Free Alterant by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love

returned sooner than I expected,” Flaevynn said, releasing the leash. She ran her hand down her man-toy’s sculpted abs. “Since you didn’t take time to change into a proper robe to meet with me I can only assume you rushed here with good news. How many Alterants are left to retrieve?”
    Kizira stepped forward until she stood upon a white tiger rug with her booted feet apart and hands clasped behind her back. She couldn’t put this off any longer. “We still have to locate and capture all five Alterants.”
    Fury burned through the queen’s gaze. “What happened, Kizira? You said the bounty hunters we gave the spell to could bring in the female Belador Alterant.”
    No, I said the ambush was a gamble I didn’t recommend and the men weren’t qualified. But someone had to be blamed for the failure. “They lost her.”
    “Lost? As in misplaced an Alterant? How does one do that?”
    Kizira held her calm. Flaevynn’s anger could cower an army of guards, and she would only grind someone harder if they showed any vulnerability. Feeling the expected mental nudge from her suspicious queen, Kizira filled her mind with distress over having disappointed her sovereign.
    Revolting, but effective, because the intrusion disappeared.
    Kizira gave up a commiserative sigh, explaining, “Ourhunters almost had the female Alterant overpowered, but the VIPER liaison Sen teleported her away. We had the best bounty hunters available, but nothing like Dakkar’s. We would have used his if he hadn’t turned down the contract.”
    “Offer him more.”
    “I tried. He refuses to even discuss it.”
    Flaevynn slapped her hand against the arm of her throne. “What kind of bounty hunting operation does he run to refuse us ?”
    “He will not jeopardize his standing with VIPER.”
    The queen hissed. “VIPER is only as powerful as those who support it. When Brina of Treoir falls, so go the Beladors, their power and the backbone of VIPER. Then we’ll see who rules this world. None of this would be my problem if you’d brought me the Ngak Stone.”
    Another risky project Kizira had warned against. “The Ngak Stone is known to direct its own destiny and to be highly unpredictable. If you had taken possession, the stone could have turned on you and perhaps . . . killed you.”
    The only reason Kizira actually regretted losing the stone.
    Kizira refused to pay attention to what the queen was doing to her manservant. She turned her gaze to the gleaming yellow eyes of the dragon’s head that hovered above Flaevynn as if daring anything to touch her. “If there is nothing else, Your Highness, I shall leave you alone.”
    “You’re not dismissed yet,” Flaevynn spat at her. “How do you plan to capture the Alterants? I gave you permission to release the fog that would force them to change into beast forms. What more do you need?”
    Permission? She’d ordered Kizira to release the fog, an ancient myst with sentient quality that turned anything it touched hostile. But contradicting the queen might end with worse than having her tongue tied and staked.
    Kizira said, “The fog is only making the Rías shift.” Rías changed into beast forms similar to the way Alterants shifted, but Rías lacked the Belador blood that carried powerful abilities. Using the fog now was a mistake. One of the few specifics Cathbad had shared about the curse was warning them to wait until five specific Alterants were located before releasing a fog to intentionally force Rías to start shifting in advance of attacking Treoir.
    Kizira reminded Flaevynn, “According to Cathbad’s curse, we should wait—”
    “Shut up!” The room shook and the water at the base of the waterfall boiled with Flaevynn’s rage.
    An invisible force struck Kizira behind her knees, buckling her legs. She dropped to the floor, clamping her teeth hard to keep from cursing Flaevynn over the pain scorching her thighs.
    One day . . .
    Holding on to her temper with a tight grip, Kizira