Theo let out a little whoop. It was strange to see Bruni just disappear into nothing, but it meant Theo was right. The shield protected the witch against dangers, but if it didn’t see them as dangerous, then it let them through. It was not a pleasant thought to face the witch without weapons, but what was the alternative?

  Bruni returned, looking wide-eyed. Theo grinned at him, and he scowled—he had not counted on Theo being right.

  “If you say ‘I told you so’,” Bruni muttered.

  Theo’s grin only widened. He turned to Freya. “You’ll need to leave your weapons here.”

  “That’s not—”

  “Do you want me, Bruni, and Nibblet to go on our own?” Theo asked. “Because you’re not getting through otherwise.”

  Freya pressed her lips together into a thin line, showing perfectly well how much she did not like the idea. Then she began taking off her weapons—her sword, and more knives than Bruni had carried, and an assortment of other weapons Theo couldn’t name, but if they had been on his body, he would most likely just have hurt himself.

  Once everything was off, she stepped forward and disappeared. A moment later, she reappeared, her scowl only deepening. She was obviously not keen on being forced to go without her weapons.

  Theo turned to Emberion. Would it be enough to remove the sword from Emberion’s back? Somehow, he doubted it—but they could start there. He untied the sword, but when he asked Emberion to try to get through the shield, Emberion got nowhere.

  Theo grimaced. “I don’t think you will get through in dragon form.”

  “No, I suspect I cannot,” Emberion said. “Untie the rest of the packing and I will transform.”

  Theo did as asked and grabbed a shirt and pants from one of the bags for Emberion to get dressed in once he was human again. Then he watched in amazement as Emberion shrank into human form again, every bit as handsome as he had been the night before.

  Averting his gaze to the ground, Theo handed him the clothes.

  “Thank you, Theodore,” Emberion said, his voice still deep but human now, not the rumble of a dragon. “But I’ll transform in a moment again.”

  “Oh, right,” Theo mumbled. He grabbed one of the bags of food and water and hoisted it onto his back, and wiped sweat off his forehead. The day was not getting any cooler.

  Emberion looked toward the shield. “Very well. Let us try this.”

  Theo held his breath as Emberion stepped forward. When it worked and Emberion disappeared, he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or if it only filled him with more fear. Perhaps a bit of both.

  He looked at Freya and then Bruni. “Ready?”

  Freya shouldered the other large bag of necessities while Bruni took a smaller one. They both gave curt nods, and then they stepped through.

  The shade and moisture of the forest was a welcome respite, but Theo didn’t like the many hiding places the trees and bushes offered. Emberion stood there, looking around with an impressed expression.

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  “This is interesting,” he said. “I wonder how she does it.”

  “She’s a witch,” Bruni said, as though that explained everything, and in a way, it did. “Will you get back to being a dragon now?”

  Emberion stood still, and Theo expected him to transform—but nothing happened.

  “Well?” Bruni said impatiently.

  “It seems…” Emberion said, a frown marring his features. “It seems I cannot.”

  Theo swallowed. If Emberion couldn’t transform into his most formidable form, then they were really in trouble, and without any sorts of protection.

  “Will you be able to walk, Bruni?” Freya asked.

  Theo expected a scowl from Bruni, and an ‘I’ll be fine’, but a flicker of uncertainty crossed Bruni’s face instead. “I don’t know.”

  How ill must he be to admit that much?

  “We’ll see how far we can get,” Theo said.

  “One second, and I will try this instead,” Emberion said. A moment later, his limbs elongated and fur covered his skin, his neck growing longer.

  Before them stood a horse, sleek and black and muscular. His familiar orange eyes remained, though, and just like Theo had thought, Emberion was gorgeous no matter which shape he took.

  A breath of what had to be relief escaped Bruni, who wouldn’t have to walk after all.

  “That’s great,” Theo said, smiling at Emberion. Emberion neighed, and Theo chuckled. “You can’t talk in this form, I suppose? But you’re okay with Bruni riding on your back?”

  Emberion nodded his head.

  Freya helped Bruni onto Emberion’s back, and then they stood there. Theo searched for the house he had seen before, but frowned when he couldn’t see it. A house couldn’t disappear, could it? Then again, they had just passed through a magical shield from a desert to a dense forest, so who could really say?

  “There was a house over there before,” he said, pointing.

  “I don’t see anything,” Freya said.

  Theo shook his head. “It was there, but not anymore. But I think it was the witch’s house, so maybe we should head in that direction.”

  To his surprise, Freya shrugged. “Might as well. It’s not like we have any better ideas.”

  They began walking. After the harshness of the dry desert, it was a relief to wander across soft moss, and the air was fresh, tinged with a sweet scent. It wasn’t the scent of a normal forest, but then, nothing about this was normal. Theo kept his hands near his body, careful not to touch anything—here, Emberion couldn’t swoop in to rescue him if he burned his hands on a plant, or worse.

  “I don’t like this forest,” Bruni said. “It’s not right.”

  Emberion snorted, and Theo imagined him saying, It is a bewitched forest, of course it is not right.

  He liked Emberion. Theo had never met anyone like him—literally, because he had never known a dragon shifter, but also because Emberion seemed to enjoy Theo’s company too. Not because he was the prince, or because he had to, but just because Theo was Theo. In a way, it reminded him of Ariana, who also appeared to like him for being Theo, except Emberion was… exciting. Where Ariana was like a cousin, Emberion held an allure Theo couldn’t express.

  It felt good.

  What wasn’t so good was the sudden appearance of a shadowy figure, emerging from the underbrush, its form flickering and shifting as if it were made from dark smoke. It had a vaguely humanoid shape, but was taller than any man, with eyes that glowed an eerie, luminescent green.

  Freya immediately stepped forward, positioning herself between the creature and Theo. Despite her lack of weapons, her stance was resolute, her eyes fixed on the threat before them.

  The creature moved with a liquid grace, its movements almost hypnotic in their fluidity.

  “What is that?” Theo whispered, his voice trembling.

  Emberion, still in horse form, snorted and pawed the ground. Bruni looked alarmed, his hands holding onto Emberion’s mane with tight fists. “A shadow wraith,” Bruni muttered, his voice tight. “We need to be careful. It can sap your strength with a single touch.”

  The wraith let out a low, resonant growl, the sound vibrating through the air and sending chills down Theo’s spine.

  Freya took a step forward, her jaw set. “Stay back!”

  “What, and leave you to it? What are you supposed to do without your weapons?” Theo asked. “I’m not even sure the sword would have helped.”

  The creature paused, its glowing eyes narrowing as it studied Freya. Then, with a sudden, swift motion, it lunged at her. Freya dodged to the side, but the wraith was faster. Its shadowy arm lashed out, striking her in the chest and sending her sprawling to the ground.