The Kingdom's Crown (Inheritance of Hunger #3) - Kathryn Moon Page 0,110

on them, and that would only lead to serious trouble.

"You'd better go. I heard the council demanding they send in the army," Owen said. I snarled at that, but Owen just ruffled my ears. "Remember that the army is one of the first places they put two-natured to work."

"Sam, go tell Griffin and then come back to find us. We should go," Aric said to me as the white owl took off overhead. Aric hadn't risen into the saddle he'd put on Darby, but perhaps the idea of being ridden was offensive for a two-natured. "They'll send guards around to the back gate soon."

I rubbed up against the legs of my Chosen who were remaining behind, nuzzling my jaw into Daniel's outstretched hand.

"Have fun," he murmured. "Don't get into any trouble."

I huffed at that, and Thao bit lightly on the end of my tail, urging me to chase after Aric and Darby heading for the gate.

There was a winding road through tall outbuildings adjacent to the castle, where carriages and stores were kept, that separated it from the city. We hurried down it now, and I enjoyed the change of scenery. It'd been weeks since we'd been to the beach, and I realized now that I had too little fresh air in my life, cooped up during mourning. The floors in the castle were slippery under my paws, and this gritty road was uncomfortable but an improvement, less likely to send me sliding into walls as I gave chase.

"Stars," Aric gasped as we reached the first break in the narrow road that opened to the city.

The city now overtaken by animals. And in spite of the strangeness of foxes and deer and groundhogs strolling the road, the scene was calm, as if the city had been abandoned in order for wildlife to take over. The only sign of humans were the faces plastered fearfully to windows, staring out of the shops. I wanted to paw at the glass, draw the humans out to show them that we were safe creatures, not monsters, but an enormous strange tiger banging on a window probably wasn't the most effective tactic.

"Griffin said she'd be watching for conflicts from overhead, but if the council is calling on the army, that's where they'll likely break out first," Aric called to us, frowning briefly and shaking his head. "Feel like a zookeeper with you lot looking at me like that. Or dinner."

I grinned at him, not the most reassuring sight in this form, and pushed my way around my shifted Chosen to lean against his side, making him stumble. He reached down, patting at my head, and above us a soft gasp exhaled, a shop girl leaning out of a window with wide eyes.

"My lord, aren't you frightened?" she shouted to Aric, squawking as a squirrel ran along the building ledge past her, chasing after a bird. "One hardly knows if they're real beasts or not."

"How many tigers do you think are roaming about the capital generally?" Aric barked back with a roll of his eyes. The girl only gaped at him, and he shook his head, muttering down to me, "Not sure I enjoy being called milord." He eyed me in silence for a moment, and his frown quirked. "And I'm surprised to find I don't enjoy that you can't talk back at me. I'd expected to savor your silence."

I growled and butted his hip with my head. Truthfully though, I felt strange in this form for so long, especially not being able to communicate in more than animal signals with the others. Cresswell's warning growl as I moved too far ahead sounded more like a threat than concern, and it was a struggle keeping my human brain in control.

And unfortunately, that control didn't grow easier when we found the first instance of violence in the city, and it wasn't even from the army.

I caught the whiff of fear, a horrible warning stench, and hurried around a corner to see four young men crowded around an upturned crate.

"Ughhh, stars, smell that? Look what you made it do!"

"Bryony," Aric shouted as I bounded in their direction, snarling.

Cresswell, Thao, and Wendell were quick behind me, and one of the young men let out a wild screech at the sight of us, the others whirling around.

"Shut it, Cowper, it's just one of them," one of the larger men snarled, and he stepped forward with a sharpened stick thrusting in our direction, his teeth gritted back at me. "You'll be