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I glance over my shoulder, where Zayne is talking to Thanouq. He looks over at me and nods.

He’s clearly fine as well.

Then there’s just one thing I need to do. I’m pretty sure Hecate is not going to approve. “I want to see Khaosti.”

“He’s fine,” she snaps.

She never liked Khaosti. Though I think she was becoming more—fond isn’t perhaps the word—but moreat easewith him toward the end. Now, she just looks irritated.

“It’s not an option,” I say, standing up tall. I still only reach just over her shoulder. Why didn’t I inherit her height? Was my mother short? Was my father? Surely Lucifer can’t be vertically challenged. I shake my head and push away my wandering thoughts. I don’t want to think about dear old dad right now.

“Just take me to him,” I say. It’s not a request. I’ll find another way to get there if Hecate won’t take me. I need to start this relationship as I mean to go on, and Iwon’tbe trodden on. Before, she had all the power, all the knowledge. Now, I have some of my own.

She must see the resolve in my eyes because she gives a brief nod. “He’s been taken to the healers,” she says. “Follow me.”

She turns and raises her hand, clicks her fingers, and a moment later a man appears leading her horse. I recognize the gray—Hecate’s mare. I’m glad she made it—Stella will have a friend. I turn and find my chestnut mare waiting patiently behind me, and I grab the reins and then swing into the saddle.

Hecate heads off at a brisk trot, and I follow down the wide thoroughfare. I study our surroundings as we go. The city is completely different from when I was last here. They’ve obviously done a lot of work. Before, it appeared beyond redemption, a state of total decay. Now, all the rubble has beencleared, the walls cleaned. Rebuilding has begun on some of the ruins. I nudge my horse a little faster, so I come up beside Hecate. “Thanouq has been busy,” I say.

“He has. He’ll make a fine king—if he ever gets a kingdom to rule.”

I guess that’s down to me as well. And suddenly, I’m almost crushed beneath the weight of expectations.

I don’t know if I can do this.

We don’t speak again, and I fall in behind Hecate as the road narrows slightly. Night has fully fallen now. I remember the last time we walked through these streets, how dark and spooky it had been, and how we’d been attacked by some sort of mad dogs running feral about the place. The whole feel of the city has changed since then. Now it has a comforting aura; there’s no danger, not that I can sense anyway. There are also many more people than there were back then—light glows from the numerous windows surrounding us. Hopefully, Thanouq is building his army.

Finally, we reach another gateway, and relief floods me because I’m about to collapse. Exhaustion tugs at my limbs. I want nothing more than a hot bath, a big meal, and my bed. But I know there are things to do first. I want to hear Hecate’s story, and I have to check on Khaosti.

As we head through the gateway, the guards raise their spears. They’re looking at me strangely, and I can’t help but think that maybe the word of my conspicuous entrance has spread already. I don’t want people to recognize me. Hecate was right. I really wish I’d been a little less noticeable, but it wasn’t as though I’d had a lot of choice.

The tree in the center of the courtyard is blooming. Large purple flowers, which are new as well. We come to a halt in front of the big double doors. Hecate dismounts, and I follow suit. We hand the reins over to a stable boy, and I follow Hecate intothe building. She obviously knows where she’s going and strides quickly along the wide corridors, but then she’s been here nearly a month now.

The place is lit up with torches. It’s bright and clean. We seem to walk quite a long way, but finally, she opens a door which leads into another corridor, with more doors off it, and she takes the second one. Inside we find Khaosti lying on a bed. His eyes are closed, but his breathing is even. I think he’s asleep, not unconscious. I hurry over and stop by the bed, reaching out a hand.

He’s so beautiful, with his high cheekbones and full lips, the scar down his cheek adding a ferocious masculinity. He always makes my heart beat faster. Now I just wonder how he got the scar and what he went through. You’d think, as a prince, he would have had a privileged life, and maybe he would have if he hadn’t had a maniac for a father. Instead, he’s been a soldier since he was twelve years old, a good one. He’s seen so much death.

“See, he’s fine,” Hecate snaps. I look up at her.

Leaning forward, she presses her hand to where the bandage covers his shoulder and arm. “The wound isn’t serious. He’ll recover, and when he wakes, he can shift, and it will be gone.”

“He can’t shift,” I say.

She looks up at me sharply. “What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t shifted since he changed back into human form after we escaped from Astrali.”

“Escaped?” she interrupts.

“Khaosti was being held prisoner by his father. He made sure I got away, but he was caught, and he was kept in wolf form...in a stinking dungeon beneath the palace.”

She turns to look back at him, her brows drawn together. “That’s not good.”

“No, it was a horrible, horrible place. His cousin, Sheela, helped me get him out. But I think it’s affected him. For a while, he couldn’t shift into human form. Then he did, and he told me he couldn’t shift back.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to,” she replies. “Maybe he thinks that if he shifts back, he’ll be stuck in wolf form again.” She runs a finger over his forehead and closes her eyes for a moment. “He’s exhausted,” she says, “mentally and physically. And I suspect he’s haunted by all he’s been through. It will take time.”

“Time that we don’t necessarily have,” I say.