---
He realized then that the transformation did not only change appearance. It changed hunger. It changed priorities. It turned men into something else.
And that something else was now standing between Lily and the kobols outside.
Sekhmet's mind raced.
If Lily woke now and saw her guards like this, she would scream.
If she screamed, the kobols would find them.
If the kobols found them, they would die.
And if Lily saw Sekhmet covered in blood with ghoul guards, she might not trust him enough to travel with him again.
Sekhmet's jaw clenched.
"I will tell her the truth in the city."
Not here.
Not in purgatory.
Not while he was still learning what he was.
He turned to the guards, voice low, commanding.
"You two," he said. "You can still think. You can still listen."
The first guard's jaw flexed.
"Yes," he rasped.
The second guard's eyes flicked to Lily, then back to Sekhmet.
"What are we," he demanded, voice rough and frightened.
Sekhmet forced his voice steady.
