In a desperate attempt to catch my breath and my bearings, I place my hands on the table to support my heavy body. Siren music was exhausting and those around me felt the weight just as heavily as I did. 

"What the hell is Grayson doing here?" Tiberius searches my face for answers and I, unfortunately, have few to give him. His guess is as good as mine. 

"Grayson has had a thing for me for some time, it's a curse I'm blessed with, unfortunately. Every lunatic we come across seems to want whatever this damaged form has to offer. Senator Campbell has been missing, we had assumed he had gone home. He wasn't quite thrilled with the idea that we would not be enacting a monarchy."

I want to include that it's his doing that I hadn't been able to escape the tiresome title of 'Majesty'. 

Frowning, Tiberius turns his back to me and I wish he would take on the appearance of anyone else. "Tiberius, nobody is watching, you are turning yourself into a target by looking like that. You have to change back-" 

As if on cue, the lumbering shadow of some unknown creature passes the foggy glass of the store. My hands clench into fists, recalling Bet's methods of tracking Gabriel. They had found a way to track me, if we could use it, it would only make sense if Senator Campbell could get his hands on it as well. 

The distant screams of humans against magic users brought me to believe that the battle hadn't ended nearly as cleanly as I'd hoped. The panicky, hurried breathing of store patrons prompts me to act as I straighten. 

"They're going to keep finding me. I'm going to have to do something about this. Tiberius, I need you to get these people out of here and keep Bet updated on the events." 

Patting my pockets, I quickly came to realize I left my phone back in the apartment and my watch had been blown by the shock.

His body returns to its normal form and I run a hand through my hair as I center myself. "You're going to face them on your own?"

"There aren't that many and proving myself as a target to people on the fence is not going to be helpful. Do not cancel tonight's plans, we have to somehow convince Caspian that I'm heading to the capitol to get married, even if he thinks I'm on the run. I need you to find me a metal worker, I have a chip I need to have removed." 

I can only hope that it was something along the lines of a chip, if it was my essence there would be no escaping the tracker. 

The shadow passes the windows again and I swallow, my heart pounding in my chest but to my surprise, it's not from fear but exhilaration. I was steadily moving beyond the fear of combat, becoming more comfortable in this body that had proven to be quite formidable. The low, rumbling growl of a feline wrenches my throat, drying my mouth. 

"Had to be cats..." I gesture to Tyberius to take the civilians to the back exit. "Get them out of here." Keeping my voice low, the creature pauses, a large black face nearing the window as the silhouette comes into view. 

Claiming control of the table in my palm, I hurl it through the glass and follow out behind it as I push off the ground. The massive black creature swipes and twists as I blow past it into the carnage of the street. It was unfair of me to think a human group could go against an accomplished user like Grayson. 

Much as I'd like to hope otherwise, he'd done similar amounts of training to Pascal in combat, Senator Campbell could easily cash in on methods they both already understood. 

Unfortunately for him, I had been trained by a fire mage. Keeping the cat at bay with blasts of ice, it's difficult to focus on keeping my feet off the ground and finding Grayson at the same time. The cat skitters and slips on the frozen street, lacking the appropriate salt from dismantled machines. 

The pinned-down response team appeared relieved under their face masks that I had decided to rejoin them though they might not be once they realized the danger their in as ringside participants. 

Landing tentatively on the ground, I hear the crack of approaching electricity and quickly leap back into the air as the spark grabs at my feet. "Cheap trick!" I call in frustration as the cat leaps for me once more. Rubber slippers on its paws prevent its own charge but also guard its claws from revealing. I deliver a kick to its chest, using the momentum to propel me down the street to leave the group away. 

There was no hope of hurting the cat with a kick from my mortal legs, but that didn't mean I couldn't use its body as a springboard.

The cat gives chase and I have to hope that Grayson isn't far behind as I watch the embers dance across the tops of dead trees lining the busy street. People run for cover and dive into alleys as fire drips from the snaking line that cracked and coiled much like a whip. Allowing my feet to only skirt the ground for a moment, I use the moment of the ice and breeze to travel as fast as I dare in the crowded street. 

He would be less likely to electrocute me if he thought he'd kill Caspian's food source in the wake of his attempts at my capture. 

At least, that's what I'd thought. 

The moment my foot touches the ground, I see the red-haired woman running alongside me. She points frantically to a stairwell leading off the building and I skitter to a stop as a crack of lightning has me jumping up into the air once more and the civilians around me dropping to their knees in anguish. Screams turn to panic as patrons run frantically around me, much like ants scattering. 

She points again and I'm reluctant to follow her. Ignoring me, she takes off in a sprint. 

As the whip of fire sails in my direction, I shield my hand in a glove of permafrost and grip the tip, sending a back charge of electricity down the whip and striking the mage as a warning. My fingers are black and tingling, I curse at my stupidity to not protect myself from the recoil.

 Breaking off in a run, I chase after the red-haired woman as she clambers up the fire escape. Pointing as we reach the top, I see that we're level with the other small shops. 

"Now what?" I demand.

She makes an apologetic face before breaking off into a sprint and leaping over the alley to land on the next roof. With a motion of her hand to follow, I take a step back. Her leggings and boots help her to be agile but my jeans and sneakers give me less confidence. I don't have any wish to fall multiple stories to my potential death, I hadn't come prepared to be a free runner.

The cat reaches the top of the stairs and snarls, roaring at me as it fights through the space. I take off in a sprint and leap, feeling the flail in my limbs from the panic of being air born, my foot barely catches the edge and I notice she doesn't help me as I struggle to right myself. 

I use the wind to push myself back up, "Thanks." I spit, she appears unapologetic as she points at the cat then takes off again. 

I hear the distant words. "Follow me."

Her voice is gentle, strong, and confident. 

Racing behind her, I begin to gain a sense of awareness as we leap from rooftop to rooftop. She isn't frightened, she runs as if she knows the city and I follow her lead. The cat struggles to match in pace in which we climb and descend, lacking the agility with the boots on. In such a free state, relying on instinct, I can feel the presence of Grayson following us. 

He hides among the cloud cover, using the lightning charge from above to keep his energy up. 

Catching glimpses of the flashes of light in the heavy clouds, I start to murmur to myself as the woman begins to jump from window ledge to window ledge to shimmy down a building, supporting herself with her fingers. There is no way I could do that, not in my current physical shape. Magic meant a taxing toll on my body, my lean physique couldn't be associated with an amount of muscle mass that could support me at my fingertips. 

But, my hands could be used for other things. 

I send the energy as I murmur, keeping an ear for the approaching beast. The clouds begin to darken, gathering in a cluster the more I murmur. They fill with sparks, and the threat of receiving a back charge is very real but if I could time this right, I could use it to my advantage. Ignoring my blackened fingertips, I hold my hands closer together, breathing out as I condense the cloud cover around the electro-charged man. 

I need to make him uncomfortable, I need to make him attack. 

Twisting my hands, I begin to funnel the cloud cover as the woman appears before me. The wind blows my clothes and my hair and yet she is motionless. She points once more, I know what her warning is, the approach of the cat. 

"Either do something or get out of my way," I command her as I force my hands together, feeling the tension of the clouds fighting to not near the mage. I squeeze him, the clouds suggest to mimic my fingers as I trap him in the ball of funneling cover. 

Blood seeps from my nose, and I force myself to ignore it.

I feel it before I see it, my fingertips sting as he erupts a charge so powerful that everything goes white for a moment. Capturing the energy in my palms, I grit my teeth as I force the cloud cover to send it back into him. While the pain of the electricity in the clouds feels as real as if it were in my own hands, the effect is what was desired as I see his form falling from the sky, released from the decreasing funnel. 

I feel drained, my palms dark and veiny from the charge, and my fingers feel numb. Electricity is not within my element, it drains me much faster than I'd like to admit. 

I see her point again. "What?!" I demand harshly as the cat makes a crushing impact to my side. We fall together down the alley between the two buildings. I fight to free myself from the beast as it twists wildly. "I hope you land on your feet you big bastard!" I manage as I squirm my way onto its back.

The jarring impact is not wasted on me, for landing on the cat feels almost as painful as I imagine landing on cement would feel. I grunt audibly as I roll off the beast and onto the slick, greasy pavement from years of dripping off the shabby gutter systems between the buildings. "Son of a bitch.." the cat manages, shaking its head, I realize that it's male. 

"It's your fault, idiot." I retort, uncaring of whether the creature was talking to me or not. "What the hell did you think was going to happen?"

Laying his ears back, the cat hisses, whiskers erect. "Don't patronize me, you traitor. You're a sell-out." Slowly, the beast begins to climb to his feet. "Grayson might have his reasons, I don't pretend to understand a faggot and his sick urges. But the rest of us are disgusted with you."

His French accent makes it difficult to understand, coupled with talking through a feline tongue.

 "Caspian is going to bring on the end of the world. We can not survive without the humans." My voice is hoarse, fighting through the throb of my body and the heat emanating from my chest. I had to keep him talking, I remind myself. I need to buy some time to recharge. The cut on my chest aches, I press my hand to my shirt and flinch at the redness on my fingertips. "You're fighting for your extinction."

"Humans did this to me!" He snarls, fangs bared.

I shut my eyes and exhaled, "I know." My voice is low, and gentle. "I know and I'm sorry. I truly am, as someone with a past.. as someone whose family has done something horrible to good people, I am sorry. I'm not going to lie and say that we can fix it because lord knows we probably can't but killing all humans..." Opening my eyes, I see he's inches away from me. "We can't keep killing each other. It has to stop with us."

Frowning the best he can, he takes a step back and observes me. "It changes nothing."

Attempting a smile, I attempt to right myself as I push up into a cautious sitting position, resting on my hip. "If Grayson would betray me, there is no reason to think he won't betray you." 

His jaws part then his ears swivel and he growls low in his throat. "Lycan." He snarls. 

I purse my lips and sigh. "Get out of here," I tell him shortly. 

"Excuse me?" Offended, his coat bristles. 

"If I have an inkling of who that is, you will not survive. Get out of here, right now. This is your one chance if you value your life." 

"Why help me?" He demands. "What makes you think I won't just take you as a hostage?"

Narrowing my eyes, I flinch as flex my fingers, attempting to get feeling back. There was no chance I could defend myself. "My husband will kill you and you know it. A lycan has your scent, he'll hunt you down before you can return me to your master." 

His ear swivels once more and with a harsh snarl, he leaps over me and takes off down the alley. I sigh in relief, only now coming to terms with how strongly my body shakes from the cold of the concrete. My hip aches, my body feels as if it's been rolled over by one of the lumbering machines. 

The distant sirens of ambulances rumble all around us and I vaguely wonder if we could take some to harvest their engines for our use. 

Once more, the woman appears before me, sitting in front of me with a concerned expression.

 "Who are you?" I demand. Her red hair falls around her shoulders, past her breasts as she crouches, examining me without touching. "Why did you help me?"

 I'd like to claim she reminds me of a Solomanari but her aura is all wrong. Everything about her is wrong for she appears to still as if she didn't exist. 

In a quick motion, I reach for her and my hand passes through her chest as her body fractures and becomes dust only to reform as my hand moves. I jerk back from her, eyes wide. "What the hell are you?" I demand. 

Frowning, she crosses her legs, pointing to my shirt as her lips move but no words come out. I refuse to entertain this game, I have no idea what this creature is but after the day I'd had, I was ready to be rid of her. 

"Look, thanks for helping me but I'm sure you heard what I told the cat. You need to get the hell out of here before-" 

Verando rounds the corner and I catch my breath only to realize, the woman is gone. 

I hear the faint words, spoken on delay. "It's there."

What's there? I touch my chest, cringing at the discomfort of my slow-healing chest wound. 

He runs to me, frantic as he slides to a stop and drops to his knees to take me in. I smile as best as I can though it doesn't touch my eyes. 

"Hi." 

Afraid to touch me, his hands hover as he attempts to rein in the wolf. The heat emanating off his body feels nice and I offer him my hand. 

"Help me up?"

Verando's expression fractures, he can't hide it from me as he takes in my darkened palm and the multiple scuffs and burns covering my body. Taking my hand in his, he carefully helps me to my feet, I stagger and he clutches me, holding me to his body as his eyes search my face. 

"Nic, I'm so sorry... I should never have left you. If I had thought for a moment..." The pain in his voice hurts me more than the fall.

"Don't be sorry, you were enacting my plan. Is everyone alright?"

Verando regards me with ever-increasing concern. "Are you alright?" He will give me no more until I answer. 

Tentatively, I nod. "I'm fine. I'm just a bit tapped out, I fell from the roof-" 

His lips part and I quickly interject. "I fell on the cat." 

Exasperated, he clutches me tighter and I sigh, resisting the urge to stroke my hair with my dirty palms. 

"Did you see a woman? When you came down the alley?"

"A woman? No darling, you were on your own."

"Do you smell anyone?" Confused, he presses his palm to my cheek and I relish in the warmth. 

"You're cold as ice, we need to get you back inside to warm up. You probably have a concussion." My head is the last thing that hurts, it's my body that protests. "You're bleeding." 

Using his free hand, he slips his fingers under my shirt and pushes it up to get a better look at my chest. Seeing curious eyes peer around the alley, I quickly pull it back down and opt to kiss him instead. 

Retracting quickly, he watches me as if I'm insane but I wrap my arms around his neck anyway, kissing him once more as the crew approaches. 

"Your Majesty." The officer clears his throat and I break the kiss as if caught off guard. "Are you alright?"

I nod, knowing better than to allow the press to know any of the dirty details of the fight. The story we were relying on getting back to Caspian involved my infatuation with my husband, not my heroics and conversations with his soldiers. "Oh yes, just a bit chilled."

Nodding, the man awkwardly bows and gestures us to leave the alley. Verando supports me and I can feel the growing irritation, I know him too well to think he's alright with my publicity stunt but there wasn't much I could do about it. I had a job to keep us safe and distract the psycho stalking us.

 We exit into a round of applause from the surrounding civilians and I'm admittedly caught off guard. 

With cameras and microphones coming from all angles, it's much more overwhelming than the speeches I was used to giving. Verando guards me from prying eyes, capturing my waist defensively. "We're unsure of the identity of the assailants. All we can say is we are very lucky His Majesty was here to defuse the situation. The event will continue tonight as planned, we will not allow terrorists to derail the cause." 

With that, he directs me down the street and flags down an ambulance driver to load me up and check me over. 

Much as I don't want to make a scene, I'm grateful to not have to walk.