He threw the second disc. Struck the bear between the eyes. But the enchantment on this creature must be thick. She didn’t stop her attack. Her cubs abandoned their bush and ran to where Myrthe lay to get their own bites in.

He had seconds to act and no plan.

The bear raised herself on her hind legs, tensed, and then dropped her body weight onto her front paws to crush Myrthe’s skull.

Chapter 44
Myrthe

I went deaf.

The silence struck like when Oma boxed my ears. Did the bear attack and I was still in shock? Or had Bastiaan shot the bear? That must be it.

I braced for the blow of a falling carcass, trembling from the strain on my muscles. The silence stretched on. Something was . . . off. I squinted my eyes open.

The bear towered over me. Jaw wide. Drool shining beneath the mocking spring sunlight. I slammed my eyes shut again, yet silence reigned. I peeked one eye open and dared to keep it that way. The bear seemed almost frozen. Not a hair moved. The drool didn’t drip. Its angry eyes didn’t shift when I scrambled out from beneath its shadow. The cubs stood like statues, half batting at me with bared teeth.

Only then did I notice Bastiaan beside me, stretched out on the ground as though skidding to a halt after a wild dive. One hand extended to where I’d been lying. I hadn’t even registered his touch. Or presence.

But now he propped himself up on an elbow and stared at his right hand in wonder. “It’s back.”

Thousands of black wasps hovered above my head in midflight. No diving. No wing flaps. How did they stay aloft? My brain registered what Bastiaan said. “What’s back?”

“My Talent.” He pressed his closed fist to his forehead and mouthed something that looked like, Thank you.

His Talent did this? “You can . . . control animals?”

“I don’t deserve this second chance.” He seemed to be talking to himself.

I rose, as tense as if it were the start of a schaatsing race. I circled the bear. It could very well be a stuffed trophy kill in the entryway of the schloss. Incredible. In a moment of recklessness, I poked the bear’s shoulder. The fur gave way to my touch but sprang back once I removed my finger. No reaction from the beast. But it wasn’t just the bear . . . or the wasps. The vines no longer moved.

“What did you do?”

“I stopped time.”

Time. Time? That type of Talent was . . . godlike.

“I thought the king destroyed your Talent.”

“I thought so too. It seems King Mattias’s Bane has limitations.”

“How long has it been since he touched you?”

“Seven days.”

I looked back at the still bear, a statue of fury and wrath. “What opportune timing.”