“I’m not going to be dead weight, Nyfain,” I said. “I can handle myself. I know how much I can do and still be safe. I won’t endanger our child, nor will I endanger our people by hiding. Lay off.”
“I love domestic arguing as much as the next person,” Hadriel said, “but we don’t have time for it, Finley. Just agree with him now and do as you please later, like normal.”
Hannon jogged out of a room down the way. “Demons are surrounding the castle. We need to move if we don’t want to be overrun. It looks like the demon king had a large force on hand. He was ready for this.”
Nyfain swore under his breath. “We need to get to Starvos. After that, we’ll meet the demons.”
“When the battle turns in your favor, watch for a change in their organization,” Govam called out over the sudden din. “At some point, the higher-powered demons will take over. When that happens, it means Dolion has left. They’ll try to scatter. Let them. Chase him. Try to get him before he gets back to his castle.”
“His fortress, you mean,” Vemar said.
“Yes,” Govam replied. “I can get you in without being detected, but if you fight him there, it’ll be close quarters, and you won’t be able to use your dragons. The odds will be in his favor.”
Nyfain grabbed my hand and urged me forward, running by Govam. It wouldn’t take Dolion long to take off, I knew that much. He’d nearly gotten eaten by a dragon, so I imagined he’d be a bit scale-shy.
“As soon as you have the space, shift,” Nyfain called out behind him. “Barrel through the enemy wolves. Scatter them. If they don’t get out of the way, that’s their—”
Nyfain cut off as a demon ran around the corner in a staff member’s outfit. He skidded to a stop upon seeing us, shifting his appearance to look human. Almost lazily, Nyfain grabbed him by the neck as we passed by. He ripped him sideways and slammed him into the wall. His head thunked hard before he slid bonelessly to the ground.
“—that’s their problem,” Nyfain finished, reaching the stairs and stuttering in his step. Three wolves waited at the base, looking up. Beyond them were more, the first line of offense.
“They’re small and likely have very little power,” Weston growled. “They have been left to die. I’ll shift now. I don’t need dragons to take these wolves in hand.”
“I am so glad he’s on our side,” Hadriel said from somewhere behind us.
“Okay, little buddy, this is goodbye for a while,” Vemar told him as Nyfain walked us down the hall to give Weston room to shift. “Make sure to watch that asshole.”
“Vemar, love, you really need to learn when and where that actually applies,” Hadriel muttered.
Weston jogged between Nyfain and me as we headed toward the stairs. The enemy wolves growled, their ears flattening against their heads…and then suddenly they weren’t growling anymore. One and all started to back away, their tails tucked firmly between their legs. A moment later, they started whimpering. Each lowered slowly, flattening to their bellies.
“My turn.” Another of our wolves, powerful in his own right, on the next tier of Weston’s hierarchy, shifted. He jogged down as Weston prepared to move on, his hackles raised and tail high.
Nyfain and I jogged past them, the rest of our team following. Weston returned to his position between us, and a glance back said the enemy wolves were now allies. We could turn them all loose when this day was done, but for now they would help rather than hurt.
Down the next flight of the stairs, we found the same situation, which Weston quickly handled, plus a few wolves loitering in the hallways.
“They are alerting the others of our progress,” one of the wolf shifters behind us said as we continued on.
“Lot of good it’ll do them,” I said, finally reaching the wide, curved staircase that would land us on the bottom level at the front of the castle. More wolves waited there, larger than the others and much better organized.
“These are the power players,” the wolf shifter behind us said as everyone started making room to shift. “Time for the dragons to help us make this easy.”
Power built within the link. Nyfain’s and my dragons shoved it back and forth, building quickly. They knew it was time to go to war.
“Watch that asshole,” Nyfain told me with a smirk and a wink, and I couldn’t help but laugh as our power pumped higher. He glanced behind him. “Okay, dragons, cause havoc.”
Nyfain walked down a few steps. Weston and another wolf quickly fell in beside him, their hackles raised and their lips pulled back from their teeth in twin snarls. The wolves at the bottom backed off a few paces, ready to battle. One of them jerked, though, and then another, their ears twitching. More followed, hunching a little, their growls growing louder. Another shook itself, probably feeling Weston’s call to join our pack and trying to shake it off.