My eyes burned. My hands shook.
Please. Please don’t die.Not like this. Not because of me.
“Ready?”
No one answered. No one was ready for this.
I held my breath. Tears slipped down my cheeks.
Doc pulled.
Darius’ scream shattered the silence—raw, agonizing, inhuman. His body arched off the ground. The men holding him strained to keep him down.
I pressed my fist to my mouth, choking back a sob.
Please. Please. Please.
More blood oozed onto the floor.
“Damn it.” Doc’s voice cracked. “He’s going to bleed out before I can stop it. The poison is moving too fast through his blood.” He grabbed a vial from his satchel, hands shaking. “I’m not sure the antidote will have time to work.”
He looked up, his ancient eyes filled with something I didn’t want to see.
“He’s dying.”
No. No. No. No.
The word echoed through my skull like a scream.
I pushed myself off the wall and rushed toward Darius.
“Stay where you are,” Grump commanded.
I ignored him. Done. I was done listening to captors. Done being a prisoner. Done sitting against a wall while people I cared about slipped away.
I dropped to my knees beside Caterpillar and clasped Darius’ hand. Cold. So cold. His skin was gray, his breath barely a whisper.
“Don’t you dare,” I choked out. “Don’t you dare leave me here alone.”
Caterpillar glanced at me, his half-lidded eyes unreadable.
“You stopped time,” he said quietly. “Twice.”
“I can’t. I don’t know how?—”
“You stopped arrows. You froze soldiers. You immobilized harpies.” His voice was calm. Steady. “Perhaps... you can stop death.”
A strangled sound escaped me—something between a laugh and a gasp. “That’s impossible.”
“Impossible.” He exhaled slowly. “Such a heavy word. Tell me, Alice—did you believe you could stop time before you did it?”
No. I hadn’t believed. I’d just... felt.
“You have power inside you. Ancient. Waiting.” Caterpillar’s gaze held mine. “But power without belief is like a sword without a hand to wield it. Useless.”
Tears streamed down my face. “What if I can’t?”
The fear was suffocating. But if I did nothing, he was dead anyway. If I failed, we were no worse off than we already were. And if I didn't even try... I'd never forgive myself.
