Page 187 of Crown of Briars
“It did not mention death at all?” Tislora prodded.
Sybelle hesitated, then shook her head. “No.”
Tislora’s thin lips curved into a satisfied smile. “That clever bitch.”
I snorted, then shot her a look that was half amusement, half irritation.
“Youdidgive up your life, Sybelle,” Tislora said. “You had every intention of dying when you jumped into the storm. Your sacrifice was valid because you did not expect to return. But Jessinda never stated you had to die.”
My gaze cut to hers, my face slackening in shock. “So it’s true? The curse is broken?”
Tislora spread her arms. “Do you see the Necro Shadows anywhere?”
I glanced around. While it was utterly wasted and as grim as a graveyard, there wasn’t a single shadow in sight. The moon was high in the sky, bathing the ruined village in pale light. The faint Umbra Mist that surrounded the castle still lingered nearby, but it was feeble compared to the thick, roiling Necro Shadows, which were nowhere to be found.
They were gone. Well and trulygone.
My heart lurched in my chest. “I—can you—Lor, can you shift?” My voice was weak because, once again, I did not dare to hope. Sybelle’s survival was already a miracle I did not deserve. But for my people to be freed, too? It was too much. It couldn’t possibly be true.
Tislora closed her eyes, and a flash of white light engulfed her. When it faded, she stood before me in her seelie form. Her wings had vanished, and she had shrunk a few inches. Her charcoal skin had lightened and warmed to a deep mahogany. She still wore her signature black robes, but her claws had shrunk to dulled fingernails, and her once-silver eyes were a muted gray. Only her pointed fae ears gave away her true nature.
“Stones,” Sybelle breathed, her eyes wide as she took in Tislora’s new form. “You look so… ordinary.”
Tislora wrinkled her nose, glancing over herself. “You’re right. This is terrible.” Another flash of white light, and her unseelie form returned, wings and all. She sighed with contentment, her wings stretching wide behind her. “That’s better.”
I chuckled, then found Sybelle looking at me, that spark of curiosity gleaming in her eyes. “What about you?”
“I am content sitting here and holding you,dannahla.”
She arched an eyebrow. “What if I asked you to show me? I want to knowallthe forms my husband can take.” The dark and sensuous look in her eye made me growl with desire.
Tislora made a retching sound. “Spare me.”
Azure uttered a soft rumbling noise, the sound suspiciously like laughter.
I carefully eased Sybelle off my lap, ensuring she could sit up on her own before I edged away from her. When she looked at me in confusion, I explained, “I don’t know if the transition will hurt you.”
She nodded, biting on her lower lip in anticipation. I closed my eyes and held my breath, searching within myself for thatlong-lost magic. It had seemed easy for Tislora, but she was accustomed to shifting to her crow form. She knew what the transformative magic felt like.
I did not. Never in my life had I shifted to a seelie form. Would my body even know how to do it?
As I dug deep within the well of power in my chest, I sensed a new presence. A gleaming white light beckoned me forward, and I grasped for it, reaching further and further into the recesses of my mind.
As soon as I made contact, the light exploded around me, and I felt my body shift. My skin stretched and shrank. My wings folded inward, disappearing into my shoulder blades. Pain split through me, so reminiscent of the curse’s transformation that I almost cried out for Sybelle to take cover. I did not want to hurt her.
I hunched over with a groan, prepared to crouch on all fours and endure the pain like I had every full moon.
But, all too suddenly, it stopped. The white light faded.
And Sybelle gasped.
There he stood,stillmyVarius, but… different. He was several inches shorter, though still taller than me. If I stood, I would likely come up to his nose. His broad frame and muscular figure were the same, but now his skin was a golden brown, perhaps a shade lighter than my chestnut hair. His curly hair remained jet black, as did his eyes. A short black beard lined his mouth and chin. His talons were now blunt fingernails, and his tail and wings were gone.
My jaw dropped as I took him in. He could have been a member of the Earthen Court. He could have beenhuman,were it not for his pointed fae ears.
I drew closer to him, too stunned to speak. He appraised me, his eyes guarded. Vulnerability shone in his gaze.
He was nervous. Did he fear my reaction? Did he think I would despise his new form?
