“Step back!” I yell, the crackling of my flame against the pull of the damp is loud, but my anger and need to protect her overrides everything else. His precaution keeping me wet has just proved to be ineffective. Fear shines in his eyes with the reflection of my flames. The guards close in, and I project a wide flaming ring around the two of us, urging them to test me like that again. I have had days to contemplate their strategy at the lake and devise my own defensive moves. They will not take us by surprise again. The flames rise high around us, impenetrable from outside.
I’m completely focused.
With a cracking of bones and a soft grunt, I hear Lyva shift from girl to wolf. Her body doubles in size, her dark black and grey fur is bristled, and her large sharp teeth are bared, ready t
