I got my revenge for that eventually, of course, because Ben is now dead.
He needed to die for not helping you more.
And you need to know that it had always been me.
Chapter 59
Scythe
It was past time that I joined Savage and Xander on their nighttime stalking of the stalker. As we followed Aurelia to the college campus, not once did she cast her keen eyes back towards us pursuing her. Perhaps a part of her knows we’ll always be there for her protection. That we will always have her back. It may also be likely that she’s so intent on her purpose that she’sforgottenabout us. My insides revolt at the thought of that, but I know we are too important to her.
Aurelia had packed clothes, ready to be seen this time. We followed behind her at a great distance because the three of us are noticeable, if not for sheer presence alone, but also height. Savage lingers the closest, hunched under a baseball cap and tank top as he surveys the crowd for any signs of danger. The auras of the crowd begin to pulse in joint enthusiasm moments before Mace comes on stage. My regina is always like a beacon to me, and her still form is noticeably rigid, her eyes unblinking. Her shields are up, but I just know she’s watching her sire and marking her prey. I too have been curious as to what this new power has done to Mace.
But as we watch Mace’s speech, something changes. The air around Aurelia becomes dense as mud. Ghoul has sensed her.
Savage catches Aurelia as she keels over and pushes out of the pulsing crowd low and hunched so no one notices the commotion. Around a corner and onto the athlete’s oval, Xander gets us up in the air and as far away from the university as quickly as possible. I sit backward so Aurelia’s unconscious form is cradled between the arms of both Savage and me. He strokes her face. “Regina!” he cries. “Wake up!”
Her heart beats a rapid pace against her ribs, her breaths even, but there is a deep crease between her brows, as if she’s in great pain.
Blue eyes fly open. Some thought grows in her eyes as she blinks up at me, trying to focus. Her legs scramble dangerously.
“Regina,” I command in a low voice. “Be calm.” Still, she fights me, flailing, her face contorted in a mixture of shock and horror. I grip her shoulders firmly. “Focus, regina. Breathe. Think.”
But she shakes her head, gasps, and shifts. Her eagle form leaps off Xander’s back and we’re travelling so fast that she doesn’t get purchase on the wind and her small body slips out of my fingers and away from me, tumbling all the way down Xander’s body and into the air behind him.
“Xander!” Savage screams.
Our dragon rears up in mid-air, back-flapping with a strangled noise, but Aurelia is far behind us now, her wings folded into her body as she dives towards the earth.
“Down!” I command Xander. He sees her and obliges, nose-diving right behind her.
Chapter 60
Ghoul
One year ago
In a small coastal town, I watch my snakelet hopping towards the cafe in crow form. She doesn’t see me sitting at the table behind the four elderly humans. She didn’t notice me following her the entire way.
So fixated on her goal of food, she cocks her little head, and blinks those fascinating blue eyes. She’s starving, dehydrated, and about to lose her fight for freedom. But she needs to come back. She needs to go to Animus Academy where I can continue to watch her.
Black wings flap. Women scream. An elderly woman swings her handbag.
I leave my takeaway bag on the table and leave, only looking back long enough to make sure she grabs it.
Chapter 61
Aurelia
The world roars in my head.
Memories and feelings and emotions scramble their claws against my mind. I can’t believe any of this. Do I evenwantto believe any of this? But it’s all there, clear as crystal. The smells and sounds of my cottage. My teenage self. The desperation on my face.
Ghoul is telling the truth.
The ground nears with frightening speed.
Multiple male voices scream into my head.“Stop!”
