Now with my circles connecting, the silt settling, I’m staring down the throat of a life withouthim,and there’s this emptiness below my ribs that makes me feel like it would be easier to just … fade away.
It makes me more disposable than the boy.
Another bolt of lightning ignites the space and lifts the hairs on the back of my neck. I draw my blade, wrap my bound hand around the sharp end, andslice—ripping open the same wound I used to lure Rhordyn to his death.
The monster whips up his head, nostrils flaring as he draws long whiffs of the air like a dog sniffing at the wind. A low growl permeates from somewhere deep inside his chest, and he rolls forward into a predatory crouch, tangles of filthy, matted hair falling across his screwed-up brow.
His stare flays my skin. Cracks into my bones. Slurps at my marrow—like he’s tasting all the bits that were used to put me together.
There’s a glimmer of something else in his inky eyes …
Relief?
It ignites and dies so quickly I question it was there at all.
My vision narrows, senses heightening. I keep moving, every preplanned step chased by the sound of my blood drip, drip, dripping in my wake as I coax his attention farther around the arena. He finally shifts, dragging his leg along the Aeshlian’s torso, moving off him entirely—not once breaking my stare. He doesn’t even blink.
Kolden creeps toward the boy, face etched with fierce determination. I’m thankful for another bolt of lightning as the Aeshlian gathers his chains close to his withered body. The constant pour of water absorbs the sound of him shuffling across the floor in slow, staggered movements, trying to pinch the gap, his wide, terrified gaze firmly cast on the back of Calah’s head.
All the while, Calah prowls closer to me, a deep, abrasive snarl ripping past his bared teeth, his hunched body all bulging might.
That voice inside screams for me torun.
I sidestep.
He mimics, the glint in his eye howling his excitement.
I sidestep again.
He snarls, smashing his fists against the stone like he’s preparing to charge.
I’m vaguely aware of Kolden reaching the boy. Easing the key into the first shackle—slow and silent as a mouse creeping around a sleeping cat.
I sidestep again just as the first shackle is set down on the ground with delicate precision, and they get to work on the second.
Kolden fumbles with the key, my heart lurching as it clatters against the stone so loud I feel it in my bones.
Calah’s entire body locks up, his head whipping around.
No.
I flick my hand, splashing my blood across the side of his face.
His head banks in my direction, slower than a rising moon. When I finally see his eyes, a gasp cuts into me.
Every last droplet of humanity has drained away, his features sharper, canineslonger.Like his entire being has honed into the perfect apex predator—all dark, ancient savagery.
I hear the second cuff clatter to the ground, notice Kolden lifting the boy and running as Calah charges, his roar vibrating through me.
I spin, sprinting—
He hits like a boulder, punching the breath from my lungs. I’m spun by a ruthless grip on my hair, head ripped back, throat bared. He strikes, snatching the scream slicing up from my lungs, releasing my blood in a hot gush.
A surge of pain crunches down on my throat, fills my skull, lashes the underside of my skin. It tears at my muscles and sinew and bones with deep, powerful, gluttonous drags, wilting me from the inside out.
Get away,I internally scream as I’m clawed at.
Bent like I’m made of clay.
