Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(83)

Lyon lifted his head on a powerful, satisfied roar. As one, the three cats shimmered in a rainbow of light, changing to bloody, naked warriors. So like their clones until she looked into their eyes and saw raw admiration.

And in Lyon's, love.

His arm curled around her shoulders and he pulled her into his arms. "You were magnificent."

"Where's Tighe?" Jag asked. "And Vhyper?"

Kara's smile died before it was fully born.

"Vhyper fled, and Tighe followed." Paenther grabbed one of the torches off the wall and took off at a run, deeper into the dungeons.

Lyon grabbed her hand, and together they and Jag followed close behind. As they rounded the corner, they found the great orange-and-black-striped cat lying unmoving in a damp, empty chamber.

The men knelt at the cat's side, Paenther digging his fingers into the tiger's neck fur.

"He's alive, but barely. His pulse is slow, Roar." Disbelief shimmered in his eyes. "Vhyper poisoned him. I smell it."

Lyon shook his head. "How could Vhyper have shifted? He wasn't with us during the Ascension."

Jag snorted. "There's been some heavy shit magic going on down here. The witch must be right about the blade stealing Vhype's soul. That snake knows his venom can be deadly, even to us."

"Find him," Lyon ordered. "And find the rest of my men."

As Paenther and Jag ran from the room, Kara fell to her knees beside Tighe, her heart clenched in fear, her stomach tight with misery. She stroked her hand into his fur, settling it on his chest as she searched for sign of life.

"Can a Feral survive Vhyper's poison?"

"For a short time, though we've never had to test it. He's used it against the Mage before. That poison attacks even immortal bodies and will eventually destroy them."

Kara felt movement, the slight rise and fall of Tighe's breast. "He's still alive."

She pressed both palms to his fur and poured her radiance into him. Lyon squatted on the other side of the tiger and slid his hand into his friend's fur, his expression grim as he watched her.

"Do you feel anything?" he asked.

"No. Nothing's happening." She pressed power into Tighe until sweat rolled down her temples, but still he didn't respond.

"Look what I found," Jag said and she looked up to see Wulfe, Kougar, Foxx, and the real Hawke standing behind him, fully clothed. Wulfe was blinking as if he'd just woken from a long sleep. Behind them, Pink entered in her birdlike gait.

Hawke frowned at Tighe. "What happened?"

"Long story," Jag countered. To Lyon he said, "Wulfe seems to be back to normal now that he's got the other half of his soul back. I found Kougar, Hawke, Foxx, and Pink in the prison cells, too. The witch wasn't taking any chances."

"Where's Zaphene?" Foxx demanded.

Kara grimaced, feeling sorry for the' young warrior and hoping his emotions had only been manipulated by the witch and not truly engaged. Or he was going to be hurting.

Jag put his hand on Foxx's shoulder and led him away from the others to talk to him.

Beneath Kara's hands, Tighe wasn't responding. She turned off the radiance, letting herself go dark as she held up her hand. "I need a knife."

"No," Lyon said. "His blood's been poisoned. You're not going to mix it with yours."

Love for him overflowed even as she met his gaze with calm certainty. "This is my purpose. To heal and empower the Ferals. He's mine. You're all mine. I love you, Lyon, but don't stand in my way of what I have to do."

He stared at her for one long moment before scowling. "Damn, you're bossy."

She grinned at him. "That's why. I'm so sure we belong together."

A smile twitched at his mouth, but never quite erased the worry in his eyes. "Don't make the cuts any deeper than you have to."

"I won't."

Lyon's mouth compressed, but he pulled out one of his switchblades and made small cuts in the centers of her upturned palms. He turned to Tighe and dug the blade into the fur at the animal's shoulder.

Silence blanketed the room as Kara pressed her bloody hands to the tiger's fresh wound. "Come back to us, Tighe," She paused before pulling the fire, visualizing what she wanted. A blast of energy so strong it charged into Tighe and shot him to his feet, whole and alive. Kara took a deep breath and pulled hard.

Power leaped into her in a blinding rush and poured into the animal beneath her hands. More. More.

"Damn," someone muttered behind her.

Tighe stirred, filling with the power as Lyon and Jag had before him. Strong arms gripped her and pulled her back as Tighe bounded to his feet, shook like a great cat coming awake, then shifted into human form, immediately covering his eyes. Unlike the other three cats, Tighe retained his clothes when he shifted and looked strangely and completely normal.

"Someone turn off the lights or get me my shades," he growled.

Kara laughed, relief and joy bubbling through her as she let go of the radiance and went to slide into Lyon's arms.

Tighe's face took on a sudden fury. "Kara get away from him! He's a clone."

Lyon held, up his free arm, crisscrossed with barely healed cuts. "The clones are dead, Tighe."