Except she wasn’t. Her blood was boiling, but unlike his wild anger, her fury was perfectly controlled. She gave not a hint to that leashed fire, just stood there and faced him, unblinking.

“Get out,” the soldier said, and he pointed at her. “Right now, or I’ll kill you after I’m done killing him. This is your only chance for mercy, you get it?”

Spoken in the imperial tongue. Did he think she could understand? Or did he speak only for himself, a justification for the abuse he planned to inflict? A slight smile crept at the edges of Mari’s lips. As her anger grew, she felt a familiar presence. The world around her darkened. Understanding came to her, as brilliant as the dawn. Of what Endarius was. Of what the Lion wanted when he demanded her rage.

“Can you not hear me?” the soldier asked, stepping closer. He pulled his sword an inch from its sheath, his intentions clear. “Get out of here, you cow.”

Mari didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Only smiled. Despite the threat, she was calm for the first time during her three months spent on Thanet. She was a god-whisperer, and at long last, she had been received.

The soldier reached for her hand, and only then did she react. Her legs pulsed with strength far beyond their normal limits. She slammed against him, toppling him onto his back. Her hands latched on to his wrists. Her knees dug into his upper thighs, locking him down. The soldier stared up at her, shocked silent by her sudden ferocity.

Mari smiled sweetly down at him. Claws stretched from her fingers and sank into his skin. Her elbows jerked as the hinges reshaped. Her chest flattened as fat became muscle. Gray fur sprouted across her bare skin, tearing apart her dress.

“Not cow,” she whispered in imperial so he would understand her before he died. The bones beneath her skin broke and reformed. “Lioness.”

She opened her mouth, and in response, her upper and lower jaw extended. Gray fur coated her body. Sharp, hungry teeth replaced her own. Mari tore into the soldier’s neck, seeking blood and finding it. A single jerk of her head and the man’s spine snapped. The taste of warm flesh on her tongue sent shivers through her changing body. Endarius’s strength flowed within her, reshaping her, but she did not re-create herself with the same vibrant luster he’d once possessed in life. The Lion was slain, his physical body lost, and her new form would showcase that deathly nature.