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Julius had minutes to live—at most.
Gavin pressed his lips together, still glancing toward the door. Eventually, he nodded and returned his focus to her. “You haven’t answered my other question,” he probed gently.
“About what?”
“If you’re all right.”
“I’m fine.” Violet tucked her hair behind her ears, and Gavin’s gaze zeroed in on her neck. He reached for her and traced the spot where Julius had strangled her with the lightest of touches. She flinched away.
“Did he do that to you?” He pushed the words through gritted teeth.
Violet stood up and wrapped her arms around her chest, trying to hold back a heave with little success. Shame burned through her, but she pushed it down. It wasn’t her fault that Julius had touched her.
It could have been much worse than a bruised neck, and she was far from a damsel in distress. She’d taken care of the problem herself. “He didn’t hurt me more than I hurt him, I can assure you of that.”
“Are you sure he’s dead?” the man in the back growled. It was an unnatural and beastly sound. She glanced over Gavin’s shoulder at him. He had sand-colored hair, and pale skin that was golden by the sun. His features were streaked with filth.
Why was he questioning her?
“I speared him with this when he was strangling me, right through his gut.” Violet lifted the poker, still wet and smelling of blood. To judge by the flare of his nostrils, the shifter noticed that detail. “What is it that you doubt—that I could deal with him myself, or that I’m smart enough to tell when someone is dead?”
Not that she’d checked if Julius had stopped breathing altogether. But she was confident he’d die soon, so it didn’t matter.
“That’s not what I said.” The man crossed his massive tree trunk arms over his chest. Violet stuck her chin up in the air and leveled him with her best scowl.
Gavin sighed. “Julius kidnapped Mios from the Iron City,” he said. “He was poisoned and tortured. I’m sure he just wants to make sure Julius has got what he deserved.”
“I don’t know you, but I don’t doubt that you made him suffer… which is enough for me.” Mios’ gaze settled on her face, honing in on the marks on her neck. If only she could cover them. “He also sold me to this town to be hung for the deaths they believe the wolf shifters have committed.”
Right. That sounded like Julius.
“And they would have caused a war between kingdoms, if we’d have let them get away with it,” Gavin said.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“He means I’m a Lionborn, and there will be repercussions for imprisoning me,” Mios growled.
Violet’s cheeks warmed. She had heard that name before. Everyone in the world of Caztian had.
Although they no longer ruled the Gold Kingdom, the world still considered the Lionborn royalty. Even though their crown had been taken, they were still powerful, feared, and revered. She didn’t want him as her enemy.
“I should have let you kill Julius on the night of our wedding,” Gavin whispered as he stepped closer to reach for her hand.
“No, you needed to save him then. I like the way you show your character. You’re better than me.”
He stared at her, and his lips tilted down into a grimace. “That’s not true.”
“It is.”
The hallway was too quiet. The only noise she could discern was the sound of their soles against the ground once they set off. Gavin and her stilled when Mios tilted his head and sniffed the air.
“Someone’s coming.” His face transformed in front of her eyes. The straight bridge of his nose widened as fur grew out of his skin. His white teeth elongated, and she had to fight the urge to turn around and run when his rounded pupils fixed on her.
Yet he was still half man, half lion. Not fully changed into an animal form—something she’d heard only royal shifters could do. Gavin cursed just as three guards walked around the corner.
The slash of their swords being drawn echoed through the hallway. But it was the growl of the beast that had the men freeze in fright as the cat leaped through the air with his long legs. He landed beside the guards, expertly dodging their blades, his claws slashing across one guard’s chest in a crisscross pattern.
Blood blossomed to soak his shirt as he fell on the ground. Mios pushed the next guard against the wall, and the crack of bones reverberated around the space, making Violet wince. As the third guard lifted his blade to strike Mios, Gavin released a spell that knocked him down.
