“Don’t make it a compliment.”
I shove past him and wait for orders to move through the squads—reset packs, check straps, drink. The day is bright yet cold. Rook’s lifeless eyes watch us from the ground, wrists still tied as his hair soaks in blood from the pool beneath him.
We don’t walk toward him when we finally move.
We go east.
CHAPTER TWENTY
CASSIA
The forest around us shifts from peaceful to predatory in the span of a heartbeat.
One moment I’m following Finnick’s steady pace through the undergrowth, my boots finding purchase on moss-covered stones and fallen logs. The next moment, the world explodes into chaos.
Gunfire erupts from three directions at once, sharp screams splitting the morning air. Voices pierce through the trees—not ours, buttheirs. The escapees we’ve been hunting.
“Defense!” Arayik’s voice rises above the noise, but it’s too late for the careful squad divisions we’d planned. We’re scattered across fifty meters of forest, caught in the open by the same people we’re pursuing.
I drop behind a thick tree, bark splintering above my head as bullets tear through the air where I stood moments before. My heart slams against my ribs, the sound of my own pulse competing with the battle for dominance in my ears.
This is nothing like the simulations.
Nothing like our training.
The acrid smell of gunpowder soaked in blood greets my nostrils. Smoke drifts between the trees, mingling with theearthy scent of disturbed soil and crushed leaves. Everything is moving too fast. Too loud and real.
“Ashford!” Elias’ voice reaches me from somewhere to my left. “Fire, now!”
My hands shake as I raise my weapon, finger gliding over the trigger. The gun kicks against my shoulder as I whirl and fire into the trees, aiming for the random flashes rather than clear targets—I couldn’t hit anything with accuracy right now. The recoil renders my arms useless from being so sore, burning every joint for several moments.
Movement catches my attention—a figure darting between trees with a gracefulness I could only dream of possessing. And he’s headed right for me. Without thinking, I break from cover to pursue my team that has shifted in a different direction. My legs pump beneath me, carrying me across roots and rocks as I run from the shadow chasing me through the forest.
As the thundering gait behind me closes in, one thing becomes clear: he’s going to catch me.
And against any better judgment, I turn, finding myself face to face with a man roughly my age. His clothes are worn but clean, patched in places but well-maintained. His eyes hold no malice, only determination. This isn’t a criminal or terrorist—this is someone protecting his home.
He raises his weapon, and I raise mine.
We circle each other in a small clearing, both breathing hard. Through the trees, the sounds of battle continue—shouts, gunfire, the crash of bodies through underbrush. But here, in this pocket of forest, there’s only us.
“You don’t have to do this,” he says, his voice deep and steady despite the circumstances. “We’ve done nothing but try to stay away from you. None of us need to die because of it.”
My lungs constrict. He’s right, of course he is. I don’t want to be here just as much as he doesn’t want me here.
I wish it were so easy.
“It’s not that simple,” I manage through the thickness in my throat.
His expression hardens. “Then you’re as much a monster as the rest of them.”
The words hurt, only because they’re true. I am a monster. I think of the woman we captured in Pyrem, of the men shot dead in front of their family. Of all the women trapped in breeding facilities while I play at being their captor.
I may be a monster, but I will never be one ofthem.
“I’m not—” I begin, but he’s already moving.
He lunges forward, abandoning his gun for close combat. We grapple, his hands seeking my throat while mine fight to break his grip. He’s stronger than me, but desperation lends me much needed adrenaline. I twist away from his grasp, stumbling backward.
