In an instant, my hands cover my ears, I drop to my knees, and clamp my teeth together as I’m hit with a rippling pain. It’s like a damn war drum is sounding off in my head. And it fuckinghurts.My face gets buried into the snow as I curl in the fetal position, willing the unrelenting pounding to end.
What is happening? With the next beat, an otherworldly scream explodes out of me, the snow doing nothing to muffle my agony. Hands land on my shoulders, and it’s like a lightning strike to my system, transporting me back to the electric shock I used to endure back in the cage, and I flip over onto my back.
Voices surround me, murmuring questions that nobody has answers to. Not even me.
Despite the frigid cold beneath me, my body heats with a blistering fever. “Make it stop!” I wail. It’s unyielding, only getting louder, and I feel like the deepest corners of my mind are being scrambled together.
“Fuck, she’s burning up,” a male voice says. I feel the scaley ridges of Voraxis’s nose brush against the side of my cheek. But I can’t. I can’t move—can’t think.
Vibrations move like sound waves behind my eyes, and the wall I’ve worked tirelessly to keep locked up and barbed wired is slowly caving in with each bang to my skull. Stifled words attempt to break through, but I push against it, willing the last embers of my strength to keep it intact.
But something slips through the cracks.“Come out, come out, wherever you are,”the voice mocks, teasing and so fucking sinister it makes my skin crawl. Rage encompasses me, taking over all my senses until the edges of my vision turn red.“Where are you hiding? Open those pretty emeralds, and give me a peek. I’m close. You can sense me. I know you—”I cut off his words, rebuilding the wall and shutting him out for good.
The pain ceases, and I can finally breathe. Waiting to make sure he’s really gone, nobody around me speaks. Slowly, my eyes open, and I roll onto my side, sinking into the soft, plush snow.
My cheeks are wet from the tears I unknowingly shed, and I swiftly wipe them away, not wanting anyone to see them as I stand.
Are you alright?Voraxis’s concern is imminent.
Fine,I snap and sever his connection. I can’t deal with all the pestering thoughts right now. Thunder crackles above, right before the first raindrop takes purchase on my flesh and races the tears down my cheek. Trust has never been something I’ve given out freely. It’s always earned, and even then, it takes a damn long time to obtain it.
Standing in an unknown realm, with the weight of my fate resting on the shoulders of people I barely know, a swirling vortex of anxiety is created and takes root in the pit of my stomach. There has never been a doubt in my mind regarding Voraxis’s loyalty. But as for the others? I hardly know them. Right now, I have to put blind faith into the unknown…and that terrifies me.
“Whatever we’re doing, we have to do it now,” I instruct. Odeyssa and Atticus stare at me in bewilderment. But we’re out of time.
A beat passes, then another. Just as I’m about to make the call, Atticus chimes in. “I can’t let you go there. Not when…”—he lets out a long sigh of hesitation—“not when there’s another option.”
“What do you mean?” Odeyssa questions, curiosity twitching her brow.
Atticus’s fingers wring together while his body fights to keep the suggestion under lock and key. “We can go to Vaiterra,” he finally says, words coated with apprehension.
“Vaiterra?” Odeyssa mutters, her face pinching together as the wheels in her head work overtime. “Why would you possibly suggest we go there?”
“Anything has to be safer than the forest,” Atticus barks. Voraxis shuffles behind me, and it’s then I remember I shut him out.
Have you ever been to this other place?Like I said, trusting Voraxis is as easy as breathing.
Yes. It’s another kingdom, but I haven’t returned since new leadership has been appointed.
Is it actually safer than the forest?
It isn’t a matter of safety. It’s you deciding which monsters you wish to face.I absorb his words, all while Atticus and Odeyssa continue bickering in the background.
“Quiet!” I bellow, unable to concentrate with the incessant arguing. There are too many variables to consider, and none of them are within my control. “What are your ties to the kingdom?” I point my question at Atticus.
“It’s complicated.”
“I don’t care. Pull your ego out of your ass and spill. Why else would you’ve said anything?” I’m so tired of the lies, the secrets, exhausted from the continuous mind games.
“If you go, they will grant you sanctuary. But I can’t go,” he finally says. Odeyssa throws her arms up in frustration, and I’m right there with her.
“Oh no,” Odeyssa clips. “You’re coming.” She leaves no room for negotiation. Atticus runs his hand down his face, clearly wishing he had just kept his mouth shut.
I swing my gaze over my shoulder to look at Voraxis, who gives me a subtle nod. “It’s settled,” I say, trying to keep all the conviction present in my tone, but in reality, I’m scared. For all I know, we’re walking right back into the lion’s den I escaped from. “We’re going to Viaterra.”
THIRTEEN
Subject 763
