Dancing Wolf by Amberlyn Holland

Author:Amberlyn Holland [Holland, Amberlyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fairy tale, fairy tale retelling, fairy tale romance, fantasy, fantasy romance, fantasy fairy tale, wolf shifter
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

ZANE watched Maegna disappear, relieved that she was safely away, and praying he'd made the right choice.

There was nothing he could do now but carry on with the plan and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, Zane was not nearly as confident as he led Maegna to believe.

He had no real idea how to he was going to pull it off. Because there was no way to wrest the amulet from Bertram without announcing himself to an encampment full of Isadora's guards.

And Isadora herself.

With no way of knowing if she'd recognize Zane as a wolf-shifter, he couldn't risk revealing that side of himself.

So he'd have to make the attempt with the disadvantage of having only two feet, not four.

As he crept back, he scouted out the clearing again. Monitoring the guard positions and noting who was dozing and who remained alert. Calculating angles and escape routes. Studying the fastest ways in and out.

Most importantly, trying to figure out the most likely activation location for the amulet. Zane's bet was on the center of the clearing where a wide, roughly circular spot of disturbed ground sat. It was well away from fires and benches and all of Isadora's men seemed to instinctively skirt the edge of the area when they moved around.

Hoping to pick up any useful stray details of the viscount's research, or the Keres' schemes, Zane kept half an ear on their conversation while he considered his options.

Until something Bertram said filtered through his distraction.

"… I have found a way to trace the magic connecting my boys to the Slipper."

"Excellent. I'm assuming you can do the same with the girl?"

This was the second time they'd implied there was another victim of the curse. Earlier, the revelation had been easy to lose sight of in the torrent of surprises.

Now, it drew Zane's full attention.

Especially when Bertram ducked his head and hunched his shoulders uncomfortably before he answered Isadora.

"I'm afraid there's no connection to be found. Either distance makes the link too thin to track or…"

"Or what?"

"Or she's no longer connected to the Slipper at all."

"What could sever the connection?" Isadora's voice remained even and reasonable, but fury lined her every word.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," Bertram pointed out sharply. "Without some kind of magical interference, however, death is the only thing that could break the hold of the Slipper."

"Pity," Isadora said after a moment's consideration, sounding anything but regretful. "Delfina had her uses, even if that idiot screwed up when he allowed Delfina to see him delivering the Slipper to her room."

Zane had to bite hard on his lip to hide the surprise that nearly spilled out. The Slipper's other victim was Obelarr's missing princess?

No wonder Bertram was so desperate to keep his son's plight a secret.

Ill considered magic experiments were one thing.

Treason was a whole other level of quagmire of trouble.

"Of course, he wasn't the only one who botched a simple assignment," Isadora chided, tone sharp with rebuke. "If Delfina was still within our protection, we would have one less loose end to worry about.

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