Leo clenched his fists. “You will not.”
Luciana looped her arm through his. “We are truly man and wife. I am already with child.”
Leo stiffened with surprise and searched her eyes. Was she just saying that, or was it true?
She went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
“She touches you and lives?” Frederic eyed him closely. “Then your power must be depleted. Guards! Arrest him! Arrest them both.”
Leo pushed Luciana behind him. “For what reason?” He pulled off his gloves as the guards drew their swords.
“Do I need a reason?” Frederic laughed. “How about this one? I’ll feel safer if you wait for my throne in the dungeons.”
Sparks sizzled around Leo’s fingers, and the guards halted their advance. “As you can see, my power is intact. I will decline your offer of hospitality, Uncle. If you have no wish to see me again, I will gladly return to the army or to Vindalyn with my wife.”
Brody suddenly barked and snapped at the king.
“Get back!” Frederic threw a goblet at Brody.
When Brody barked again, the king stood, his eyes narrowed on the dog shifter. “Guards, kill that dog.”
The three guards advanced, but hesitated when Brody slipped into the midst of the other dogs as they all began to snarl at the king.
“Which one?” the captain asked.
“Why are they acting like this?” another guard asked.
“Dammit, I’ll do it myself.” Frederic grabbed another knife off the table and approached the snarling dogs. With a limp.
Leo sucked in a quick breath. There were bandages around the king’s right foot. And the dogs knew he was an imposter. “He’s the Chameleon!” He lifted his hand to shoot a bolt of lightning.
The guards jumped in front of the false king to protect him.
“Kill him!” The Chameleon pointed at Leo. “He’s trying to kill me!”
“He’s not the real king!” Leo moved to the side, trying to get a clean shot at the Chameleon.
“Kill the woman first!” the Chameleon shouted, then ran with a limp toward the bedchamber.
The guards advanced on Luciana, and Leo used his power to rip the swords from their hands. They drew their daggers and continued to advance. She grabbed a fallen sword and hurried to Leo’s side.
Meanwhile, the Chameleon had rushed into the bedchamber, followed by the group of growling dogs.
The captain swiped at Leo with his dagger. Leo dodged it, then tapped the man on the back. With a yelp, he fell to the ground and passed out.
“Cease!” Leo yelled at the other two guards. “I have no wish to harm you.”
The door flung open and the three guards who had remained outside barged in with Lord Morris.
Leo lifted his hands. Sparks still swirled around his fingertips. “Stay back.”
“Where is His Majesty?” Morris shouted.
“I don’t know,” Leo said. “The Chameleon has taken his place. Come!” He grabbed Luciana’s arm and ran into the king’s bedchamber. The dogs were scrambling around the bed, whining and scratching.
The Chameleon was nowhere in sight. Leo opened a door and peered inside. The privy was empty.
“Look!” Luciana knelt beside a pile of clothes. “He must have undressed.”
Lord Morris ran into the room, followed by the guards. “What is going on? Where is the king?”
Leo pointed at the dogs. “I think you’ll find him underneath the bed. The Chameleon killed him, then took his place.”
Morris scoffed. “Then where is this Chameleon? How do I know you didn’t kill—”
“We just arrived!” Luciana yelled.
“They didn’t harm the king,” a guard added.
While Morris peered under the bed, Leo went at lightning speed to check the dressing room and every spot in the room where the Chameleon could be hiding.
Morris joined him by the fireplace. “You were correct. The king is dead. But where is the Chameleon?”
The guards pulled the king’s body out and laid it to rest on the bed. The dogs milled about, whimpering.
“The dogs,” Luciana said. “There’s one more than before.”
One of the dogs dashed into the sitting room, his gait uneven from an injured leg. Brody gave chase, barking at him.
“That’s him!” Leo ran into the sitting room, but the sight there brought him to an abrupt halt. There were two Brodys. Identical.
Luciana stopped beside him. “Which one is the Chameleon?”
“What the hell?” Lord Morris whispered as he entered the room.
Sparks flickered around Leo’s hands as he tried to decide which dog to strike.
One dog shimmered, then shifted into human form. “I’m the real one. See?”
Leo tried to remember if the Chameleon had seen Brody’s human form. Yes, he had.
The second one shifted. “No, I’m Brody!” He quickly covered his private parts. “Begging your pardon, my lady … Luciana.”
Leo aimed a lightning bolt at the first Brody just as the imposter made a leap for the balcony window. The bolt struck the wooden frame and set the curtain on fire.
The Chameleon burst onto the balcony and leaped into the air as he shifted into an eagle.
“No!” Leo ran onto the balcony and shot a lightning bolt at the eagle.
Fire singed a wing, and the eagle screeched. It dove into the midst of town.
“Dammit.” Leo didn’t dare shoot lightning into the town. He’d set the place on fire and probably injure some people in the process.