Lila's POV
Move.
I rolled—just in time. The blade plunged into the dirt where I’d been a heartbeat before.
I shot to my feet, adrenaline roaring through me, and yanked Dia’s sword from the ground. Spinning fast, I brought my blade and hers down in a sweeping X-strike. She raised her steel-braced arms, blocking one blow—but not the second.
My blade sliced her cheek open.
She screamed, clutching her face. Thick blood pulsed through her fingers. And then I saw it.
Her eyes flashed gold.
Dia staggered back, snarling, stripping off her armour and throwing it to the dirt.
Thunder cracked across the sky—loud enough to shake the bones in my chest.
She was shifting.
Her neck veins pulsed, limbs twitching violently as fur burst across her skin. Bones snapped and stretched in grotesque chor
