Page 84 of The Kingdom's Crown

"And the others?"

Wendell shrugged. "Fine, calm. Well, Cress is pacing."

I smiled at that, and then Wendell vanished, replaced by a massive white tiger swimming amiably through the water, butting his head against my waist as he passed.

"Are you nervous?" Thao asked.

"A little," I said. Wendell had given me his full record of the experience already, but for all my insistence on this act, I couldn't help but agree with Aric that my transformation would probably be different.

"I'll be as gentle as I can be," Thao said, unusually somber.

I nodded. "It's not the pain I'm nervous for, really." It was everything that came after. If the magic would fail, if it wouldn't, how I might feel as a tiger.

Thao's hands settled on my shoulders, anchoring my toes to the tile floor of the tub. "There's no consequence but getting you healed up if this doesn't work. And Wendell and I will be with you if it does."

I nodded again and then held my breath as Thao bent to kiss my brow.

"I'm ready to work stabilizing charms if they're needed," Aric said softly from the corner.

"And to duck out if I shift," I reminded him, and he reluctantly agreed.

"Ready?" Thao asked.

I probably wasn't, not really. I wasn't frightened, but I wasn'tready. We hadn't warned my mother I would be trying this, too afraid it might get to the council, and while I was confident I would be fine, success or failure, there was a little chiming 'if' at the back of my head.

"Ready," I said, because in my experience, taking a risk wasn't something anyone was ever fully prepared for.

Thao took a deep breath, and Wendell's tiger sat down at my back, massive brow against my spine, hot breath caressing me as he held me up.

Thao began to chant in Mennarian, and while my head was too full to sort through the words, I knew what they meant. Prayers to the tiger at the head of his family, who imparted this gift. Prayers to the sea to bless change and transformation. To the earth for steadying the magic and solidifying forms. I shut my eyes, matching my breaths to the slow beat of Wendell's, letting Thao's low voice wash over me, the dizzying clash of the scent of oils making my head spin.

Thao kissed my lips once, briefly, and then water shifted and lapped at my skin. I peeked and found the large orange and black beast before me, nuzzling his head at the top of the water, into the skin just below my ribs. Wendell moved behind me too, standing and turning, and I glanced once at Aric, trying to hide the little flicker of worry I was fighting off. My mage smiled at me, ducking his head, eyes glinting with awareness and the smallest, most faintly challenging smirk curling the corners of his lips. He saw the girl in me who wanted to suddenly run away, and he dared her to go through with the act.

I turned, smiling slightly as Wendell nudged his massive jaw against one breast, and then let me drape myself over his great back.

Thao had asked if he could bite my ass, and without waiting for my answer, the others had all refused to let it be marred. It was kind of flattering, if a little galling too. We'd settled on the back of my thigh instead, a safely fleshy area carefully chosen for the wound so it would miss any major arteries that would be harder to heal. If the magic worked, the bite would heal quickly. And if it didn't…

Hopefully, mine or Aric's magic would make quick work of it. Or I would be left with an uncomfortable seat for quite a while.

Thao and Wendell were both chuffing, trying to soothe me with the happy sounds, and I wondered if they could smell my anxiety through all the oils. A massive, furry chin rested itself on the crease of my bottom, and I let out a little giggle as Thao waited for me to calm myself. I wrapped my arms around Wendell's shoulders and sighed.

"Go on," I said.

Thao licked at the back of my thigh, and my eyes widened briefly, muscles stiffening at the strange drag of his rough tongue on my skin. It was simultaneously threatening and an oddly pleasant touch. Wendell's head lifted, and I pressed my face into his wet fur as Thao licked my thigh again. I wished I was facing Aric, able to see his expression daring me to be brave as Thao pulled away. But perhaps it was for the best. Aric might not have been able to keep the worry out of his face.

There was a rumble behind me, a warning, and then four symmetrical points of pressure around the back of my thigh. Thao's breath rasped over my skin, and my arms squeezed around Wendell's strong shoulders. The pressure was gentle, more a reminder for me to hold as still as I could so Thao didn't tear muscle needlessly when he bit.

And then it was cruel, digging and stabbing, aching like brutal fingers. I buried a cry into Wendell's fur, but when Thao's bitefinallybroke through flesh, there was no volume to my scream.

Stay still. Just wait, I reminded myself, gasping through an open mouth.Just wait.

A soft gurgle of pain escaped my throat as incisors dug through muscle, the sensation somehow numb and painful at the same time. And then it was hot, Thao's teeth retreating and the nerves in my skin screaming in answer, grieving for the wounds. Wendell shifted in my hold, and it took me a moment to move my focus away from the bite burning on the back of my leg to remember how to loosen my grip on him.

"Bryony?" Aric rasped, appearing at the ledge of the tub, brow tangled.

"It will take a moment," Thao murmured, back in his human form.

"I…" I blinked, wincing as the heat in my leg grew.

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