“By order of the Crown,” I said, voice calm, “you will surrender your weapons. Or we will take them from your corpses.”
Slade cracked his neck.
Leo grinned. He stretched out his muscles.
“Go large or go home, right?” he murmured to Slade.
Slade grunted in response. I heard the hum of the metal around me being activated. Swords and shields began to shudder with power.
Leo winked at me. Then the change took hold. One heartbeat he was a man—bloodied, tense, eyes burning.
The next, he was a lion. Massive. Golden fur streaked with ash. His roar cracked the air and sent two Sentinels stumbling back before he lunged.
Claws tore through one man’s chest plate in a single swipe.
I didn’t flinch.
“Contain him!” I barked.
Slade moved next—always the tactician. I caught the flicker of metal at his fingertips, the pull of his power reaching for discarded blades and splintered armour. He stole it, twisted it, reshaped it.
Steel rose from the dirt like claws of the earth—sharpened, twisting—launching straight into my soldiers. One man was impaled before he could scream.
And still, we pushed forward.
“Kill them!” I roared. “Kill them both—no mercy!”
More Sentinels surged in. Twenty now. Maybe more. Boots pounded stone, cuffs crackled with ignition runes. Leo threw them off like they were made of paper. Slade raised his arms and sent a wave of forged metal—razor-sharp and hungry—through the crowd. It sliced through armour like silk.
I lunged. My blade caught Leo in the side—he yelped, staggered.
Then he was on me.
He tackled me hard, pinning me to the ground with a snarl. His blade came down, close enough to taste the iron.
I just laughed.
“There are too many of us. You can’t win, shifter.”
I drove my knee into his gut and shoved him off.
Leo lunged again—a blur of fur and fury—but this time, his flank was exposed.
A guard slipped behind him to gather the girl. Leo saw the danger and made the choice.
He shifted back mid-run, grimacing through the pain, scooped her up, and bolted.
“Get her out of here!” Slade yelled, covering him. Twin blades of melted iron arced from his hands, catching two Sentinels mid-swing.
Leo didn’t hesitate.
He ran.
Smart.
But not smart enough.
“Intercept,” I ordered. “Stop them!”
