them, but Leo had thought it best for the dragon shifters to stay away from the Isle of Secrets for now. The dragons were too noticeable, and they couldn’t afford to let Cahira or the Chameleon know that their hiding place had been discovered. The enemy would be on the alert then, and Leo and his allies would lose the element of surprise.
Some loud voices on deck caught his attention, and he got up and pulled on some breeches. As he opened his door, he heard his guard arguing with a sailor.
“That’s not a man!” the sailor yelled, brandishing a sword. “He landed on deck as a bird, then turned into a dog! He’s something evil, he is!”
Leo spotted the familiar black-and-white shaggy dog behind his personal guard. Thank the Light, Brody had arrived.
“Your Majesty.” His guard bowed his head. “I was bringing Brody to your cabin when this—”
“I understand.” Leo turned to the sailor. “Thank you for protecting me, but this shifter is actually in my employ.”
“Oh.” The sailor lowered his sword, then bowed. “My apologies, Your Majesty.”
“No problem.” Leo motioned for Brody to enter his cabin. Leo’s soldiers all knew who Brody was. But here on his ships, his sailors had never encountered the shifter.
Leo stepped back as Brody trotted inside, making sure his bare feet were several feet away from the dog. Or prince, he corrected himself with a snort.
He shut the door. “I’m glad you’re here.” He located a pair of breeches and turned to toss them at Brody. “Holy crap!”
This wasn’t Brody, but an old, frail man.
“Who . . . ?” Leo could easily kill an intruder with a bolt of lightning, but this elderly man didn’t look strong enough to be dangerous.
“It’s me.” Brody’s voice came from the old man’s mouth. He pulled on the breeches. “Don’t zap me.”
“Brody?”
“Aye.” He buttoned the breeches. “You know that I can only be myself for two hours a day, so I’m trying to preserve—”
“You can shift into other people?” Leo gave him an incredulous look.
Brody sighed. “Aye, but I never did it before—”
“You’re just like the—”
“Don’t say it!” Brody growled. “I’m nothing like the Chameleon. Dammit, why do people keep saying that?”
Leo scoffed. “Because the two of you have the same power, obviously.”
“What’s important is not the power, but how you use it. You know that.”
Leo smiled to himself. It made sense to him now how Brody had always talked to him as if he was an equal. “So this power is another one of the secrets you kept from us, Prince Brodgar?”
Brody winced. “I guess you heard.”
“Yes. I met your mother today. A lovely woman. She expects you to take the throne after this battle.”
“I know.” Brody glanced around the room. “You have something to drink around here?”
Leo strode to a table and poured some water into a wooden cup. He tended to use wooden plates and utensils so his electric energy wouldn’t be transferred. “Here.” He set the cup and a plate of bread and cheese in front of a chair, then sat in the chair across from it. “Tell me your plan.”
Brody sat down and took a sip of water. “I have infiltrated Aerie Castle in this form. The Seer had an affair with Cahira about twenty years ago, and she’s still very fond of him. She knew he was in poor health, so she wanted him to come to her castle, where she could take care of him.”
“So she believes you are the Seer?” When Brody nodded, Leo continued. “You must know the Seer really well to be able to fool Cahira.”
Brody tore off a piece of bread. “After I was cursed, I washed up on the Isle of Mist. The Seer was like a father to me.”
“You never mentioned that before. Is the real Seer still on the Isle of Mist?”
With a sigh, Brody dropped the bread back on the plate. “Yes. I buried him there. Before he died, he begged me to impersonate him so I could stop Cahira’s evil plan.”
Leo nodded slowly. “Your mother told us how Cahira blew up your father’s ship and killed him and your brother. And she was the witch who cursed you.”
“Aye.” Brody picked up the bread again and took a bite. “Obviously, my plan is to keep Cahira busy so she can’t blow up your ships. And I need to make her lift my curse.”
“So Cahira and the Chameleon are two of the remaining three members of the Circle of Five.” Leo leaned forward.