He’s going to kill me.
“Quiet,” he hisses. “This’ll be qui—”
I unhinge my jaw and bite off two of his fingers, the crunch of his bones echoing inside my skull. His flesh tastes foul, but I expect nothing less from this rat. Wen falls back in agony, clutching his hand to his chest as he cries bloody murder. My heart pounds and my lungs burn. I lunge at him, driving my knees to his chest just as he did to me.
“Attacking someone in their sleep?” I growl. “You’re as cowardly as they come.”
“Fox!” Sonam is on his feet, barreling toward me. He shoves me off of Wen with dizzying force. I can barely hear anything over the rush of blood in my ears.
“The demon attacked me!” Wen lies, groaning and whining as if he’s suffered a fatal wound. He holds up his bloody, disfigured hand. “See? It was going to eat me!”
“He’s lying!” I snap back. There’s an unfamiliar sting in my eyes. “He was going to killme.”
“Like anyone would believe that,” Wen huffs. “You saw how it was on top of me. Another second, and the beast would have taken my whole hand.”
“I was defending myself. You had a blade to my throat!”
“You can’t trust a blasted thing out of that monster’s mouth. Everything it says is a lie!”
“But I’m not—” My throat chokes. I don’t know what I want more badly: to convince Sonam that I’m not lying, or that I’m not a monster, because both aretrue.
I only eat humans because it’s my nature. There’s no choice in the matter. I don’t take pleasure in killing—though there’s an element of satisfaction in ridding the world of a particularly unkind soul. Would they call a tiger a monster for feasting upon a hare? What about a viper helping itself to the eggs in a bird’s nest? And what of the dragons in the Far East who have been rumored to fly off with farmland ox? They blame me for what I am, hunt me for what I am, and even make sport of it. So it begs the question: Who is the real monster here?
“I’ve had enough of this,” I say through gritted teeth, turning toward the temple’s entrance.
“Where are you going?” Sonam calls after me. A direct question—I cannot lie.
“I’m going ahead. Worry not,Your Highness,” I spit the title like a curse, “you don’t have to worry about our deal. I’ll clear the way, and you and your minions can follow.”
Sooah stomps her foot, but no one heeds her.
“Fox, wait,” Sonam says. “It’s too dangerous to go alone.”
“Maybe for you,” I snap. “I’ve been on my own for a very long time. It won’t make any difference now.”
He attempts to grip my shoulder, but I’m twice as fast, my hands shooting out to grab him by the front of his shirt. I let loose a snarl, ready to sink my teeth into whatever foolish wolf stands in my way.
“What did I say about touching me?” I hiss.
“You need us.”
“Youneedme. I don’t needanyone—”
This time, Sooah presses her fingers to her lips and whistles. It’s a sharp, high blast that bounces off the temple walls. All eyes turn to her—as well as to Wen, walking in from around the corner. He sleepily rubs his eyes and yawns. I glance back at my attacker standing directly next to the captain, seeing double. How can this be?
“What’s going on?” the real Wen asks. “What’s with all the shouting?” He notices his duplicate and frowns steeply. “Who the—”
The imposter smiles. It’s eerie. A little too wide and unnatural for the proportions of Wen’s slim face. His features almost seem to slip off—like a mask.
“Hello, Yue,” he says. “It’s good to see you’ve been doing well.”
“You,”I breathe, realization slapping me across the face.
After a tense beat, he runs.
I give chase.
We exit the temple together, barely an inch between us. The Maskmaker is within my grasp, but when I reach out—
