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Volund limped past me, his hand clenching his side from where I had broken his ribs. “I’ve had enough of thisbullshitfrom the two of you,” he sneered. He grabbed his fallen blade then staggered over to Sarai and Elias. “I really wanted to kill her first to watch you suffer. But it seems like I’m going to have to kill you instead, dog, seeing as how you won’t let her die. And what a shame. You were a great assassin. But I won’t need you anymore once I am the one true king.”

Elias’s eyes fluttered. I could feel his broken arm already beginning to heal, but he still had to gasp for bits of air after nearly drowning. “Kill me and let her live,” he breathed, as a bone snapped itself back into place. His golden eyes fixed on me, defeat swirling behind them.

“No!” I screamed.

“Shut up!” Volund spat, his temper flaring. “Neither of you will be leaving here alive.”

A cough from Balor had my head swiveling in his direction. Gods, he was still alive! Although blood pooled around him, he was somehow barely conscious. His gaze met mine. “Eyes…” he gasped, blood dripping from his mouth. “Wolf…”

My heart fluttered.The eyes of the wolf. I turned back to Elias with desperate determination. “Elias,” I said. “Shift.”

Volund only laughed. “With the amount of wolfsbane in his system, he can’t shift, you fool.”

But he didn’t know that we had the help of another witch. He didn’t know that Elias had been drinking a potion to recover more quickly. There was still a chance. He had nearly recovered, he said so himself. He wasn’t fully there this morning, but now…

I had no idea if Elias could shift yet, but it was our only hope. Whatever memory I would recover when I saw him in wolf form, Balor thinks would save us. I had to try.

“Shift, Elias,” I repeated.

Volund frowned. “If you do somehow shift, I will gut her here and now,” he threatened.

A growl came deep from Elias’s throat.

“Please, Elias,” I begged. “Trust me.”

Elias gave me an imploring look that I knew said,But he’ll kill you. Desperation flooded his emotions.

He’ll kill us anyway. Just trust me, I tried to say back with only my eyes. I took a breath, trying to ground myself. Trying to get him to feel a sense of calm through me.

Surprisingly, Elias nodded, his own emotions settling. Then, his golden eyes slowly began to glow as he used all of the energy he could pull, even with the trace amounts of wolfsbane still coursing through him.

“Stop that! Now!” Volund shrieked. Then he limped back over to me and pointed his knife at my face.

“Now, Elias!” I yelled.

I watched in astonishment and amazement as Elias’s entire body transformed from a human into a huge, black wolf. The exact same one I had been seeing in my dreams.

The transformation only took seconds. When it was over, the giant wolf’s golden eyes looked directly into mine.

Then I remembered. I remembered it all. Remembered everything my mother used her magic to make me forget.

When the memories finished clicking into place like pieces of a puzzle, my eyes shot open. It felt like lightning had struck me – like I had been touched by a god. Power I hadn’t felt in a decade coursed through my veins.

Flames erupted in my hands and behind my eyes. The water-chain binding my wrists began to sizzle and steam until it evaporated entirely.

Volund gasped and dropped his blade, stumbling backwards. Sarai had stopped chanting and took a step back as well. She knelt down and grabbed my silver knife which had somehow ended up on the ground, her eyes wide in fear. Elias watched me in wolf form, the shock and disbelief in his eyes matching his emotions.

I fixed my gaze on Volund. He made his way to Sarai, snatching my silver knife from her hand. She backed away, her terrified eyes not daring to look away from me.

“Don’t come any closer!” Volund shrieked. “I will throw this knife right into the heart of your—”

He was interrupted by his own screams. I had lifted my arm, and the same multi-colored flames that surrounded my hand formed themselves around Volund’s body. He continued to scream as the energy from my power scorched his flesh.

“Do you know who killed my mother? Do you know who was looking for me?” I asked, rage boiling my blood. Volund only screamed in response, so I dimmed the energy of my power. “Answer me!” I demanded.

“No! I don’t know!” he squealed. “Please! I didn’t know! I didn’t know what you were!”

I believed his answer to be truthful. But I didn’t care.