CHAPTER 29

"I'll need you shadowing me tonight," he said, and I was pretty sure my balls shriveled up into my body. "Finley has been anxious for the last couple days. She hasn't been punished for…whatever it is they punish her for. Right now, she is practically jumping out of her skin. I'll need to be available to help her should she require assistance. You can watch for the demons' creations while I'm…indisposed."

"But…" He walked on, and I had to scramble onto Bella's back and hurry her after him. "But sir, how can I keep up with a dragon?"

"You are a wolf, are you not? Don't wolves always pride themselves on how quickly and quietly they can get through a wood?"

"But I can't—" I gritted my teeth and internally swore. I could shift, apparently. Those village people had said so. And while generally that would've been an amazing thing, it wasn't so great if it meant I'd been forced to spend even more time in the moody prince's company.

"I can help you through the shift, if you're rusty," he said, suddenly chatty as shit. When it came to doling out terrible news, he was apparently full of things to say. "I can give you a boost of power to make sure the transition is easy."

"What about Urien?" That was his trusty valet, a relic from a time when people did the job they were trained for, and did it well.

"He's always on hand, but tonight…I want another set of eyes. You're doing it for Finley, Hadriel. Something tells me that tonight…" His voice turned into a hard growl. "Whatever is happening tonight…she'll need all the support she can get."