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For a second, Fate looked scared, and it shook me to my very core.
“The virus isn’t trying to control her by driving her to madness,” Fate continued. “It’s bonding with her instead.”
Somehow, that sounded much worse than Natalie being driven mad.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
"Then how could she have a virus?” Rumir asked, pointing at Natalie. "Viruses don't bond with their hosts.”
“This one does," Fate mumbled, but her attention was drawn when Natalie raised a hand and placed it against the smallest barrier.
Its surface shimmered and appeared to burn Natalie’s hand, but she kept pushing. Fate’s features hardened as if she was mentally reinforcing the barrier, but Natalie kept pushing.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This kind of effort to contain Natalie shouldn't have been necessary. It further proved that Natalie truly had changed. But into what?
The crimson color in her eyes that had consumed all the white moved and swirled, and she hadn’t yet spared even a glance Rumir’s way or mine. She was focused entirely on Fate.
"Natalie?" I called again, and this time she did look at me. I stepped forward, but Fate held her hand up, stopping me. "Can you hear me, Natalie?” I called. “It's Lucian. You can fight this."
"It's too late for that," Fate said. "This virus didn't come into being as a virus. It's something being used as a weapon. However"—she looked at Natalie almost in awe—"Natalie, whether she’s doing it on purpose or not, is changing it into something else.”
"Fate, we don't have time to decipher your cryptic words!" I yelled. "What's happening to my mate?"
Damn these gods and their riddles! Once again, Rumir and I were on the same page. Our mate was on the other side of those barriers, and we were losing her to the virus as the seconds ticked by.
The doors flew open, and Taner strode in, with Zeus hot on his heels. "Fate, be quiet. You've said enough. These two need to leave."
Both Rumir and I positioned ourselves in front of Natalie. Rumir’s wings flapped loudly, and his pupils turned vertical like those of his dragon.
“That’s not going to happen,” he growled.
My eyes changed to black. "If you want us to leave, you're going to have to drag us from this room," I growled, and my face began to shift, my ears growing pointy. "But I promise you, that won't be easy."
* * *
Lucian
“Enough!” Hekate entered the room, taking slow steps until she stopped, frozen, in front of Natalie.
She muttered incoherent words under her breath, and Ila, who was draped over her shoulders, vanished. Heldon, dressed in full white, entered the room next, and Taner excused himself but not before eyeing Natalie.
“This is unfortunate,” Heldon said, clasping his hands in front of him.
“Unfortunate?” I growled. “You want to try that again?”
Black hair sprouted from my skin, my voice deepened. It was taking all my strength to hold my wolf back, and these fools were making it worse. They were staring at Natalie as if she was some sort of mutant.
"You had the chance to tell us what was going on. Now look at her!" Even I was starting to feel cold as my power began to slip out of my control. "Cure her!"
“There is no cure,” Hekate said apologetically, and beside me, sparks escaped Rumir’s mouth.
“Nonsense! You're gods,” Rumir said. “You all know what's going on." He pointed at Hekate. “You knew something was wrong with her.”
"I didn't know until I arrived at the shop. But I wasn't going to say anything then and risk her losing control in the city."
I heard a cracking sound behind Rumir and me, and then a force propelled us forward, almost throwing us to the ground.
Natalie no longer looked calm. Her eyes were wide open as she looked at where she'd broken through the first barrier. Now she was covered in more of the mist and eyeing the gods as if deciding on her plan of attack.
