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Raoul’s gaze found him. “Stop her,” he demanded in a voice made shrill with fear. “She’s gone mad,” he gasped. “She’s killed her own father and now she wants to kill me—-”
Alejandro tore off towards them, knowing he couldn’t allow Calys to kill Raoul without any justification. Once her rage died, he knew she would blame herself forever for it, and he didn’t want that kind of burden on her.
“Princess, stop—-” He managed to step between Raoul and Calys.
“Get out of my way!” Her eyes blazed with fury as she struck at him, hard enough to send him flying. It was the distraction Raoul was waiting for, giving him the time to scramble away. He knew he would never win against Calys. He had known her far too long to underestimate her skills, but it also made him aware of her weakness.
She was a warrior, and warriors had their silly codes of honor.
By the time Calys faced him, Raoul held Venetto’s lifeless form in his arms. “If you take my life, know that I will take your father’s form with me. He’ll die scarred and dismembered, nothing like the warrior he was in real life!” To show her he meant it, he drew a line on Venetto’s throat and blood started to seep out.
Calys screamed at the sight of Venetto’s neck being slowly decapitated.
Memories assailed her.
Of Venetto playing with Calys and Anastasia, tossing their young bodies in the air at the same time before catching them one by one-—
Of Venetto patiently teaching her to wield a sword while Anastasia clapped every time Calys was able to bring their father down—-
Of Venetto telling her he was so proud of her and that she and Anastasia were children of his heart—-
Her dark half relinquished control of Calys’ body, and she came back to herself with a cry, the sword dropping from her suddenly nerveless fingers.
Her tear-blurred eyes sought Raoul’s. “Stop.” She would never forgive himself if Venetto ended up beheaded because of her quest for justice. “You can do anything you want, just please don’t make my father any less of a warrior.”
“Call off everyone on your side,” Raoul snarled.
Without taking her eyes off Venetto, she said hoarsely, “You heard him.”
One by one, the Souris, the Lyccans, and the Adelardi panthers loyal to her stepped back, a traditional symbol of ceasefire among non-humans.
The tension on Raoul’s face eased, and his smile turned feral. Too late, Alejandro caught the look the panther sent to his men.
“No—-” But dozens of panthers had rushed at him, preventing him from reaching Calys in time. The last thing he saw before going berserk was a panther striking Calys’ head from behind.
Alejandro
“You have to talk to me at some point.” Two days had passed since Venetto’s lifeless form had been discovered, two days of Calys being locked in the dungeon – something all shifter towns secretly possessed because of its unusually strong inhabitants. Unlike most others, however, Midtown’s was natural rather than manmade, painstakingly built from damp stone caves underneath the Everglades. Thick steel bars that were spaced only inches apart made up its cages, and the keys to its heavy locks had been turned over to the Panthera.
Both of them were seated on the ground, Calys’ knees huddled close under her chin while Alejandro lay against the cave’s walls, one leg propped up.
Her silence ate at him, making his chest squeeze painfully. “Talk to me, Princess. Please.”
But Calys only looked at him, her face wan and her gaze blank. She had not been eating for days, and only the knowledge that he would bring war to his race and hers kept Alejandro from forcibly breaking her out.
Above them, the Panthera remained locked in a meeting, Raoul doing his best to force the elders of his race to condemn Calys for killing Venetto Adelardi. As the Panthera was traditional to the core, Calys’ judgment would depend on their decision as a whole. DNA evidence did not mean anything to them, but even if it did, Alejandro knew the tests he had secretly asked his men to carry out would yield no clues. He had studied Venetto’s corpse, and it had been a swift, clean kill, with no signs of a struggle. Venetto had known the killer – and he had not expected the other person to be his murderer.
His gaze returned to Calys. It was clear she was still in shock, her devastation over Venetto’s death making her drown in self-pity.
“You need to snap out of it.” His voice was tight with worry. Gripping the bars that separated them, he demanded, “Aren’t you worried about your sister?” He had only recently learned about her human sister from the Souris, and apparently it was the girl that he had overheard Stefan talking to.
Calys finally looked at him, but her tone was dull when she said, “Stefano will look after her.”
