Page 140 of The Blood Witch

“It takes time,” Alice interjected. “And we’re trying, we?—”

“We don’t have time!” Vee screamed. Amalia was shaking, shuddering on the ground, but the Wolf didn’t seem to notice. “We’redying. Shifters, Demons—we’re dying out here in the city, all on our own. Why do we need to wait? Where’s the justice in that?”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Fey tried to reason.

“Someone needs to pay,” Vee told her, fists tight at her sides. There were tears on her cheeks. “Someone needs to pay for our suffering. For our deaths. So many of us have died, and the council isn’t doing anything to stop it. They’re keeping everything the same, andno one is paying for what they did to us.”

Another shudder from Amalia, and this time everyone noticed, even Vee. They all turned to look toward the princess, bent and powerless under Vee’s control.

Her face was pale and her lips were blue as she convulsed.

She wasn’t breathing.

Vee took a sharp breath and dropped her hold on the princess.

Amalia gasped, drawing a deep, painful breath into her lungs. The force of it made her cough, body shaking as she tried to restart her breathing.

“I’m sorry,” Vee whispered, looking horrified. She swallowed hard, staring at Amalia. “I forgot. I didn’t mean…”

“Viv… please,” Jasper said, stepping forward. “Please let her go. Don’t hurt her again.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Vee whined. She glanced between Jasper and the princess, her eyes pleading. “Sometimes I forget about the breathing, that’s all. I didn’t mean…”

Jasper took another step toward her, and Vee tensed.

“Don’t do it, Uncle Jas,” she warned in a dark voice.

He ignored her.

“Let her go,” he said softly. “Please, Viv. No one else needs to get hurt. Please, just listen to me. We want to help you. But you need to trust me.”

Vee took a step backward, shaking her head slowly from side to side. Crying.

“Viv, look at me,” Jasper continued, coming even closer to her. “If you let her go, we can fix this. We can?—”

He stopped, and the words caught in his throat. He made an odd sound, like a gurgle.

Vee wasn’t looking at him. With her head still down, she stared at the ground beneath her, at the ring of light there. But her arm was extended, her hand pointed toward him.

“There is no fixing this,” she said, and she curled her fingers toward her palm. “There’s no going back. Not anymore. Not until this is finished. Not until they all pay.”

It’s never easy to watch the transformation—to see a Shifter move between forms. It’s a monstrous process, horrifying to witness. And it’s even worse when it’s forced.

Jasper let out a guttural scream as his bones twisted, breaking andreforming. He screamed as his muscles extended, his face elongating and fur sprouting all over his body. Screamed, until it turned into a howl, and suddenly there was a Wolf where he had once been, a huge golden-brown Wolf cowering on the roof.

It was too much for Fey to take.

Drawing her blades, Fey stepped into the light.

Chapter 68

JASPER

It was agony. Agony, being forced into his Wolf form and pulled from his human body against his will.

Agony to see his sister’s little girl standing there, so lost and alone and afraid. So hurt.

Agony to see Fey dive for her, going for her throat. Her blade glittering in the bright lights.

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