A powerful kick to my back knocks the air out of me. I widen my stance before I fall face-first to the ground. I pivot just as the warlock goes for another hit and slam my foot into his stomach, the pressure forcing him to his knees.
Moving closer, I twist his neck in one clean move, ending his miserable life.
“Sweetheart, stay on my three o’clock. Seiji is rounding everyone from the south here.”
Why the fuck is everyone suddenly speaking in riddles? I don’t remember discussing any codes with them.
I’m going to regret spacing out during meetings, aren’t I?
I’ve never felt this disoriented in a fight before. The endless wave of attacks is wearing me down, the stench of death is clouding my brain, and the abrupt shift in strategy is messing with my focus. It feels like I’m fighting underwater, and my hands and legs are tied.
“Why are you all screaming numbers at me?”
“They’re directions, baby—you know what, forget it. We’ll discuss that later,” Angel calls from somewhere to my left.
Why is he shouting when he can just link me?
I spent a decade around these monsters, crippling with anxiety, so how did I forget the way they make my skin crawl? I can’t stand this for another second. The constant chaos and screams are getting too much.
The first sign of safety, and I got so wrapped up in the comfort that now I can’t even access my fight response properly. I’m fighting like a teenager who’s never bled before, and I hate it.
I catch the warlock creeping up behind me and slam him into the ground by his throat. I stomp on his skull until I hear bones crunching. The relief lasts for a second before pain shoots up my spine, and I land on my knees hard.
I blindly reach behind me and latch onto the ankle of my attacker—another warlock, too busy chanting spells and admiring how he has brought me to my knees.
One hard yank, and he falls backward, hitting his head on the concrete and effectively knocking himself out cold.
A warlock rushes at me, snapping me out of the heavy dread crawling up my spine. I pull myself upright just in time to dodge the kick aimed at my head.
I grab his ankle midair and wrench at an unnatural angle. The warlock slumps forward with a sharp cry. Without hesitation, I seize the back of his head and snap his neck. His body drops with a thud, joining the rest of his kind.
“This is getting out of hand!” Hazel yells from somewhere nearby, but her voice sounds muffled to my ears. My hands are still ripping out decaying hearts and caving in skulls, but I feel like I’m watching it happen through someone else’s eyes. I’m dissociating… losing my grip on my reality and my mind.
Angel’s voice cuts through the chaos, but whatever he says sounds like another meaningless noise. Even if my Divine wasn’t whispering in my ears, thirsty for carnage, I still wouldn’t have understood anything. I’m too far gone.
My thoughts are a tangled mess, and I’m seething. Being forced to fight the monsters who raised me in a nightmare is eating at me. And my anger is not limited to my past anymore.I’m angry at the people I was starting to trust because they never warned me about any of this.
Angel asked me to follow his lead, and I did. I tried my best, but it was all for nothing. My efforts were utterly useless. I’m bruised and battered, and I feel like I’ve failed them and myself, but it’s not all my fault.
The unclear instructions have pushed me off balance. I’ve never stumbled through a fight like this. I’ve never taken this much damage. I’m bleeding from so many places, and I don’t even remember how I got most of these gashes. There are fucking thorns sticking out of my arms and thighs. I’ve healed over them, so now they’re tearing me from the inside with every step I take.
I’m furious. I’m hurting. But more than anything, I’m disappointed in myself. I thought I was finally finding my place with these people, but tonight has reminded me that I’m still an outsider, fumbling in the dark.
Then something shifts. I feel it before I see it—a new set of eyes on me, searing and familiar like a brand on my skin. My entire body goes rigid. Panic floods in, everything inside me screaming at me to run and hide.
I beg my Divine to stay calm as I frantically search the shadows. I tell myself it’s all in my head—a hallucination. I’m not seeinghermangled face. She’s not hiding in the shadows, glaring at me from behind a tree. She’s not here. She can’t be.
But she is here.
Watching me.
Calling me.
My heart leaps into my throat, and I flinch back. I can’t decide if I should chase after Visha or run in the opposite direction, but before I can do anything, a thundering blast shakes the ground, making me stumble back.
Angel’s invisible shield snaps around us, muting the explosion’s roar. The shockwave slams into me, and I lose my footing, twisting my ankle as I scramble to stay upright.
I twist my upper body just in time to shield my face fromthe blast of flames, but the side of my dress catches on fire. My hands won’t stop shaking as I slap the flames, panic rising in my chest.
