dropping everyone but me and Garith to the ground. A power flung outwards, creating a bubble around the two of us, leaving Rowan standing outside of it. “Look at your mate, granddaughter. So strong, so powerful… brought to his knees over a whore.” He snorted as he moved me forward. He pushed me to the edge of the bubble, so close I could count the darker lines of blue in Erubus’s eyes. “Look at how helpless he is.”
Rowan crashed against the bubble, his fist pounding on the outside. “Let her go. You can take me. Leave her out of this.” The panic in his eyes was clear to me, but he tried to hide it. I watched his emotions shutter, and then his face was cold and calculating.
Garith laughed. “You are smart; I will give you that. But my granddaughter here, she is my insurance.” He grinned. “Now what are we going to do?”
Erubus faded from Rowan’s eyes. “Tell me what you want.”
“Well, you see… I kind of have all the cards here.” Garith twisted the knife a little deeper. “You see, my lovely granddaughter is stuck with me, in here.” Garith reached another hand around and grabbed my face, earning a growl from Rowan. “She is impaled on a silver knife, and we know what that means.”
Erubus ran out of the trees, speeding directly to Nix. MATE!
Nix whirled and furrowed her brow. What are you doing here? Her question was through gritted teeth. I couldn’t protect them from my pain, not since she made me promise to share everything with her the last time we were dealing with Verity’s magic.
I’m here to help you.
Megan trotted over. “How? There is silver in Amy’s body.”
“So what?” Erubus walked closer and rubbed against both of my wolves.
“Wolves can’t shift with silver in their bodies.” Megan bumped his shoulder.
Erubus licked her snout. “Wolves can’t, but Lycans can.” He turned to face Nix. “You can still shift.”
“How can I shift into my wolf with his knife inside of me? It will move or tear. And it isn’t like Garith is going to sit there and wait for me to finish shifting.”
Erubus shook his head. “You do not understand.”
“What are you talking about?” I looked back at my wolves, trying to pay attention to inside and outside.
“Let her go.” Rowan slammed his fist on the barrier. “You can take me instead; isn’t that what you wanted to begin with?”
Garith threw back his head, pulling me back with him, deeper onto the knife. “That was before I found out that this bitch already mated you and is ready to step in as the next ruler.” Garith leveled Rowan with a look. “No… I think she is going after you.” He grinned.
Rowan pounded on the bubble, and I saw a flash. I recognized it. This wasn’t a full shield like I did at the cabin. This was a temporary one, one that shrinks as the magic is used up. “Let her go.” Every time Rowan smashed the bubble, it shrank. Not by a lot, but enough. His eyes bored into mine, and I saw a flicker of panic.
“Lycans can always shift,” Erubus called out again, drawing my attention. His eyes flashed towards me. “Lycans are more powerful than a wolf. They are stronger and faster. They can always shift.”
I know what the books said. I called out in pain when the knife shifted.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Garith leaned over my shoulder and pressed his face against mine. “No talking to each other’s wolves. Cai tur flo shi’nockta.”
Erubus was yanked out of my mind, our bond rebounding from the magic that Garith spoke into my ear. Rowan staggered, and both of my wolves howled their pain. “What the fuck did you do?” Rowan hit the shield, causing it to flicker and shrink again.
Garith smiled. “I did exactly what I needed to do. I stopped your wolves from crossing that pesky little bond bridge to talk to each other. This way, you can’t plan together. This is between the two of us, my king. My granddaughter is honestly just my bargaining chip.”
Rowan snarled, his eyes flashing and teeth snapping into place. “Let her go.”
“There you are. Erubus, king of the Lycans, the beast of the capital…” Garith leaned into me, pressing me against the barrier and shoving the knife further into my back, but this time I was prepared, and I bit the inside of my cheek. Garith turned to me with a smirk. “Quiet as a mouse, huh? Well, let’s see what you can withstand then, granddaughter.”