Lyssa and the Prince by Carla Kerr

Author:Carla Kerr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, magic
Publisher: Carla Kerr
Published: 2021-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9: Transforming

“Lyssa,” Croga began, drawing her name out slowly.

Lyssa reined her horse back until they were side by side, and arched an eyebrow at him.

“I was thinking,” he said. He still didn’t seem inclined to elaborate, though. They rode on.

“That’s never a good sign,” Lyssa observed, hoping to spur him into saying more.

For a moment, he didn’t. They’d ridden some distance from the town this time, casting their senses wide, checking for any sign of Horgan and his dark workings. Nothing, still – could it be possible that Lochlannor was right and nothing more would happen?

“Croga, tell me,” she said at last, losing patience.

He sighed. “Well, I was thinking about this shapeshifting thing.”

“Ah. That.”

“That. Rosalind says I should practise. She thinks it’ll get easier. And I was thinking – well, maybe I should start.”

She’d been waiting for something like this, of course. After his inadvertent transformation at Rosalind and Finbar’s wedding, he was bound to come around to the idea of having the power to change at will, and doing what he could to avoid it happening against his will again.

“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” she asked.

“Probably not.” He laughed, a little nervously. “I don’t want to do it alone, in case... well. In case. Could you...”

“I’ll be there.” Reins in one hand, Lyssa reached over with the other, and with a reluctant smile he took it. She gave his a squeeze. “I don’t think you’ll need me, though. You managed to change back all by yourself last time.”

He shuddered at the memory. “Yeah. I just wish I knew how I’d done it.”

They were approaching the town again, having taken a wide circle. Lyssa looked around. Still nothing out of the ordinary, still no trace of dark magic. She was beginning not to expect it, almost.

“Let’s head back,” she suggested. “We can make a start.”

It was a moment before he nodded.

It had to be frightening, she knew. Croga had spent months trapped in the form of a snake before she’d found him, and even that had been pure chance. If the circle hadn’t been started where it had been, or if she hadn’t thought to examine the interior of the caravan, he might still be stuck in that shape now. At the wedding, when he’d changed again without expecting it, she’d seen that he was terrified, and she couldn’t blame him. Her first thought had been that he was trapped again – his must have been the same.

“Maybe we’d better go to the Palace, though,” she said. “That way, if we run into any trouble, at least we’ll have Rosalind and the other healers to help.”

“Trouble,” he snorted. “Why not just say, if I can’t change back?”

Obligingly, she repeated, “If you can’t change back.” There was no point in pretending the possibility didn’t exist, after all. They might as well talk about it, and maybe it would help him to relax. “Remember, Emilie got you out of it the first time. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if we had to ride out there again.

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