Chapter Nine

L eo's bones cracked and shifted as dawn broke, his body contorting from feline to human form. He gasped, the familiar pain of transformation washing over him as he regained his human shape. Blinking away the disorientation, he let himself out of his cage. One time, he would have dreaded returning to his human form, would not have seen the point. But Kitty had changed all that. Their performance last night had been off from the previous ones, but they were still getting the bugs out of it and in the end, the dark carnival and Madame Noir seemed satisfied.

A coughing snarl caught his attention, and his head swiveled to the impossible sound. More lions? Then, he saw them. Three lions in three separate cages. The cages had their names on them: Brutus, Nala and Sarabi.

"Oh no. Kitty, what have you done?" He went looking for her, but she didn’t answer his knock on her trailer.

He couldn’t find her anywhere until after lunch. He should have just stayed with the lions, because she was there with them. She stood rigid, her face a mask of concentration as she guided the three big cats through basic commands. But something was still off. Her movements were mechanical, her eyes cold and distant.

Leo didn’t enter the ring. He didn’t want to distract her, so he waited and watched as she approached the massive cats, her movements precise but lacking the flair and presence he'd come to associate with her. Nala and Sarabi responded well to her commands, but Brutus... Leo tensed as the resurrected lion paced restlessly, his eyes wild and unfocused.

"Brutus, down," Kitty commanded, her voice firm but emotionless.

The lion snarled, hackles rising. Leo's instincts screamed danger, but Kitty didn't flinch. She raised her whip, the crack echoing through the tent. Brutus hesitated, then slowly lowered himself to the ground, his eyes never leaving Kitty.

Leo's worry deepened. This wasn't the connection he'd witnessed between Kitty and her lions when he watched her on YouTube before her accident. This was cold, clinical, and infinitely more dangerous.

Madame Noir glided in with Laura at her side.

“What are you doing here?” He thought they had settled everything yesterday. Leo moved instinctively towards his sister, but Madame Noir's voice stopped him cold.

"I see you've discovered our newest attraction," she said, her gaze sliding from Leo to Kitty and the lions.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“Now that Kitty has her lions back,” Laura said. “You don’t need Leo anymore.”

“On the contrary," Madame Noir said. “Tonight’s show will be talked about for a long time.”

Laura was persistent, though. “Release Leo from his curse. I'll take his place."

"I won’t allow it," he growled, but Madame Noir held up a hand, silencing him.

"My dear," she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy, "the terms of Leo's deal cannot be altered. It's a binding contract."

Laura's face fell, but Madame Noir wasn't finished. "However," she continued, a sly smile playing at her lips, "if you wish to negotiate a new deal to remove your brother's curse... well, that could be arranged."

"No!" Leo's voice echoed through the tent, startling the lions. He strode forward, placing himself between Laura and Madame Noir. "No more deals. No more curses."

He turned to his sister, his heart aching at the guilt and pain etched on her face. "Laura, listen to me. I made my choice, and I don't regret it. Not for a second." His gaze flickered to Kitty, who watched the exchange with detached interest. "I've found a home here. I've found love."

Laura's eyes widened. "Love? But Leo, you're cursed. You turn into a lion every night. How can that be a life?"

Leo took his sister's hands in his, his voice softening. "It's not perfect, but it's my life. I'm not trapped here, Laura. I chose this, and I'd choose it again." He glanced at Kitty once more, his heart heavy. "I love her. I love Kitty."

Tears welled in Laura's eyes. "I can't bear knowing you sacrificed everything for me."

"Not everything," Leo said firmly. "I'm happy, Laura. Visit more often. Be a part of my life. But please, let go of this guilt."

Laura searched his face, perhaps looking for any sign of deception. Finding none, she nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "If you’re sure?”

“I am.”

“Then I'll try."

As he hugged her, Leo caught sight of Madame Noir's knowing smirk. She inclined her head slightly.

The tender moment was shattered by the pounding of paws. Leo whirled around to see Brutus charging at Kitty, teeth bared. Without thinking, Leo leapt forward, his body already beginning to shift. Pain lanced through him as fur sprouted and bones realigned, but he pushed through it, placing himself between Kitty and the enraged lion.

Leo roared, the sound reverberating through the tent. Brutus skidded to a halt, confusion replacing the wild aggression in his eyes. For a moment, the two lions stared each other down, a silent battle of wills.

Then, slowly, Brutus backed away, retreating to the far corner of the enclosure. Leo turned to Kitty, expecting to see fear or at least surprise on her face. Instead, she regarded him with the same detached interest she'd shown throughout the morning.

"Thank you, Leo," she said, her voice maddeningly calm. "That was helpful."

As the adrenaline faded, Leo felt the familiar pull of his curse. He'd transformed outside of his usual hours. That had never happened before. He glanced back at Laura and Madame Noir. Both looked shocked. Laura, he could understand, but the wariness in Madame Noir’s eyes made him uneasy.

Try as he might, though, he was unable to shift back. He was stuck in this form until dawn. Resigned, he decided he might as well join the rehearsal. The other three lions snarled and postured at him, but he didn’t back down. Through it all, Kitty moved with calm efficiency, guiding the lions through their paces. She didn’t even seemed fazed.

He watched as she maneuvered Brutus through a series of jumps, her commands sharp and robotic. The resurrected lion obeyed, but there was a wildness in his eyes that set Leo's fur on edge. This wasn't the well-trained animal from Kitty's stories. This was a demonic force barely contained.

Nala and Sarabi, at least, seemed to be adjusting well. They responded to Kitty's commands, though Leo noticed they kept casting wary glances at Brutus. They sensed the wrongness too, he realized.

As the day wore on, the danger of their situation became increasingly apparent. Brutus grew more agitated with each run-through, his movements becoming erratic and unpredictable. Twice more, Leo had to intervene, placing himself between the unstable lion and Kitty.

But it was Kitty herself who worried Leo the most. She showed no joy in what she was doing, and more alarming, no concern for her own safety. As she pushed forward relentlessly, drilling the lions again and again, heedless of the growing danger in the air, she never touched Leo, not with warmth or for assurance. It was if he was a stranger to her or just another carnival attraction.

The sense of foreboding grew stronger, settling like a lead weight in his stomach. Something was going to go wrong. He could feel it in his bones, in the prickle of his skin, in the lingering ache of his transformations.

But as he watched Kitty move through the tent, checking and double-checking every detail with cold precision, Leo knew he couldn't stop this. Whatever Kitty had sacrificed to bring Brutus back, it had fundamentally changed her.

All he could do now was be there. To watch, to protect as best he could, to catch her if she fell. Because despite everything—the curse, the danger, the chilling change in her demeanor— Leo loved her. And he would do whatever it took to keep her safe.