Kaylan pulled her coat tighter against the chill night air. Her cat, Iris, hissed as another gust of wind rolled over them. “Sorry, your highness,” she murmured, “but it’s not my fault the transpo broke down. At least you’re nice and cosy in a basket and not dragging a cat and a suitcase with you.”
She stopped on the bridge and looked up at the glowing city lights. It was strange being back here; she couldn’t help but feel the sense of coming home. Kaylan couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that way. Towers of steel and stone loomed overhead with the lights burning like bright stars. I am home. Strange, but I thought the view would have changed somehow. Just like my life changed the last time I was here.
Iris meowed as a shadow lunged out of the darkness. The carrier flew from her arm and Iris screeched. Kaylan hit the ground, hard and saw a flash of gold eyes. What the hell is that? Her attacker grabbed her by the throat. In the semi-darkness, the silhouette of a man dressed in a black uniform studded with silver buttons loomed over her, as his golden eyes bored into hers. She caught the flash of fangs as talons dug into her throat.
Kaylan grappled with her assailant and yanked out one of her knives, drawing magic. At the edge of her mind, she felt another presence, and something hurtled towards the creature, dragging him away from her. She scrambled up, her knife flaring with power.
A huge black wolf now had its jaws locked around the man’s throat. Both beast and wolf slashed and clawed at each other.
She watched for a moment, dumbfounded, but quickly came to her senses. Words of power came to her lips, and she threw the knife at the creature. It embedded itself in the man’s shoulder. Her blade flashed with fire and rays of gold burst from the man’s body as he crumpled to the ground. Damn, she hadn’t meant to kill him, and felt a pang of guilt. Hell, it would’ve been nice to find out what the creature was.
The wolf turned to face her, its golden eyes glittering, and Kaylan gripped her other knife tighter. Its eyes reminded her of her attacker. It was a huge animal, all black fur and rippling muscle. She waited, preparing for another attack, but it only stared at her. It looked too big to be a normal wolf, and its eyes held power.
“What are you waiting for?” she demanded, and her breath caught. Her heart pounded in her ears as she prepared herself for the inevitable assault.
The wolf whined, and a loud thrashing sound came as Iris burst free from her carrier. The cat hissed, silver-blue fur standing on end as the wolf growled back.
She wouldn’t let any harm come to her cat. Fire formed in Kaylan’s palm, and she hurled it at the beast. It yelped as gold light flashed over its body, and shifted into the form of a man. His skin gleamed over rippling muscle as his golden eyes met hers. He stared at her for a moment before muttering something. The dead man’s body turned to ash before she had the chance to protest.
Kaylan gasped and her heart stopped. “Elijah?”
“Stop searching for me,” he told her. “Let me go.”
“But – what was that thing?” Those were the first words that came out of her mouth. She had so many questions, but felt too stunned to form coherent thoughts.
“Stay away from them and me.” Elijah stared at her for a moment before light shimmered over him once more and he shifted back into the wolf, turned and fled.
Kaylan’s heels pounded on the concrete as she ran along the road. By the time she had reached the end of the bridge, he’d vanished.
Iris gave one final hiss, then turned to look up at Kaylan with her silver eyes. Kaylan sheathed her blade, then scooped the feline up into her arms. “Well, that wasn’t the homecoming I expected.”
After retrieving her case and fallen carrier, Kaylan continued down the cobblestone streets until she came to a large terrace house that had once been the home she’d shared with Elijah. Light poured from the windows as she reached the door, it opened at her touch. She walked inside, left her things in the hallway, and carried Iris upstairs. She wanted to search for Elijah again, but knew it was pointless.