Shouts and screams, and a general scramble ensued. Bel and her attendants raced to surround Pia. Grace, Niniane, and Khalil herded people back from the fight. Pia ignored it all as she brushed off sand and stood. Her entire attention was focused on the writhing pile of warriors.

All the sentinels were deadly, but Dragos was the fastest and deadliest of all. The only one who was truly his match in strength and speed was Liam. And she prayed with everything she had that the imposter could not fully access all of Dragos’s abilities, and he did not fully understand the true nature of the body he had stolen.

Vicious though it was, the battle was over in short order. Confined by the magic in the shackles, the imposter was overwhelmed by the sheer strength in the numbers allied against him. One by one they lifted away, until he lay on the sand, bound by magicked metal, his face distorted with towering rage.

Carling had joined Pia to watch the battle, her beautiful features intent. The ancient Vampyre was one of the most experienced and deadly magic users Pia had ever met. If anyone might know how to exorcise the creature who had taken over Dragos’s body, it was her.

Pia whispered, “How do we expel it?”

Carling’s large, almond shaped eyes were compassionate. “I don’t know, Pia. I had hoped the null spell shackles would force it out, but it appears that it hasn’t.”

“There has to be something we can do. Anything.” As Grace, the young woman who was the Oracle, limped up to them, Pia whirled to her. “Grace? Did you see something useful?”

Grace shook her head, mouth downturned. “There were too many people milling about, and now that he’s bound, the shackles are preventing me from seeing anything. I’m so sorry. I wish I had something useful to offer.”

Panic started shrieking in her head. Ruthlessly, she squashed it. Panic wasn’t going to get Dragos back. She walked over to the sprawled figure and knelt beside him. “Give me back my husband.”

“Your husband is dead,” the imposter spat. His nose had been bloodied and droplets sprayed her face.

She didn’t flinch. Instead she leaned closer and stared into his eyes. “If my husband is dead,” she said, “then I have nothing to lose, do I?”

He started to laugh then convulsed. Briefly—oh so briefly—hot gold flashed in his eyes. Dragos snarled telepathically, Do what you need to do.

The next minute, Dragos was gone again, and the creature who glared back at her had eyes of amber. It hurt so bad to see him so briefly, yet at the same time triumph swelled. Somehow, somewhere, her mate was still in there.

And she would do whatever she needed to get him back.