was the Seer.” When the Chameleon blinked, Brody snorted. “Right. You’re not the only one who can shift into people.”
The Chameleon smirked. “I always suspected you could but were too cowardly to try it.”
“Kill him!” Cahira screamed at the Chameleon.
“Gladly.” He lifted his sword. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for years.”
Cahira laughed. “Now you will die, Prince Brodgar, still under my curse.”
The Chameleon glanced at her. “You’re the one who cursed him?”
“Of course.” Cahira strolled over to a window. “I cursed him and Gavin. And I’m the only one who can undo the curses.”
Gavin growled, and the Chameleon jolted with surprise, noticing for the first time that there was a tiger crouched behind the dead guard.
He stepped back. “That’s the cat?”
“What’s the matter, Kendric?” Brody taunted. “Are you afraid you can’t handle us both?”
Kendric’s mouth curled with a snarl. “When you’re dying and crying for mercy, there will be no help from your friends. The ships have all been destroyed. Leo and Rupert are dead!”
Maeve gasped.
“You lie!” Brody ran toward the Chameleon, his sword raised. Gavin charged toward him, too.
The Chameleon shifted into a sparrow, leaving his breeches to fall to the floor as he flew over them.
“Coward!” Brody yelled at him.
Gabby grabbed a piece of glass and threw it at the bird as it circled the throne room.
Maeve suspected Kendric was stalling for time, figuring out what to do.
Brody strode toward Cahira. “He’s not saving you. Undo the curse now!”
“He will save me.” Cahira lifted her chin. “I raised him when no one else wanted him.”
The sparrow landed beside her and quickly shifted into the Chameleon. As he straightened, he grabbed a sharp piece of glass.
“Attack them!” Cahira hissed.
Instead, he grabbed her and slit her neck.
“No!” Brody ran toward them.
With a laugh, the Chameleon stepped back and let the gasping queen slide to the floor. “Now you will be a dog for the rest of your life!”
Maeve shuddered as she watched the light dim in her mother’s eyes. No. Now Brody would be cursed forever.
Brody stumbled, falling to his knees. “No,” he whispered.
Gavin let out a mournful howl, and Gabby collapsed on the floor in tears.
The Chameleon shifted into an eagle and flew to where he’d dropped his sword. He grabbed it and charged toward Brody.
“Watch out!” Maeve screamed.
Brody spun around, lifting his sword, but the Chameleon’s momentum worked in his favor, and he knocked Brody down. As Brody scrambled back, the Chameleon slashed him in the thigh.
Oh, goddesses, no! Her dream was coming true! Maeve looked around her for a weapon, but all she saw were shards of glass. And her mother’s glassy eyes. Cahira was dead.
An abrupt pain shot through Maeve, and her vision blurred. She fell to the floor, writhing as energy sizzled up her spine, then burst into her head. With a scream, she balled up, holding her head. Dear goddesses, it felt as if her head would explode!
“Maeve!” She heard Brody yelling.
She turned her head, forcing her eyes to focus despite the pain. Don’t die, Brody. Don’t die.
With a snarl, Gavin leaped at the Chameleon, but Kendric swung his sword at the tiger, cutting his back leg. In that time, Brody managed to get to his feet. Swords clashed again and again as Brody and the Chameleon fought. Blood from his wound pooled beneath Brody’s feet, and he slipped to one knee.
The Chameleon lifted his sword, ready to strike the fatal blow.
Maeve gasped. This was what she’d seen in her dream. “No!”
As the Chameleon’s sword swung down, Brody rolled to the side and, with an upward thrust, jabbed his sword into the Chameleon’s gut.
Gavin pounced on him from behind, forcing Brody’s sword in farther. With a gurgling cry, the Chameleon fell down, then disappeared.
“What?” Brody sat up.
An insect was darting toward the door, leaving a trail of blood behind it.
Just then, Nevis ran into the room, his sword raised. “Brody! Where—” He spotted the insect and stomped it with his boot. “Damn! I hate cockroaches!”
The insect shifted back into the smashed body of the Chameleon, and Nevis jumped back.
“What the hell?” Nevis took a closer look at the dead man. “He looks a lot like Leo.” He glanced around the room. “Is everyone all right? Wait!” He lifted his sword. “Brody, don’t move. There’s a tiger beside you. I’ll take care of this.”
With a snort, Brody reached out a hand to pat the tiger. “He’s on our side. This is Gavin.”
“That’s Gavin?” Nevis gave the tiger an incredulous look.
With a pitiful howl, Gavin