Page 95 of The Forsaken Heir

Turning, I shifted back to my human form, looking out at the battlefield. From what I saw, the tide was turning in our favor. Most of the native shifters were actively helping the fae and my people fight off the wolves. A few were still on Bastien’s side, but they were quickly being overwhelmed.

Speaking of the bastard, I spotted him in his werewolf form, slashing at Octavius near the tent.

Octavius was one of the best warriors in our household, but to my surprise, Bastien appeared to be besting him, beating him down with swats of his clawed hands and powerful fists in his half-shifted form.

The power-hungry bastard knew how to fight.

Ignoring them for a moment, I raised my voice to be heard over the chaos.

“ Elle!”

“Here,” she answered and rushed to my side. Delphine and two other women at her heels.

Elle crashed into me. I winced as she rammed into my ribs, and it was all I could do not to scream in pain. Still, I embraced her, running my hands along her body.

“Are you hurt?” I asked, holding her at arm’s length to inspect her.

“I’m fine?—”

A howl of rage erupted behind her.

A wolf with thick black fur and angry yellow eyes leapt through the air toward her, jaws open wide. Moving faster than I could have dreamed, Delphine shifted and sprang, catching the attacker in midair. The two tumbled to the ground beside us.

“Holy shit!” the young woman with Elle cried, putting a hand to her mouth. “That’s Sasha.”

I glanced down as Delphine gave a single brutal thrash of her head, and even in the cacophony of fighting, I heard the dry snap of the attacker’s spine. The wolf went still, eyes wide and sightless, tongue lolling from its mouth.

Delphine shifted and stood, dusting her palms and glaring down at the dead wolf.

“Never liked her. Serves her right for being Bastien’s little lackey,” Delphine grumbled.

Staring down at Sasha’s motionless form, two emotions stirred in my chest in a split second.

Relief that I had been saved at the last moment; pity for the woman.

Yes, she’d followed Bastien’s orders and seemed to enjoy being his servant, but she’d been twisted by his promises of power, brainwashed and bent to his will, turned into a sick monster by his sick mind.

She’d been dangerous, yes, but in the end, she was simply another victim.

“Delphine,” Elle gasped. “Thank you.”

The older woman shrugged, and took the hands of the other women. Now that I saw them, I recognized them. Collette, Elle’s aunt, and Sophia, Elle’s sister.

“I’ve got to get them to safety,” Delphine said. “They aren’t trained to fight like this.”

Elle nodded and touched my shoulder. “I’ve got Aurelius, I’ll be fine.”

Delphine gave her a single nod, but as she guided the two women toward the trees and away from the fighting, she turned to give Elle one last worried look.

“Once I get them hidden in the woods, I’ll be back.” Without another word, Delphine vanished toward the trees.

Glancing around, I found that our forces, while winning, had moved to the far side of the clearing.

Vince slashed out with his talons, while Rasp crashed into enemies in his half-shifted form.

The Hikshil and other fae assisted with spells, firing magic in such a volume that my skin tingled from it.

Nothing like this had happened in centuries.

It was awe-inspiring but fucking terrifying.

“Aurelius,” Octavius called out.

He had a bloody gash on his forehead and a double row of wolf bite marks on his forearm. He knelt on one knee, obviously exhausted and hurt as he pointed toward the forest edge. “He’s running!”

Bastien, having sensed the tides turning against him, had chosen the coward’s way out. Ahead of him, I spotted a few others running, including parents.

Taking a step forward to give chase, I halted at the sudden resonant, muffled roar from behind us. Looking back, I saw a massive moose shifter speed toward Elle and me. As I moved to shift and take him on, Elle shoved me back.

“Go. Stop Bastien,” she shouted, then rushed toward the moose.

She surprised me with her speed and agility. I knew she’d been training, but her progress was astounding. She dived beneath the shifter’s thundering hooves and rolled to safety like a gymnast.

Deciding she’d be fine, I turned and sprinted for Bastien.

He had a head start, but my legs were longer, and I was faster.

Even with every step sending bolts of pain through my ribs, I didn’t let it slow me down.

Rushing past Octavius, I locked my eyes on Bastien’s back and poured on as much speed as I could until I closed the gap and jumped forward, shifting in midair. I blasted a jet of fire at him.

His reflexes were quick, and he changed direction, rolling out of the path of the flames. Shifting to my half-dragon form, I landed on the ground. I cried out in pain as I rolled and jumped to my feet, trying to ignore my broken bones as my body did its best to heal.

Bastien glared at me, chest heaving. “Well, well, well. Been a while, Aurelius. Did you come back so I could play a few more games with you? I think you were starting to like how I was playing. Maybe we’ll do some shock therapy, or perhaps forced castration? Whatever feels good at the moment.”

“You can try,” I growled as I lunged at him.

We slammed into each other. I gasped in pain, but turned it into a roar of anger as I snapped my jagged teeth together inches from his face.

Bastien shifted as well, dropping to four paws and ramming his thick skull into my shins.

His mass and strength threw me off balance and sent me tumbling to the ground.

This time, I couldn’t hold back the scream.

It felt as though a bag of knives were twisting in my torso where my ribs were supposed to be.

Bastien took that moment to jump onto my chest and bite into my shoulder.

Had I not been half-shifted and covered in scales, he probably would have ripped an entire chunk of flesh free.

Another roar of pain tore from my throat.

I kicked up with my back legs, catching my enemy in the stomach and sending him tumbling through the air. When Bastien landed, he yelped, and in seconds I was back on my feet, growling and ready to fight.

As Bastien rose to his feet, a dozen of his household guards rushed in and surrounded him. They must have seen their leader in trouble and left the battle. They’d rather let their allies die than the head of their great house.

A dozen snarling muzzles growled at me. Bastien shifted again and gave me that shit-eating grin he loved to plaster on his face all the time. Without a word, he turned and continued walking toward the forest.

I clenched my jaw and ground my teeth together.

How the fuck was I going to get to him? I had no doubt I could have taken the wolves had I been healthy, but my body was trying to rapidly heal, and it was sapping too much of my energy.

I didn’t think I could get through them in time.

If we didn’t hurry, Bastien would get away, and God only knew what would happen then.

Before I could formulate a plan, a deafening dragon screech filled the air.