Page 87 of Bound By Roses

“Are you okay?” I ask the man, raising both hands in front of me so that he can see that I’m unarmed. Adrenaline is no doubt coursing through him, and even though he knows I helped him, anyone could be seen as an enemy right now. Part of me wishes Abby had left him restrained, though I don’t blame her for releasing him.

“I am now,” he says. His voice is shaky, but he’s regained more control than I was expecting. “Unless you’re here to torture me, too.” He laughs a little, but there’s no humour in it. Only fear that we might very well, in fact, have come for the same reason. And, in a way, we have.

“We’re here to talk. No knives, I promise. Can I sit?” I gesture to the empty chair. I don’t actually want to sit, but I want to give the illusion that this man has some control over this situation. He’s still very much our prisoner, but he needs to know that we haven’t taken his free will entirely.

He needs to know that before I can go through with this.

He nods. “So this is Marein? It’s not what I was expecting.”

“You weren’t with Imelda’s forces when she attacked us two months ago?” If he were, this wouldn’t be his first time seeing this place. Or, at least, the upper portion of it. The underwater city will be new to him, regardless.

“No,” he says, confirming my suspicions. “She only told some to go. No one wanted to, but most of them can’t refuse her. I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t have to. Imelda isn’t entirely human. She can influence your will.”

“But not mine. Why?”

Abby and I share a look and I let her take this one. “She manipulates people through lust. If you’re not already attracted to her, she’ll hold very little power over you.”

He laughs once, but then winces when it tugs at the wound in his side. “Well, that explains a lot.” He pauses a moment to watch Abby check the bandages on his arms. He doesn’t so much as flinch, so either the burns Jade left on his skin are healing fast or he’s been given some of that Gods awful slime from the healers. “I never imagined that things could get worse in Lunae. We thought you were dead. We were told that an assassin from Marein killed both you and the king. Told this war was to avenge you both.”

“I killed your king,” I say. I need him to trust me, and trust can’t be built on a foundation of lies.

“Wekilled him,” Abby corrects. Neither of us dealt that final merciful blow, but his fate was sealed. “But we didn’t know what Imelda was. I want to help the people of Lunae. Do you?” Seems she’s getting right to the point.

“Yes,” he says, and I believe he means it.

I blow out a breath and stand. “I’m going to show you something. You have my word that you won’t be harmed, but I need you to do your best not to scream.”

“What are you doing?” he asks when I strip off my clothes. Abby moves to his side and takes his hand in an effort to reassure him, though I don’t know how much good it’s going to do.

I take another breath and let the wolf have me. I grit my teeth as bones snap and reform and fur sprouts from my pores. I blink, and suddenly I’m seeing the man through fresh eyes. In the brief moments it’s taken me to change, his face has gone from curious apprehension to aghast horror. He’s moved as farback as the bed will allow as he stares down at me with wide eyes.

The scent of his fear is thick in the air, so I sit on my haunches in an attempt to make myself look more dog-liked. The people of Lunae fear wolves as much as they revere them for driving prey to their borders under the light of the full moon. At least, they did.

Clearly, it’s not going to work with me like this, so I shift back into my human form. He calms only slightly when I take a seat at the end of the bed, keeping some distance between us so he can stop seeing me as a threat. As if to punctuate that, Abby moves to my side and puts her hands on my shoulders in a show of trust and support. Ty still sees her as Lunae’s heir, so this display of loyalty will do more than anything I can do.

“Wh-what are you?” he stammers.

I tell him of Imelda’s curse, leaving out no details. He listens intently, but with an understandable tinge of disbelief. I’m asking him to believe in blood magic and curses, and even though he just saw me turn into an animal, that’s a lot to expect from a human.

When I’m finished, he sits in silence for a long while. Neither Abby nor I speak while he processes everything he needs to. When he speaks again, it’s a fair question. “What does this have to do with me?”

And now, the hard part. “You were brought here so that I could…change you.”

His eyes go wide again. “You want to turn me into a monster?” His voice raises on that last word and I have to resist the urge to flinch.

“I don’t want to, but yes. That’s what I’m asking.” The Gods know I don’t want to.

He looks from me to Abby and then back again. “Why bother asking? Aren’t I your prisoner?”

“You’re a prisoner of Marein, but you’re notmyprisoner. We can’t free you, so if you refuse, you’ll probably be forced into something else. Marein’s vengeance runs deep. The next person who comes to your room probably won’t be asking for your permission. Erwyn certainly didn’t.”

I think over my words and the dangerous truth in them. “If I agree, can you guarantee I’ll be safe?”

“No. We’re still at war, and sending you there as a spy puts you at risk. Abby will be able to connect with you when you’re in your wolf form and hopefully gather the information we need.”

His eyes slide to her again. “You’re the rightful ruler of Lunae. I’ll do it if this is what you want.”

---