“Wait,” I whisper.
That single word breaks whatever invisible thread we’ve been suspended on.
He flinches.
Not a jerk. Not like I’ve struck him.
But like I’vetouchedsomething raw inside him. Something exposed.
His head snaps slightly to the side, and I see the way his hands curl, those long claws drawing against his palms like they’re trying to keep him grounded. He takes a step back. Then another.
And then he’s gone.
He doesn’t run. Doesn’t bolt.
He just…disappears.
One moment, he’s there, filling the space between us like a living storm. The next, the shadows swallow him whole.
I stand frozen, staring at the spot he vanished into, my hand still half-raised like a fool.
Like a child reaching for a bedtime story that turned real.
The sting tail’s corpse gurgles once, a final spasm of death, and the smell nearly knocks me sideways. I stumble back and double over, hands on my knees, lungs working like bellows. My heart feels like it’s trying to crack my ribs open from the inside.
What thehelljust happened?
I don’t remember walking back to camp.
I don’t remember anything but the wild thud of my pulse and the echo of his eyes, still branded into my memory like afterimages of lightning.
The shouting cuts through the dark like a buzz saw.
"Clear left!"
"Fan out! Keep your safeties hot!"
"Where the hell is the breach point?"
The marines descend on the clearing like a pack of starving wolves, their boots chewing up the soil, weapons raised, faces pinched with adrenaline. Floodlights slice through the dusk, stabbing into every crevice as if they could burn truth out of shadows.
I don’t move. Can’t. My body’s still vibrating from the encounter, every cell humming with a frequency that feelsborrowed—like I’ve touched something ancient, primal, and it’s left a residue inside me.
One of the marines shouts something in my direction, but it’s garbled. My ears are still full of my own heartbeat.
"Jillian!"
A hand grabs my arm. I flinch so hard it jerks my shoulder.
Grady’s face swings into view—hard-set jaw, gritted teeth, and too many emotions trying to fight their way through a soldier’s mask.
“What thefuckhappened?”
I open my mouth, close it. Breathe. Try again.
“Sting tail,” I whisper.
It’s not a lie. Not technically.
