Page 52 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood (Of Fae and Wolf Trilogy #2)

A new sound cut through my pain-filled haze—the unmistakable splash and gurgle of water.

My ears, now partially pointed and sensitive, twitched toward the mountain.

The well. Water was bubbling and rushing at intervals.

Was there perhaps some sort of pool beneath the well, and a spring or a pump that was drawing on it?

My throat constricted painfully. How long had it been since I'd had water? The prison guards had given me enough to survive, but never enough to satisfy, and I’d shared what I had with Elias.

My tongue felt swollen, my lips cracked.

The sound of water filling the ancient well sent a desperate wave of need through me.

"Water," I gasped, the word barely audible.

The shift surged forward again, my body twisting as fur rippled across my skin in waves. I bit down another scream as my spine realigned with a series of sickening cracks. The thirst intensified with each spasm, my wolf's instincts amplifying the need.

My wolf pushed even harder, and my spine popped into place as fur finally rolled over my body. My claws cracked out of my fingers, and my snout formed, wet and burning. The final wave hit like fire in my lungs.

I collapsed on my side, panting, still in the circle. Barely.

The wind howled louder above me, dry and gritty now, cutting at my skin like a thousand tiny blades.

My wolf rejoiced at being free once more as I lay on my side and gulped in the air. My tail brushed the edge of the circle.

I blinked, finding that my eyes burned just as much in wolf form as in human. How long until the rescue?

Movement flashed at the edge of my vision. The sound of feet hitting the ground echoed to my right. I jerked my head in that direction and saw someone tall, wearing all black. The attacker swiped a black blade in the direction of my neck.

I lunged, and my teeth sank into flesh, bone crunching. Blood flooded my mouth, coppery and sweet as the man screamed in agony and dropped his weapon. He tried to jerk his arm from my mouth, but I bit to the bone and held on.

A part of me hated doing it, but this man had come here to kill me. I’d be foolish to let him get away.

Jerking my head, I ripped a large piece of his flesh and pushed him out of the circle. I glanced at the dagger, wanting to hide it in case I needed it later, and noticed an iridescent green color on the blade.

“You bitch !” the attacker spat, his face red, before charging at me again.

All regret left me. He wanted me dead at all costs, and he was just like the guards who’d beaten and mistreated me.

He didn’t have control of his right hand after the damage I inflicted, so I jumped onto his chest and knocked him to the ground on his back, then chomped on his other forearm.

The bone gave way with a sickening crack.

I bore down with my jaws, savage satisfaction flooding through me as tendons and muscles tore beneath my teeth.

The assassin's scream echoed off the cavern walls, high and desperate. “Let go! Let go! I was just following orders.” He struck at my back with his legs but missed.

I snarled and bit deeper and twisted.

“Let go, you bitch! Don’t you know mercy?”

Mercy? Like the mercy shown to me in that prison cell? Like the mercy shown to the king?

I released his mangled arm and pulled back, lips curled over my teeth in a snarl that rumbled from deep in my chest. Blood dripped from my muzzle as I crouched low, my claws digging into his chest.

Fog rose around him, and he shuddered as he tried to pull a silver pendant from his tunic. Soft silver light shone from the vial of liquid set inside, and the chain strained as he held it fast. "Get back!" he screamed hoarsely.

Tired of this game, I lunged and sank my teeth into his neck. He whimpered as I jerked my head to the side, ripping out his throat.

I pulled back, and the chain of his pendant snagged on my teeth.

The vial struck the stone. It shattered, and a bright floral scent like freesia sparked in the air, then dissipated.

He went limp, and the ground around us swelled and seethed with shadows and dark fog like an oncoming tide, curling and rolling.

A stinging sensation cut across my hindquarters and tail, where it touched me.

Yelping, I darted out of the fog, smelling burnt fur.

I jumped back into my circle and scanned the area, looking for the next attack.

Luckily, there was no fog here. But the body of the assassin was swallowed up by it.

Dark particles from the fog spread over his body, covering him more and more until something jerked the body back into the darkness.

Heavy, sloppy crunching sounds followed, as if massive jaws were devouring him.

Then more red eyes opened, blinked slowly, and slithered away.

What the hell was that ? I panted, and even in wolf form, I couldn’t see anything through the haze. My back legs still stung.

Cold fear flowed through my body.

What kind of a nightmare was this third trial?

The fog swept around the circle and moved, gathering together farther away as the water continued to run in the well, making my mouth drier than ever.

If this was all I’d have to deal with, I could endure.

I paced the two steps I could, back and forth in the circle, taking deep breaths, trying to calm my rising anxiety.

Where was the promised rescue? Many-Greats hadn’t told me what to expect. Just that I would know it when I saw it. Great. Well, I also knew when I wasn’t seeing it. What fresh horrors were waiting for me in this hellhole?

“Help!” A woman who sounded eerily familiar screamed in the dark. My ears snapped forward, and the fur on my back lifted.

Then it hit me who it was.

Ember.