Page 55 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

“No need to mention it.”

He popped open the window and eased inside. Red splattered the wall as a gurgle came from his victim. Theneedcut off abruptly, making me wince.

I stepped in behind Shen, and there, tied to a silver chain nailed into the wall, was a black-eyed, blue-haired nymph.

I blinked and blinked again.

“Did you know?” I whispered.

Shen shook his head. The nymph curled against the wall away from us, his skin red and peeling. My heart ached for the little guy.

“How do you treat a nymph?” I whispered to myself.

“You were the one who knew what to do last time,” Shen replied.

“I was going off of instinct!”

“Then trust yourself. Your instincts are there for a reason.”

I speared him with a glare and huffed. He was right. I crouched down. “Hey there. We’re here to get you to safety, ok?”

The nymph hissed. Whelp, that instinct didn’t work.

Then I felt theneed. His soul was crying for a connection to water. I offered the waterskin from my pouch. Though he guzzled it, the water wasn’t enough. Heneededwater that was connected to the earth.

“He needs water, but not this. Where is the closest passageway connected to the ocean?” I asked.

“The sewers.”

I nodded.

“Hey, I met one of your kind not too long ago. She had long, blue hair much like yours. She was deep in a cavern?—”

The nymph darted forward, reaching out and grasping my hand. Water curled like claws, piercing my skin. “You hurt?” he snarled, showing his teeth.

I kept very still, even as I felt blood dribble down from the punctures he’d created in my skin. “No, sweet one. I did not hurt her nor your siblings. They are safe.”

He blinked up at me, his eyes slowly reversing color to become the blue of his mother’s. “They ok?”

“They’re fine. But we won’t be if we don’t get you out of here.”

He nodded. I turned to Shen, who was already working on the chain. Unlike him and my brother, I couldn’t pick locks. Wasn’t one of my specialties.

We froze as footsteps creaked outside the door. Lamplight passed beneath the frame. “Anything?” a voice asked.

“They said there are two who’ve come for the product. So far, they’re still at large. Stay at your posts.”

“Yes, sir,” two voices said.

The footsteps retreated. I breathed out.

The door opened, allowing bright orange light to enter the room.

“Your evening meal—” The guard’s eyes widened as he saw us. “Intrud—” He cut off when Shen’s blade caught him in the throat. He went down, but there was another behind him.

“Get the nymph,” I said, running to the door. The other guard was there. He brought up a hand, sending lightning at me. I grabbed my cloak and wrapped it around myself, using it as a shield. Static shocked me a bit, but the cloak absorbed most of it.

Between strikes—even lightning users have limits—I dove forward, taking his feet out from under him. He went down with a yelp of pain as his ankle popped. I punched his throat, making him gasp for air so he couldn’t think about lighting me up like some sort of shish kebab. I rolled him over, snaking my arm around his neck, and it was nighty-night for the dude.

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