“Do you know who I am?” Leo removed his gloves and stuffed them beneath his belt. As he lifted his bare hands, sparks sizzled around his fingers.
The stonemasons dropped their tools and ran.
“You won’t make any friends that way,” Edmund muttered as he approached with Brody and Jensen.
“Wait,” Luciana whispered. “Your cousin says you shouldn’t blast through the stones. The tower is too fragile and might collapse. Then you would never find his body and be able to prove his murder.”
Leo groaned. Right now, he had a need to blast something to tiny bits.
“Tedric recommends you use the door on the wall walk,” Luciana continued. “It hasn’t been sealed with stone yet.”
“Very well,” Leo grumbled. He gave Brody, Jensen, and Edmund a stern look. “Guard my wife well.” He dashed toward the stone staircase that led up to the wall walk. Halfway up, he heard the imposter yelling at him.
“What are you doing?” The false Tedric glared at him from the entrance to the Great Hall.
Leo paused on the staircase. “As the Lord Protector, I have the right to inspect your defenses.”
The Chameleon’s eyes narrowed. “Access to the tower is forbidden.”
“Why? What are you hiding there?” Leo continued up the stairs.
“Guards!” the Chameleon yelled at his soldiers on the wall walk. “Stop him!”
The nearest guard on the wall walk approached the top of the stairs and drew his sword. Leo used his power to rip the sword from the guard’s hand and pull it toward him. It landed with a clatter on the step in front of him.
The guards on the wall walk backed away.
The Chameleon ran down the steps into the courtyard. “Guards, arrest the duchess!”
Leo tensed as half a dozen guards advanced on Luciana with drawn swords. “Brody!” He grabbed the sword from the step in front of him and tossed it to the dog shifter.
Brody caught it while Edmund and Jensen drew their swords. All three men surrounded Luciana as she held up the dagger Leo had given her. The soldiers paused in a stalemate. In the midst of his fear for her safety, Leo’s heart squeezed at the sign of Luciana’s courage.
“Only a simpering coward would attack a woman.” Leo slipped his gloves back on as he descended to the foot of the stairs. “Or hide behind a false face. We know what you did, you murdering bastard.” He drew his sword. “You’re not leaving here alive.”
With a roar of anger, the Chameleon unsheathed his sword and ran toward Leo. Slashing downward, the Chameleon attempted to cleave Leo’s head in two.
Leo blocked it and pushed the Chameleon back. “You just proved you’re not my cousin. Tedric doesn’t know how to fight. You pathetic coward, you killed a defenseless man.”
The Chameleon slashed again at Leo. He defended himself but fell back, pretending he was being forced up the stairs. He continued to hurl insults at the Chameleon to keep him angrily attacking. Near the top of the stairs, Leo jumped onto the wall walk and dashed toward the tower at lightning speed.
“No!” The Chameleon raced after him.
The tower entrance was blocked with a wooden door and padlock. Leo ripped off his right glove to blast the lock away. After keeping his power suppressed, too much energy burst out, and the whole door exploded, causing the tower to tremble.
Leo cursed inwardly. He needed the tower to remain intact until he located his cousin’s body. As soon as he crossed the broken doorway, he smelled death. Tedric.
He darted up the spiral staircase as the tower swayed. A step crumbled beneath his feet, but at the speed he was going, it didn’t stop him. The stench grew heavier as he approached the top floor. Behind him, he could hear the labored breathing and cursing of the Chameleon, who still followed him.
“Tedric.” Leo covered his mouth and nose as he gazed down on his cousin. The body was stretched out on the wooden floor next to a guard. Blood stained their shirts where they’d been skewered through the chest.
The tower shook as the Chameleon sprinted up the crumbling stairs. Leo could blast him, but then, the tower would collapse on them both. First, he needed to make sure everyone saw Tedric’s body.
He picked up his cousin and headed up the last flight of stairs till he emerged outside on the top of the tower. “People of Benwick Castle!” He stopped in front of the parapet that overlooked the courtyard and lifted his cousin in the air. “Behold Prince Tedric, murdered by the Chameleon who has been posing as him!”
The people in the courtyard reacted with shouts of anger and wails of grief. The guards who had surrounded Luciana and his friends lowered their weapons.
“Watch out!” Luciana shouted.
Leo glanced back just as the Chameleon charged toward him and shoved him hard against the parapet. The stone barrier plummeted to the courtyard below as the people screamed and ran to avoid being crushed. As Leo scrambled not to fall, he lost his hold on his cousin’s body, and Tedric fell, landing on top of the rubble in the courtyard. Leo’s legs went over the edge, but he caught himself by grasping onto a protruding stone that managed to remain firm. He heard Luciana’s scream from below.
With a triumphant laugh, the Chameleon stomped on Leo’s left gloved hand to make him lose his grip. But Leo’s right hand was still bare, so he grabbed the Chameleon by the ankle and sent a shock wave through him.
With a scream, the Chameleon fell onto his back.
Leo swung his legs over the edge and hefted himself back onto the tower floor. From a crouching position, he reached for the Chameleon’s leg to give him another shock.