Crucible of Fate

shift would drive them insane.
    I’d seen him pull others through the change at the sepat in Mongolia, witnessed the morph firsthand. It used to appear painful, but it was fast, so I wasn’t sure how much the brain processed before it was over. But now the shift Jin controlled in others hurt, there was no doubt in my mind. There was blood and other fluid—it was like they were being skinned alive though I knew this was not the case. In moments I saw muscle and bone appear and then the panther shape I recognized quickly reformed.
    I shouldn’t have worried that the rest of us would have felt it for more than a brief moment. He had fine-tuned his power, could focus it like a laser now. Jin, who had always been a force of nature, was now even scarier.
    Once I lifted my head, I saw him standing near the fire pit. He was there with two panthers lying sprawled at his feet, both heaving for breath. They weren’t dead, and I knew they would not be. If Jin was in control, as he was now, there was pain and punishment, but not death. Evidence of the judgment the nekhene cat had dealt was in the shredded clothes strewn about the dais and the floor. A low howl came from the woman, and the man, behind the throne.
    “Everyone,” I said, walking up to the dais beside Jin. “May I have your attention!”
    Yes, I was fearful, but I reminded myself this was still the man I knew. I took hold of Jin’s hand when I was close enough, and when he tried to pull free, I tightened my grip.
    “No, Domin, I’m unclean right now, I—”
    “You are my reah,” I soothed him. “And this display, though frightening, does not diminish you in my eyes, nor does it compare to the crimes of the men who you pulled through their shifts.”
    He studied my face, and I lifted his hand and kissed the back of it before my gaze flickered to the still-shrieking woman. The young man with her, whom she was holding onto for dear life, just stared at us in mute shock.
    I felt for them, the debauched semel’s two chief playthings, his sacrilegious new yareah and his male consort. They were both so young, had been drugged and heaven knew what else in their time there. The man could pay with his life for that sin alone, but there were, I already knew, so many more crimes for him to answer for.
    “Stop,” I said to the woman when I couldn’t take the shrieking anymore, “or I’ll make you.”
    Instant silence, and I faced all those in front of me.
    “I am the semel-aten, Domin Thorne, and my word is law here, and no one else’s.”
    I wasn’t prepared for the immediate gasps and then crying, or for everyone in the hall falling to their knees, or to see an older woman come rushing up the stairs with her arms wide and tears streaming down her face.
    Jin stepped around me, and only then did I understand. She didn’t want me, she wanted him.
    She flung herself at Jin, wrapped her arms around his neck, and sobbed. Her words were a mantra of blessings, and in the midst of it, I heard the word “angel” over and over and over.
    I was stunned, I had no—
    “Domin!”
    My head swiveled sharply and I saw Yuri rushing across the floor to reach the dais. I bolted down the steps and met him halfway, my heart hammering as I took his face in my hands.
    “I missed you.”
    “And I—are you hurt?” His voice rose as his gaze took me in.
    He was the one who was hurt. There were bruises on his face and neck, his lip was split, and there was blood seeping through the bandage on his left arm.
    “I’m fine,” I said, lifting my chin, my eyes fluttering closed. “Kiss me.”
    “In front of—”
    “Please.”
    I was crushed in his arms, held to his heart, and could feel the drum that lived in his chest as his lips sealed over mine. I shivered as he slid his tongue into my mouth and mated it with mine. He claimed what was his and I melted against him. When he finally lifted his lips away, just enough to speak, not enough for our skin not to brush, I was trembling.
    “You missed me?”
    “Yes, too much.”
    His rumble of laughter made me smile in spite of everything else. “Say it now; tell me the truth, not for any other reason than because it simply is.”
    I groaned.
    “Domin,” he whispered, and I gave up.
    “I love you.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yes. More than I should.”
    “And?”
    “You are my mate.”
    “Are you sure? I see Koren standing over there.”
    I licked up his throat and felt a shiver tear through him. “Yes, Yuri Kosa, I am sure. You