“What are Grim’s weaknesses?” she asked hurriedly, Oro’s shape already blurring. “In battle?”
The look Oro gave her was one of devastation and acceptance. A roar sounded nearby, but it was muted. “He only has one that I know of.”
“What is it?”
He gave a sad smile. “You.”
Footsteps approached from the mouth of the alley. She turned toward the sound, meeting the gaze of a scavenger who barely glanced at her before he kept moving.
When she looked back toward Oro, he was gone.
ORO
Oro and his friends had been battling beast after beast for hours. The tide pool had ripped open the veil between worlds, allowing twisted creatures to come through.
The first had been serpentine, with claws, and a scaled tail so long, he couldn’t see the end of it as it slithered out of the pool. Zed had flown Enya and Cinder to safety while Oro, Calder, and Maren stayed to fight.
It took an hour to get the beast down. And just as one creature was defeated...it was replaced by another. And another. They needed to close the portal. And soon.
Even though he had just seen the repercussions of using emotion to fuel his powers, Oro had no choice. The monsters were insurmountable otherwise.
When he had seen Isla...he had expected to feel fury. Hatred. But he didn’t. All he felt was love—unrelenting, stubborn love, and he cursed himself for it. For his inability to forget her.
But then...after what she had said...He felt just as stuck as he did before she made her choice. All he wanted was to help her, but he was trapped a world away while Grimhuntedher.
“FUCK!” In his distraction, a creature with claws the length of his body sliced his side, cutting right through his armor.
The metal was weighing him down anyway. In the air, he tore it off, watching the golden pieces spill into the water.
Now, he was angry. He was angry, because even now as his heart was breaking, the woman he lovedstill wasn’t safe.
Fucking Grim. Oro knew that he loved her, maybe more than he loved himself. That only meant that Cronan must be more powerful than any of them had ever imagined. Powerful enough to have turned Grim against Isla.
Oro made a blade from Starling energy and cut the creature’s claws clean off.
He shook his head.Fucking. Grim. Oro hated that he felt even a shred of worry for the Nightshade. But after spending so much time with him lately, it had been easy to forget all the betrayals between them.
So all Oro could do was worry and pick up the pieces that Isla and Grim had left behind. Only he and his friends stood between these beasts and the rest of this world. And, as Oro roared, diving back toward the raging creature, he wondered how long they would be able to hold.
GRIM
It only took two nights to find her. He portaled all over this strange world until he finally spotted that unmissable crimson aura.
Did she really think she could hide from him?
She was disguised in the same desert fabrics the rest of the people in this tiny village wore. She wove seamlessly through the oasis market, not attracting any notice beyond a few people who gaped at her eyes.
They were the green of emeralds. Of serpents. Of deception. She moved like a snake herself, slithering around corners. He watched her, wondering what her next move would be. Wondering if she was truly foolish enough to think she could avoid him forever.
She turned a corner and finally spotted him.
To her credit, she didn’t even look surprised. Or afraid. No, if anything, she seemed determined.
Fool. Did she really think even with those powers, she stood a chance against him?
He portaled directly in front of her—
Right into a dagger she had clearly found in this market, a twisted piece of metal that was now sticking out of his stomach. As if she had known exactly where he would portal, exactly how he would attack.
