“Which is often,” Merrik whispers conspiratorially to the group.
Rubi lifts a tankard, mischief on her lips, “Cheers to that.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve sat around a fire with my people.My mind drifts to Nalya, imprisoned in Maldrak’s dungeons, wasting away, likely clinging to life.
I shake the thoughts from my head. I’ve spent too many years not living because I didn’t feel worthy of it while Nalya isn’t living at all. But tonight, I let myself enjoy this. The company, the ale, the meat, the beautiful woman asleep in my bed.
I take another bite and feel a whisper at the edges of my mind. A gentle scraping against my mind, so weak, so soft, that I second-guess myself.
I take another sip from my tankard, the pulse at the edges of my awareness, getting more insistent.
Then, the tether snaps taut, pulling tight in my chest.Kael!Elyssara screams down the tether.Zak!
That’s all I need. She called my name—andhis.
Something’s horribly fucking wrong.
Therion notices my shift instantly, “What is it?”
“Elyssara,” I say before drawing my sword and heading straight for my room.
“Right behind you, brother,” he says.
I don’t thank him. I don’t look back.
I bolt.
Lethal rage pulses through me, and the need for blood takes over.
I take the stairs three at a time. The door’s ajar.
I burst into the room and almost crumble at the horrifying sight in front of me.
Mottled skin blooms across her throat.
Scratches and cuts lace her thighs—marks from hands that didn’t belong.
Blood clings to her fingernails. She fought.
Zak’s slitted eyes land on me, and he moves to open his mouth.
He doesn’t even get a scream out before my blade finds his ribs.
I don’t remember moving.
Only my need for blood. My fury.Her.
I withdraw my blade. But I can’t stop.
My blade finds his chest.
His shoulder.
I slice through his abdomen, gutting him like a pig for the spit.
Strong arms wrap around my chest from behind, “He’s gone, brother.” Therion’s voice cuts through my blind rage just long enough to reach me.
Zak’s body crumbles to the ground and the world around me roars back to life.
