****
James stood behind her while Sabine questioned the missing youngling’s mother, to try to glean information as to where the child might have wandered off to.
“My daughter loves berries,” Gilda said. “She was upset this morning when there were none left, and I can’t help wondering if she’s gone to where they grow to find more.” She grabbed Sabine’s arm. “Please find her. Please bring her back to me.”
After that brief interaction, Sabine led James and the small group of warriors Dirk had put together along the bank of the snaking river that served as the coterie’s source of water.
Her guilt radiated off her in palpable waves. He touched her arm to draw her attention. “You could not have saved Maria. Do not blame yourself for her death. If you need someone to blame, blame your king.”
“You think you could have saved her?”
“Our numbers have been shrinking for decades. If we continue along the same path carved by my predecessors, we will be extinct before the turn of the next century. I have been king for nearly a year and have done nothing to change that track.”
“A year is not very long. And what would you have done?”
“I am not sure. But now…” He touched her arm again. “I feel as though there is hope. It’s the first time since I placed the crown upon my head.”
They fell silent for a short while, until they veered away from the stream and followed a trail leading through a field of grass so tall it brushed against his hips as he walked.
‘The shifter referred to us as lambs to his wolf. The one who ran away.”
“I cannot tell you how impressive I find it that you convinced a shifter to flee.”
“Well, he did not run in that sense. To tell you the truth, I believe he simply decided not to kill me. Even when I had a sword in my hand, I had the impression he was not afraid.”
“Even more extraordinary that you survived,” he commented. But why would a shifter, as Sabine claimed, simply leave, instead of kill her?
The excursion to the berry patch was uneventful. And much to James’s relief, they found the lost youngling standing next to a bush, heavy with ripened fruit, her face, hands, and the front of her dress stained red. She was blissfully unaware of any potential danger, and was not pleased when her king insisted she go back to the coterie, flanked by three large men bearing magical swords.
As they headed back the way they came, James noticed Sabine’s guilt had shifted to wariness. He found it fascinating he could sense her emotions. He had heard of such a thing between mated Lightbearers who shared a love match but had never experienced it firsthand, of course.
His mother invaded his thoughts, reminding him he should not be captivated by Sabine, should not have lustful thoughts about her. She was a peasant; he was king. They each had their place, their roles within the coterie, and those roles did not overlap, at least not quite in the way James would prefer.
The river made a sharp bend to the east, and the warriors and child disappeared from view. James and Sabine walked side by side, swords at the ready. A shadow moved, and then a man stepped onto the path.
Sabine stopped short and James heard her suck in a breath. He tried to move between her and the other man.
A shifter. He had long, shaggy, dark hair, and dark skin, and stood at least six feet tall. “Xander,” he heard Sabine whisper.
“Ah, you remember my name. How flattering. Who is your protector, Lightbearer?”
In an unsurprising fashion, Sabine lifted her chin and said, “I do not need a protector.” She hefted her sword, clearly prepared to do battle.
The shifter chuckled and circled around them. With his left arm, James reached for Sabine, pulling her to him, so they were back to back. Fear for her safety mingled with relief that she understood he meant for them to be a united front against their enemy.
“I could have killed you yesterday, you know. Your pointy toy does not scare me,” the shifter remarked. Sabine waited until he circled close enough, and then she slashed out at him. He leaped out of harm’s way and scowled. “You test my patience, Lightbearer.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“How about we make a deal? I won’t kill you and your would-be protector if you give me your magic.”
“What makes you think she can give you her magic?” James asked.
The shifter pointed at Sabine. “She did. She told me as much, just yesterday.”
James glanced at Sabine. Had she really told this man she could share her magic? Why would she do such a thing?
She shook her head. “I did not. I told him killing us did not steal our magic.”
The shifter tapped his temple. “And I am a smart shifter who managed to put together the facts. While killing you does not share your magic, there is clearly some other way. You show me the way, and I leave you to your nomadic little Lightbearer lives.”
“No,” James shouted before Sabine had a chance to reply. Lightbearer magic was finite, and the sun’s rays renewed it each morning. If she agreed to share hers with this shifter, she would be weakened immediately to the point of no longer able to protect herself, and who was to say the animalistic being would not go back on his promise?
Besides that, the idea of a shifter having Lightbearer magic was a frightening concept. Shifters were evil, the enemy. If they gained Lightbearer magic, they would surely destroy the coterie and kill every inhabitant far more quickly and efficiently than they have been working on thus far.
“You are only one shifter,” Sabine said. “And it does not appear you travel with a pack. If I share my magic with you, you may very well leave us in peace, but what about the rest of them?”
The shifter shrugged. “Not my concern.”
“Sabine, you cannot possibly—”
“Enough.” The shifter cut him off. “Give me your magic or die. It is as simple as that.”
“Not quite that simple,” Sabine said, and she lunged, catching the shifter by surprise. She managed to nick him with her sword before he scrambled out of range.
He looked down at the bleeding wound on his arm. When he glanced up again, his eyes glowed. James opened his mouth to tell Sabine to run, but it was too late. Before James could so much as blink, the man turned into a wolf. The wolf snarled once and then attacked, but it did not attack Sabine as James was expecting.
It attacked him.
Chapter 4