The cruiser was clearly visible now, a big, strange shape, as if six giant barrels had been bound together into a space caltrop bristling with weapons.

Behind me Droplet let out an alarmed screech.

The two forward-facing barrels ignited with brilliant red.

I sank my consciousness into the inn, merging with Gertrude Hunt, and raised the void field.

The barrels flashed. Twin warheads shrieked through the air toward us. Time slowed, and I watched them spin as they hurtled straight for the inn.

A phantom breeze stirred the hem of my robe.

The warheads met my invisible void field and detonated. A wall of blinding white fire drenched the space in front of us. Water exploded straight up, like a tsunami, flowing over the invisible dome above us, all of it silent.

The inn didn’t shudder. The air current didn’t change. The lights didn’t flicker. No sound penetrated. The terrace and the hall behind us remained as tranquil as ever. I had spread the void field over the entire island.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Droplet standing on the table. Every hair on her body stood on end. She looked like a cartoon squirrel who’d been electrocuted. The two assistants cowered behind her.

Orro opened one eye, glanced at the incoming cruiser, yawned, waved at Droplet with a limp hand, and fell back asleep.

Sean got up and pulled off his robe. He wore a dark combat suit underneath. The subcutaneous armor that masqueraded as his tattoos expanded, sliding in a black wave over his neck. He held a knife with a green-edged blade. His eyes were clear and bright.

The water drained down. Alien fish and long serpentine creatures rolled and slid over the void field dome, tumbling back into the orange depths.

Sean pulled a thick inn branch out of the floor. It wound around him.

“I need a hole,” Sean said.

Being in love with a werewolf: enjoying unwavering support interrupted by moments of intense terror. This was a terror moment. He trusted me, and I had to trust him.

The cruiser hovered right in front of us. They couldn’t believe it. They had come in for a closer look.

I split the void field, parting it like pages of a book.

The branch grasping Sean snapped, flinging him into the air. Gorvar jumped up on his table and let loose an eerie, hair-raising howl. Sean landed on top of the cruiser and stabbed it.

Yep, that’s exactly what I thought he would do.

The knife carved through hull steel like it was butter. Sean’s body broke, expanding into a large shape in a blink. Dark fur sheathed his head. He grasped the edge of the ballistic plate with his clawed hand and tore it off. It fell into the water, and he dropped into the hole he made.

I reinstated the void field and sat back in my chair.

Gorvar kept howling.