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She laughs, blood burbling over her lips. “They’ll kill you. And her. And they’ll kill that abomination in her belly.”
Ice crystalizes in my blood. How does she know?
Nathan’s claws flash and I scream, “No!” but it’s too late. They tear through the housekeeper’s flesh like paper. Her legs hit the floor with a sickening thud. Her entrails follow a second later, smacking the floor wetly. Still holding the bisected top of her body, Nathan bites into her throat, pulling at spine and sinew until her head comes off. It, too, falls to the floor, rolling in an irregular tumble to rest beside her feet.
If ever there was a time for morning sickness, I think this would be it. But as much as I want to heave my guts out at the sight, I can’t. Nathan is still a werewolf, Xiao is still human, and the scent of blood is in the air.
“Lower your weapon,” I say, calm and firm despite the terror that grips me. “Xiao, put it down.”
I’m pretty sure that if Nathan sees a human pointing a gun at him, he’s not going to be reasoned with. Not in his current state.
I approach cautiously. I know he won’t hurt me, not intentionally, but I’m afraid of what might happen if he doesn’t realize it’s me behind him. “Nathan, it’s okay.”
His huge body heaves with each breath he takes. He’s all motion and chaos and violence, barely constrained into physical being. He turns his head slightly, one silver eye fixed on me.
“Put her down, Nathan,” I implore him. “She’s dead. And we have to leave.”
He drops what’s left of the body, crushed to pulp in his fist. I lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Give Xiao the necklace.”
She takes a step forward and Nathan bares his teeth with a warning growl.
“Give her the necklace,” I say again, firmer. “I can’t take it from you, or I’ll change, too. We have to get out of here, and we can’t do that if we look like this.”
That gets through to him. He extends one gore-covered hand to Xiao, and she swiftly snaps the pendant from the chain. She slips it into one of the many pockets on her pants.
Nathan steps back from the body. He’s covered in just about as much blood as Harriet’s earthly remains are, and I frantically run my hand over his exposed chest and shoulders, looking for any sign of a wound.
“It’s not mine.” He grabs my trembling hand and lifts it to his lips. “It’s not mine.”
“Your Majesties,” Xiao says, holstering the firearm once more. “It’s time to leave.”
CHAPTER 64
“Black moonstone.”
Xiao drops the pendant, now enclosed in a plastic baggie, onto the table between Nathan and me.
He leans forward in his chair and reaches for the baggie, but I’m not taking any chances. I smack his hand away with an annoyed, “Don’t touch it!”
I’m still shaking, even though we’re on the plane and safely away from Wyrding House, I’m still terrified that yet another shoe is going to suddenly drop.
I made Xiao threaten the thrall pilots and leave a member of her trusted team in the cockpit as a reminder.
I am not going to die today.
Xiao gestures to the unremarkable looking cabochon in the pendant. “The assassin who took your hand had some in a bracelet. I think it’s fair to assume that this is what they’re using to change.”
I shake my head. “Moonstone is a pretty common gem, isn’t it? I’ve never heard of it doing… this.”
“Maybe that’s why we never heard of it,” Nathan muses. “If we knew, perhaps we wouldn’t need the thralls and their rituals.”
“There’s thrall magic involved here,” Xiao says, and she’s so confident in her answer that I have no further questions. She does, though. “But why would thralls send a werewolf to kill another werewolf?”
“Are you suggesting the thralls should have simply killed us themselves?” Nathan asks. His tone is not friendly.
“I’m saying that it doesn’t make sense for thralls to set up a spell like the one the human magician described, then immediately kill the targets of that spell.” Xiao takes the pendant back. “I’ll hang onto this for now.”
“I think that’s the safest option,” I agree. I have no idea what would happen if Nathan or I went full werewolf in such an enclosed space.
“Don’t show it to anyone else. And don’t let it leave your person,” Nathan instructs her.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
One question has been screaming in my brain since we left Wyrding House. “How did she know?”
Xiao and Nathan look at me, waiting for further explanation.
“That I’m pregnant?” I gesture to my stomach. “We’ve kept that secret.”
“There weren’t any secrets in that house.” Xiao shakes her head. “King Archibald was right to be afraid.”
“It appears so,” Nathan agrees. He looks to me, his expression unreadable as he studies my face. “I think we’ll retire.”
