Another brilliant answer. If Rían found out, he’d make it his mission to put a stop to my plans. One way or another, I had to get back to Keelynn. “I’m trying to figure out my magic.”
“And how’s that going?”
“I’m still sitting in a forest instead of a castle, so how do you think?”
One fang dragged across his lower lip. Then his face brightened. “Maybe I can help ye.”
That sounded bloody brilliant. Still… “If he found out, he would murder you.” Their relationship was tenuous at best. I didn’t want to make it worse.
With a roll of his eyes, Ruairi launched his stick into the forest. “The lad’s all bluster.”
Said the man who’d literally just told me Rían had murdered two people. “You really want to help?”
“Sure, what else would I be doin’?”
He could have been doing just about anything, unlike me. “All right. Perhaps if you tell me how your magic works, I can figure out how to access mine.”
His wide-set shoulders lifted and fell with a shrug. “Don’t know, really. It’s just there. Always has been. Comes out when I need it and stays inside when I don’t.”
In that alley, I’d needed the dagger, and my magic had come through for me. But Rían could shift anything, whether he “needed” it or not. Which meant I should have been able to do the same.
“What about shapeshifting?” Ruairi seemed able to change his form at will, much like the glamours Rían used.
He stared down at his hands, rubbing at the thick callouses on his palm. “It’s not as impressive as the lads, but all pooka can take the form of a horse. Some can become a wolfhound as well. Others a hare or a hawk. The strongest of us can shift into all four.”
“That’s quite impressive.”
His mirthless chuckle ruffled his shoulder-length black hair. “Yer with the glamour prince, I doubt a horse or a mutt impresses someone like ye.”
“There’s only one way to find out. Stand up and show me.”
He glanced sidelong at me. “That’s awfully forward of ye, human.”
I slapped his arm, and he let out another gruff chuckle as he rose to his feet. Goodness, I’d forgotten how large he really was.
“Which one?” he asked with another sigh, looking over my head instead of directly at me.
I’d already seen him as a beautiful black stallion, so I chose something different. “Hound, please.”
A flash of blinding light burst from his form. In a blink, he was no longer a man but a black wolfhound with intelligent golden eyes. From my seated position, he stood almost as tall as me.
Absolutely fascinating…
When I held my hand toward his snout, his wet nose bumped my palm, and he let out a little whimper that made me smile. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe he really was a canine.
Ruairi’s eyes closed when I scratched his wiry head. “Color me impressed.”
With a snort, he ducked his head and slipped from under my hand. Another burst of light, and he was back to his human form.
I’d have loved to turn into a hound right about now. Then I could run straight across the Black Forest and get back to the people I loved. Since that couldn’t happen, I needed to find another way to reach my sister before she woke from Tadhg’s curse.
“Can you evanesce?” I asked.
His brow furrowed. “I can.”
There it was, my ticket back to Tearmann. “Do you think you could teach me?”
His fangs gleamed when he grinned. “Suppose I can try.”