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“I thought so.” She looked me over. “Do you know how to change back?”

Change back?Could I?Was that even a possibility?

I wanted to ask her about that, but, of course, I couldn’t. I would have to change back to do that, in order to speak the question, and that was not happening. A twisted, mirthless bubble of laughter lodged in my chest alongside those inescapable words.

“Well.” She stood back up, dusting her hands off on her skirts. “Come along, then. Can’t stay here in the mud forever. Let’s get you sorted out.”

Sorted out.

I didn’t know if that was possible. It seemed an insurmountable task. But with so few choices, I would follow her anywhere.

23

Fell

SHE WAS GONE.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone gone gone gone gone gone gone gone gone gone gone gone gone.

I had failed her. Assumed, arrogantly, that Tamsyn would always be there, just like time: days, hours, moments winding into forever. Something as solid and lasting as an old oak that would stand years from now, well into old age. Thatshewould always be there, thewrongwife, the wife I had never set out to claim.

I should have nourished the seed I felt growing between us, strengthened the roots. Instead, I had left her alone, vulnerable, easy prey for a monster that was not supposed to exist. And for Arkin... another monster.

I was not blind to the fact that he had been with her. He had been alone in the woods with Tamsyn when he ought not to have been, after expressing his fucked-up desire to get rid of her. I shouldn’t have trusted him. Clearly, he had ignored my command and taken matters into his own hands. Pigheaded bastard. All things considered, I didn’t feel a great amount of grief over his loss. The world had a way of setting things to rights, balancing the weights. Evening scores. Arkin had tried to hurt Tamsyn, and he’d got what was coming to him.

I’d owed her safety. My protection. It was the most fundamentalthing I could do for her. Perhaps the only thing anyone believed Icouldadequately provide given who I was. No one would believe anything soft or tender pulsed within me. I was the Beast of the Borderlands. An expert killer. A ruthless warrior. Feared. Revered. Unbreakable. A liege lord who could be counted upon to protect all those around him... especially his wife.

She was mine, and I had not held on to her tightly enough. Not closely enough. Not enough.

The loss of her burrowed deep inside me, teeth clamping down and sinking, clanging against bone. The guilt and misery of it vibrated through me, smarting, stinging, fueling my hate. My desperate thirst for revenge.

Dragon.

It was out there. Still taking from me. Stealing away the things that made up my life. My parents. Tamsyn. Its existence blew open the doors to the old hatred I’d thought long buried. Buried with the dragons—as they were supposed to be. Dust littering the earth.

“Fell.” Mari emphasized my name in such a way that I suspected she had been saying it for quite some time.

Blinking, I focused on her face.

“We need to stop and rest the horses.” She glanced behind her to where our party was working hard to catch up.

We’d been riding since yesterday. Without stopping. Without rest. Without sleep. The cold cut deep, like knives on skin. Our breaths clouded in front of our lips. And yet the horses were lathered with sweat, muscles quivering beneath their gleaming coats as we made our way through the skog.

There were only four of us. My three best warriors: Mari, Magnus, and Vidar. The rest I had tasked with finding the nearest falconer and sending a message both north and south. North, to the Borg. My people there needed to be warned. Needed to prepare and brace themselves. And south, to the City, to Hamlin. He deserved to know, too. Or rather the people did. He had citizens to protect.

An alarm needed to be raised. A warning. A single word heavyenough to strike terror into the heart of every man, woman, and child.Dragon.

Only the one word was necessary, but I had included more. I’d sent additional information. To the south, I instructed my warriors to enclose a message informing them that Tamsyn was missing. Lost.Taken.

They were her family, even if they were a wretched lot who had used her as their whipping girl. She was devoted to them, and they seemed fond of her. That had not been pretense. Their eyes had softened whenever they looked at her, when they bid her farewell.

And there was the captain of the guard. That bastard wanted her for himself. I could see it in the way his eyes tracked her, his pupils dilating, his mouth parting as though he was preparing to take a bite out of a juicy bit of fruit.