She’s okay, he reassured himself.They’re both fine.
They approached a large gathering of people, merrily eating. Drunken laughter spilled from their lips as they cheered.
“To an alliance!” he heard someone say as they clanked together beer steins loudly.
Narrowed eyes met theirs, and Benny felt like they were all staring at them.
They made their way to an open table at the far end of the gathering. Platters of food lined the center of the table, but Benny couldn’t bring himself to make a plate. He looked over at the random Lycanthrope watching them warily.
A loud cheer rang out, and Benny looked up. Yepa’s tall form ascended the far stairs alongside the replica of Ael and Seda, who were holding hands and smiling brightly at everyone.
Seda didn’t have her wings, and Ael’s bright smile seemed uncanny, like it stretched a little too far.
“Fucking A,” he said under his breath. “It really isn’t them.”
They watched as Yepa made her way to the center of the stage, Ael and Seda following. Wild cheers rang out as she turned to the crowd.
“We need to leave.Now,” Ojore snarled as he began to stand.
Yepa raised her hands, calming the crowd, and Ojore’s eyes snapped to hers.
“It’s been hundreds of years since the Fae and Lycanthropes have had an alliance. I want to thank our friends here.” She pointed at the impostors. “For helping us to bridge the gap between our societies. The Fae have promised to join us in revenge against the weakness that has descended upon this world! Lycanthropes! We’ve found our divine angel!”
The image of King Ael transformed into Meir, and a wicked grin spread across his face. His eyes were solid black, like endless puddles, sucking the life out of anyone who looked.
The ravenous crowd began to cheer wildly with deep howls and growls echoing across the area.
“But…” she started. “We have some among us who do not wish to join us.” Her mismatched colored eyes shifted to Benny, Sephyr, and Ojore. “And instead, choose an alliancewith the weak.”
Benny saw Seda’s replica grin as she looked at them.
An arrow shot through the crowd into Ojore, piercing his throat and causing blood to run down his shirt. Ojore’s heavy body crumpled onto the ground with a loud thud.
Benny froze in fear, his body failing to respond.
“Ojore has not been one of us for a long time. He chose to live amongst the humans and befriend that imposter Monster King of theirs.” Another arrow shot through the crowd and impaled Sephyr’s chest. She tried to shift into her Corvid form, with feathers expanding around her, but remained partially human.
“The Corvids, also, have chosen to go against the balance of this world. Their kind left us a very long time ago. They’re not one of us! Their angel only brings darkness!” Yepa’s eyes shifted to Benny. “And the humans. So weak and pathetic. They do nothing as the Jotnar eats their people.”
A loud cheer rang out among the crowd, and Benny felt his body start to respond. He shifted out of his chair quickly andducked under the table as an arrow flew over his head, landing with a loud crunch into a tree behind him.
“We have a chance now to unite and work alongside our angel! The angel of death, the Black-Crowned King! We’ll no longer be seen as weak! We will defeat the frailty of the world with our new brethren!”
Benny could hardly believe what was unfolding. He crawled toward Ojore and Sephyr, their blood seeping into his hands and knees. Ojore’s motionless body lay on the ground, while Sephyr was gasping for air with ragged breaths.
He asked her in a panicked whisper, “We have to get out of here. Can you reach the others?”
“Come out, human. We do not allow weak, pathetic people amongst our kind,” Yepa’s voice purred.
Sephyr’s anguished eyes met Benny’s. “I’ll try,” she gasped, shutting her eyes. He saw her eyelids flutter briefly before they became still.
Her chest stopped moving.
Benny’s blood ran cold. He didn’t know what to do.
Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, he thought. He began to crawl through the trees behind him, fear racing up his spine. He had to get away and had to find Aurora, Askold, and Vira.
“Oh, human…” Yepa said. “You cannot escape us. You and your friends will die tonight. I may have wasted an antidote on your friend earlier. But he’ll not leave this place either. Thank you for bringing us a Unipaca, though. She’ll be instrumental for our cause.” He heard her chuckle.
