Page 222 of Primal Bonds

“I’ll stand.” Fane glanced at the cougar. It could feel him willing it to trust him. That he’d get it out of the cage.

The cat stilled, its gaze flicking between him and the cold-eyed king.

“As you wish.” The blond healer kept her hand on the small of Fane’s back. Magic hummed in the air.

Fane’s eyes drifted half shut.

The king gave the cat a small, satisfied smile. He might not have ordered the cat’s imprisonment, but he was happy to have it in his power.

The cat whipped its tail back and forth. Come closer if you dare.

But the iron sapped its strength. It rested its head on its paws and stared at the king, unblinking, knowing that made the fae nervous.

“She’s got pride,” Roald murmured to the king.

“Yes.”

They examined the cat. It curled its lip, letting them see a sharp white fang. Roald just shook his head, and the blond king’s mouth curved in amusement.

Fane murmured a thank you to the healer. The bruises on his face had faded and the egg-sized lump on his temple had gone down. The blonde must be a powerful healer.

Fane crossed the room to the cat. “Shift,” he murmured. “Don’t give them an excuse to treat you as an animal.”

The cat shook its head. The animal was strong. A fighter.

“Jani,” he said. “Shift. Now.”

The cat resisted.

Not Jani—cat.

The fae king and his warrior moved closer.

“Please, love.” Reaching through the iron bars, the blond man smoothed a hand down its head.

The cat nuzzled his palm and without meaning to, let down its guard. Instantly, Marjani elbowed her way into its consciousness, saying, Shift. I need to talk to Sindre. Bargain with him.

Too much talking, the cat shot back.

Now, Marjani insisted. Unless you want to be stuck in this cage until we die.

The cat grumbled but conceded the point.

The shift this time was long and hard. It was too soon after the last one, and the cat was still recovering from its injuries, its quartz almost depleted of energy. Its head started to pound again.

Marjani surfaced in time to understand. Her entire body iced.

She wasn’t going to make it. She was going to die, stuck halfway between forms.

Chapter 29

No. Terror seared Marjani’s spine.

She sucked the quartz dry, but there still wasn’t enough energy. Black edged her vision.

The cat panicked and tried to stop the shift, but that only made things worse. She fought with the frightened cougar for control. They’d gone too far to stop now.

Fane crouched beside the cage. “Shift, my beautiful cat,” he crooned. “You can do it.”

---