I gasp for air like it’s my first breath.
I’m human again.
Without my anger, I’m completely hollow. My insides have been scraped out, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell of a human. Bea clings to me, tears tracking down her cheeks, and we fall to the floor together. I’m completely naked, the cold air chilling my skin. The gym around us is in ruins, but in Bea’s arms I feel home.
I feel Mom’s embrace again.
Patricia drapes her coat over me, and she and Jim fall to their knees, throwing their arms around us. Jim and Patriciaareour parents. They have been for nine years. They loved both of us from the moment they met us. They gave us a home, took care of us, gave us anything we needed. I love them, even if I never let myself admit it until now. Even if it feels a bit like betraying my mom.
“I’m so glad you girls are okay,” Jim says, his voice thick.
“Me too,” I tell him tearfully.
Over Patricia’s shoulder, I look up at Amund and Valerie. My family is safe because of them.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Amund smiles.
So does Valerie, even if she tries to hide it.
“As much as I hate to interrupt, we still have abitof a problem,” Valerie says, waving her knife at the animals prowling through the gym.
Shivering, I stare down at my naked body. My soft flesh. I’m more vulnerable than ever. I stand, pulling Patricia’s coat around me. Everywhere I look, I see more berserkir. Boars are snorting heavily, licking blood off the dance floor. I can’t tell which is Kris, but they must be among them. Maeve too.
Wolves snarl on the bleachers, fighting over something. Someone. One of the wolves chews a human arm, bone crunching in its powerful jaws. Tala and Isaac are easy to spot among the wolves. Growling, they rip through leather and tear into the hunter like raw meat.
Not just any hunter.Dorian.
“We can’t kill the berserkir,” I say, turning to Amund. “They aren’t in control. They were drugged.”
“I know.” Amund approaches a dead hunter lying on the gym floor. Her suit is ripped to shreds around her, but her leathers are still intact. The other hunters must have worn them underneath their clothes like Amund. He crouches and starts stripping her leather armor off, piece by piece. “She won’t be needing these anymore.” He holds the leathers out to me. “But you will.”
“Thanks,” I say, taking them from him. Our hands brush briefly.
I stare down at the leathers. These were made from a wild berserkr… I think of the wolf pelt Nils wore. Maybe there’s a way I can wear these more like the original berserkr. A way I can honor the animal who made this. Saving all the berserkir here from themselves seems like a good start.
I slip off Patricia’s coat, letting it fall at my feet. Amund averts his gaze, a blush spreading across his cheeks. I pull on the leathers quickly, surprised by how well they fit me. How easy they are to move in.
“The punch was laced with fly agaric,” I say, struggling with one of the leather bracers. “It’s a hallucinogenic mushroom that drives berserkir wild. It represses their humanity, so they aren’t in control. They’re acting on animal instinct.”
Amund reaches for my arm, helping me secure the bracer with practiced fingers. “Who would do that?”
I hesitate a moment, searching his face. I hate that I have to be the one to tell Amund this, but he needs to know the truth. “Your brother.”
Amund’s fingers tighten around my wrist. “What?”
“It was him the whole time,” I say. “He’s been killing people for some sick ritual to bring back the seers who died in the Tragedy like his uncle wants. That’s why he put fly agaric in the punch. So their spirits could steal the berserkir’s bodies while their humanity was suppressed.”
Amund shakes his head. “No.No.Nils wouldn’t—”
“He would.” I rest my hand on top of his, meeting his eyes. “He was going to sacrifice me. I had to fight him. I couldn’t… I couldn’t end up like my mom.”
His throat bobs. “Is Nils dead?”
“No,” I say quickly. “But I knocked him out.”
Amund frowns, looking at war with himself.
