Page 10 of Wolf of Ashes
He breaks the contact, leaving me perplexed as he steps back and reaches up to his crown, his hands closing around it as if he’s going to take it off.
I lean forward in anticipation, but a second later, he crouches to the floor and bows his head.
I can no longer see his face.
He slips the crown upward. The moment it leaves his head, black hair appears, falling across his face.
Remaining crouched, he rolls his shoulders, shrugging off his cloak, which floats to the floor and settles on the smooth surface with a soft hiss.
His frame is thin and transparent.
But then he rises slowly back to his feet.
My breath catches when his body transforms rapidly as he moves.
His chest fills out, gaining breadth, and his shoulders broaden. His neck thickens, his biceps grow, and his thighs and calves fill out with muscles.
My eyes widen even further when his transformation doesn’t stop there.
Flames suddenly flicker around his chin and chest, fire streaming from his mouth as he exhales.
In the next moment, the fire stops and his fingers extend into black claws that appear deadly sharp and then just as quickly retract.
Next, scales shimmer across his skin, first black in color, then ivory white, then just as quickly, they morph into a dusting of fur that covers his arms and legs before it, too, disappears.
Deep-amethyst wings burst across his back, feathers so long, they drape to the ground before they fully retract. The wings haven’t even fully disappeared before electricity crackles between his fingers on both hands, charging the air around us so that it feels like a lightning strike is seconds away.
I can only stare as his form shifts through the characteristics of countless supernaturals from dragons to wolves, bears, harpies, warlocks, and finally…
His skin smooths out to take on a human appearance, settling into a pale-brown color. His tall, muscular form remains sculpted, every perfect muscle gleaming in the dark.
He’s completely naked and it’s impossible to miss the size of the length between his legs. That is, before energy crackles around his fingertips and clothing appears. Black pants and a gray T-shirt cover his nakedness and cling to his muscles.
He holds his crown in his left hand, but with another crackle of energy, its shape changes, shrinking until it’s the size of a ring, which he slips onto the forefinger of his left hand.
Then his head rises, revealing a sharp jaw, high cheekbones, and lips shaped like a god’s. He considers me with eyes that flicker through forest green, fiery amber, and finally settle on the darkest brown.
My heart is pounding in my chest, confirming that the organ is healthy and functioning as it should be, butdamn, it was disconcerting watching this man shift his form through so many different shapes.
“Our deal is done,” he says, his voice a deep rumble, the wraith-like hiss completely gone. “Tell me what vengeance you seek and I will make it so.”
My lips part. I’m ready to speak, but I pause.
Deals are tricky. The keeper of dark magic has taken the power in my heart and now I need to assert my claim in return.
Despite all the lessons my mother taught me, the only information she refused to give me was the identity of the man responsible for her imprisonment when she was six months pregnant. All I know is that he is male.
Oh, she talked about the supernaturals in her life, but she never told me which man betrayed her. Which man so coveted the chance to rule the most powerful empire of dark creatures that they would condemn her to die in a cage.
I think she must have known that, if I ever escaped, I would seek revenge against that man.
But her final words will never leave me.
“We may be creatures of dark magic, but we were loved.”
Now, I allow my hatred to rise as I voice my answer carefully. “You will help me kill the man who murdered my father, imprisoned my mother, and stole the empire that should have been mine.”
The dark magic keeper smiles. “Then let the age of dark magic begin.”
