I don’t think I can go back.
If I help him, if I stay…
“Rowanee.”
I go perfectly still, not even daring to breathe. How did he find me? My throat tightens, and my knees get weak. It’s like I’m back in Nightmare again, I can feel the dry sand on my face, the stench of blood in the air.
“Rowanee…witch.”
I shudder and turn in a slow circle, listening for where the call is coming from. The bugs have fallen silent. The birds have vanished. Every sound is amplified in my ears as I strain to hear him.
“I found you. Tried to run away from me, but I found you here.” The whisper is so soft, if I were anyone else, I probably would dismiss it as the wind.
I break out into a sweat and sink into a crouch, ready to spring in whatever direction means safety.
Deux lets out one of those giggles that I hear in my nightmares.
The flashback slams into my head, and I’m suddenly there, screaming in agony as he claws my eyes from my skull. He laughs and pops one into his mouth. The sick squelch when he explodes it is followed by his groan of delight. I clutch at my mutilated face, hot blood curtains my skin, running into my screaming mouth, choking me.
I’m abruptly back in my body, sweat coating me as I struggle and fight to stay in the present. For a second, I can still feel the blood pouring down my face.
There is a scrape of claws on a tree. My body tenses, and all those memories disappear.
Deux makes no sound when he hunts, so I know this is a deliberate move to make me afraid. He doesn’t need to try.
I back away from the noise, but another sound comes from behind me.
Deux attacks, I feel the movement in the air, it’s the only indication I have, and I just move out of the way of his long talons, hearing the whoosh as he passes me.
I can still see him in my memory. He’s got a chalky white face with matte black eyes and long hair plaited with leaves and vines and the bones of the creatures he hunts. But it’s his mouth that stretches too wide, with too many sharp teeth, that really scares me. He’s an ambush predator who delights in long hunts, and in the history of his entire life, only one person has gotten away from him.
And he has not forgiven me for it.
He doesn’t give me a second to recover but keeps swinging. I move on auto pilot, matching him blow for blow. The faster we move, the more there is a chance I will make a slip that will be fatal, but I don’t dare slow down.
It becomes a dance.
Intricate, horrifying, and violent.
Each blow raining down with such force it brings almost instant bruises. The pain is intense, but I don’t let it factor. His scent wraps around everything, stealing all the good and the life from the world. He is the bringing of dark and foul things.
I sense the arrival of Leaf a fraction of a second before Deux does and anticipate him lunging at my dragon. My heart falls in my chest, violently dropping into my stomach as I stand between the two, a barrier to protect an alpha who is mine.
Leaf’s scent swirls around me, pushing Deux’s away. I know I’ve given myself away. I’ve just handed my enemy a way to ruin me.
But I can’t find it in me to regret saving Leaf’s life.
I cut Deux off again, hissing. He pauses, and then we clash again. I throw him back, narrowly avoiding getting my face ripped open. He spins into me.
I see him in my mind, but it’s the air movements, the sounds, the smell, the sense I don’t even have names for that tell me how to fight him.
Leaf roars behind me and rushes towards us, but I maneuver Deux away, refusing to let the dragon get close to where we battle.
My attention is divided, and Deux takes advantage, pressing harder at me, more violently, and when he’s bored, he lunges for Leaf, forcing me to change my strategy again.
“Have you found a mate, Rowanee?” Deux lets out a dry and sinister chuckle. He turns to Leaf, and I attack in a flurry of violence, refocusing his attention on me.
I don’t answer him out loud. Speaking will only encourage him, but my actions give myself away. It’s necessary.
