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‘Something?’ Kal asks, sounding intrigued. ‘What’s your other form?’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t see myself properly. But I was big. I had thick fur and four paws. I felt … I don’t know. Dire wolf, maybe? I was definitely more dog than cat.’
‘Congratulations,’ Kallum says, and he seems genuinely happy for me.
‘Thank you,’ I say, closing my eyes with a sigh, ‘but it’s becoming a problem. I feel closed in. I need to run.’
‘But there’s a shield around the town,’ Kal says.
‘I fucking know that!’ I snarl. ‘But I can’t stay here for much longer. I can’t contain it.’
‘You have to,’ Dane says unhelpfully. ‘Do the breathing exercises and promise the beast whatever you need to to make it behave! We have other problems. Tomorrow, Reyn will be back. I’ll wager he brings his bull this time for educational purposes.’
I nod and try to forget about my shifter problems as we share a look. If the healer does bring his bull to show us, it’s only so he can see if his pet and ours are a breedable pair.
‘Don’t tell her,’ Kallum mutters. ‘She won’t like that at all.’
‘She’s not going to like much here once she’s well enough to venture out,’ Dane retorts. ‘I suggest we keep her here out of sight until we’re called to the council. I think seeing the other humans in the town will simply upset her.’
‘What are we going to do about the release?’ Kallum says very quietly.
Dane lets out a hard breath. ‘I have some ideas, but they’re not ideal, and she won’t like them either.’
‘Since when do we care what she likes,’ I growl. ‘She’s the Harbinger. She’s bound, and she’ll do as she’s told if she ever wants to leave.’
Kallum shifts in his chair. ‘She still doesn’t know where we’re going, does she?’
‘No, and we’re not going to tell her,’ I reply. ‘As far as she knows, we need her for something. If she finds out we’re going home, I think she’ll start fighting us every step of the way.’
Dane nods in agreement.
‘I don’t think any of us will have a problem showing that we can discipline her. It’s the other thing … Did you see how she reacted when Reyn was here, releasing his slave? She was horrified. Fuck, I was horrified. She won’t want that. We’ll need to practice with her. The way the book …’
Kallum is looking thoughtful. ‘I think she was upset by it,’ he says, ‘but there was something …’
‘What?
‘I don’t know. I might be wrong. We’ll have to see.’
‘Then we try it tonight.’
‘One of us will have to speak to her about it,’ Dane says. ‘We can’t just bend her over and do it.’
‘Why?’ I mutter. ‘She’s the fucking Harbinger.’
Kallum gives me a hard look, and I sigh.
‘Fine!’
I stand up and stomp over to the screen. ‘I need to speak to you,’ I say, and, not waiting for a response, I go behind it.
She’s in the copper bath with her eyes closed and her head resting on the side. At first I think she’s just relaxing, but when she fails to open them or cover herself as I get closer, I realize she’s fallen asleep. She looks like just a normal, vulnerable human like this. This was what she would have been …
My heart softens even though I don’t want it to, and I lean forwards, tracing a finger down her nose with barely a touch.
She stirs, and her eyes flutter open, confused with sleep.
She sits up and yawns, and I hold a sheet out for her as she stands, looking away though I’ve already seen everything and continue to in my dreams every fucking night. I didn’t tell the others, but I have shifted here at least twice and woken to find myself curled up on the bed with her.
