Page 66 of Daughter of Garnet

"Mine wants to meet yours as well, but I can't shift here. We'd need to go to the forest."

Sadness ages his boyishly handsome face. "I can't shift at all." Before I can question why, he pulls off his sweater, and I get distracted by my second glance at his trim waist and slim chest.

My eyes travel up his body and lock on the thick collar around his neck. He was wearing this in the woods as well, but I assumed it was part of his costume. It's heavy under my touch, unnatural. I trace it with my fingers and find no clasp.

"What is this?"

"This is why I can't shift."

My chest rumbles with a growl that is not my own, but my dragon and I are in agreement. "What does it do?"

"It stops my shifts."

I'm trying not to get frustrated at his evasive answers. "How, Cameron?"

His smile is weak as he covers my hand with his own. "When my beast tries to make an appearance, it shocks me until he recedes."

CHAPTER 32

Zoe

Anger is boiling inside me, close to overflowing, and the only way I can think to lessen its impact is to be in my dragon form. My indignation over what is happening to Cameron is righteous, and though I have never been much of a fighter, I find myself wanting to rip whoever put this collar on him limb from limb.

I had no idea that sort of cruelty existed in our realm.

"How long have you been wearing it?"

He guides us to his bed, and we perch on the edge. Our fingers intertwine naturally, the contact lighting me up from every point.

"They pulled me aside after my ceremony. I destroyed the building and flattened a couple of people when I shifted. Not on purpose, of course. Aenella has never Blessed anyone with my form before, and hasn't since. It was unprecedented."

"And they just happened to have a shock collar?"

"I guess they always have one on hand, in case someone goes feral? I didn't have time to ask questions. It was on me in seconds."

When I first touched the collar, I didn't find a seam where welding might have occurred, so I reach for it again. If there is a weak point, maybe we can exploit it. He indulges me, and my fingers catch on a slim seam in the black leather on the outside of the collar that I missed on first inspection.

"It's metal underneath?"

"They didn't want to scare other Alphas into thinking they'd be collared, too."

The bed is lumpy and uncomfortable, so I pull one of my legs up and fold it under me to take some of the pressure off my ass. "But didn't they expect you to shift for your courses?"

"Everyone was told my beast was a whale, so I got out of it. Most of Aenella's Blessed don't have to shift in classes."

Is it rude to ask him what he is? When he said "too large," my mind went to a whale, but the fact that it was the cover story makes me feel that isn't accurate.

"Is there any way to get it off?"

"I thought they'd trust me enough when they placed me as Hierophant, but they still don't. This is just another way for them to keep me under their control. I imagine the Archon thinks that one day he'll be able to use me as a weapon if he keeps me happy here."

"And are you? Happy, I mean."

He tilts his head to the side and regards me. His eyes are warm, and there is a small smile tilting his lips. "I wasn't."

I scoot a little closer to him, and he mirrors my movement until we're face to face, so close I can hardly breathe. "And now?"

"Now all of those years stuck here make sense. I've been waiting for you, Zoe."