Page 55 of Prisoner of the Lycan Prince

Goliath stepped from the maze, his gaze darting from Einar to me. The hedges behind him rustled, and Adina appeared. Her mouth was compressed in a thin line, and she squeezed her hands together as she kept her stare pinned on the grass at her feet. The confident woman from the tea party was gone. Now, she appeared almost meek.

Einar stalked forward, stopping a few feet from the maze’s entrance. His voice dropped an octave as he surveyed Goliath and Adina with furious eyes. “Explain yourselves. And don’t fucking lie to me.”

Goliath hung his head, his tail drooping. “It was my idea, Your Highness.”

“No,” Adina said, stepping to Goliath’s shoulder. She lifted her chin, a resigned look in her eyes. “It was mine.”

Goliath glanced at her. “We both played a role.”

More confusion pummeled me. “What do you mean? What role?”

Goliath darted a look up at me before dropping his stare to the ground. “We, um, spiked your tea.”

“Tell her the rest,” Einar growled.

My heart pounded, a sense of doom gathering.

Adina met my gaze. “I infused it with a powerful potion designed to provoke extreme lust. And then I bribed the centaurs to put you in Prince Einar’s path so you wouldn’t suspect anything.”

My stomach dropped.

“It was my idea,” Goliath repeated, his voice thick with emotion. He shifted from foot to foot, and he looked miserable as he spread his hands. “You wrote about Prince Einar in your book, and I thought?—”

“You read my notebook?” I demanded. Angry tears burned my eyes. “You put drugs in my tea?” My stomach lurched. Oh god, I was going to be sick. “I thought you were my friends.”

“We are!” Goliath cried, his eyes gleaming with moisture. “We never meant any harm.”

Einar barked a short, humorless laugh. “Well, you’ve caused plenty.” He looked at Adina. “Manipulating emotion is a crime on every plane. I should toss you from Draithmere and let the law of your coven catch up to you.’

Adina blanched. “You wouldn’t.”

Einar’s voice went impossibly low. “I should—” He made a choking sound. The skin on his neck rippled. He dragged in a breath. “I should…”

My alarm grew. Something was wrong with him.

Goliath cast a worried look around the lawn. “Where’s Arlo?”

Einar snapped his jaws, making Goliath jump backward. Adina gasped and then clutched Goliath against her side. “I rule here,” Einar snarled, his words garbled. “Not Arlo. Not anyone else.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Goliath said, cringing away. He shot me a terrified look and mouthed, “Run.”

Einar convulsed, his features warping and twisting. A bubble of flesh expanded on his cheek.

Nausea burned my throat. I backed away, horror and disbelief rising. Memories of the video I’d watched in my father’s office surfaced. But that footage had showed Einar shifting into a sleek, powerful beast. This was different. His limbs contorted. Skin continued to bubble and stretch. A second later, a bubble on his neck burst, and blood soaked his shirt.

Adina slapped a hand over her mouth. Eyes wide with terror, she tugged Goliath backward.

“You won’t…” Einar growled, lurching toward them. Chest heaving, he turned his head and spit blood onto the grass. He appeared to struggle to form words as he advanced on Goliath and Adina. “You won’t…speak to Harper…again.”

“W-We won’t,” Goliath said, shaking his head vigorously. He gripped Adina’s hand as they continued retreating to the maze’s entrance. The bog witch darted a look around.

“Arlo!” she shouted. “Arlo, hurry!”

Einar roared. A series of cracks rang out, and his head and shoulders shot upward like they were spring loaded. Suddenly, he was six inches taller. Fur rippled down his arms. More cracks, and his pants split open. Blood poured from a dozen wounds on his face and neck. His legs twisted, his kneecaps rotating to the sides. He opened a mouth full of pointed teeth and released an agonized scream.

“I’m here!” Arlo cried, sprinting from the side of the lawn. He skidded to a halt, his gaze on Einar. Then he looked at me.

“Go inside, Miss Ward. Now.”

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