“What are you doing?” Pia whispered, another moan from the Hykah shortening her words.
“Stay here.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond before taking off in the direction of the sound, pulling my sword off my back as I picked up a jog.
Rocks crunched under my boots as I ran, my footsteps as silent as possible for my speed. The Hykah’s grunts overflowed my ears, the horrifying sound increasing in volume with each step I took. Then, I saw it.
The Hykah’s decaying, marred body stood hunched over what looked like the corpse of a bear, though the animal was too bloody and torn to diagnose a definite species. Bones crunched as the creature shoved fresh meat into its collapsing jaw, and for a moment, I just stood there watching it.
Thatthingused to be a mortal. That creature that Beaumont had built by dark magic used to be someone just like me. They may have had a spouse, or children. That was once someone's son or daughter. Someone's friend. A sibling.
The thought stirred something up inside of me, and though I knew I needed to kill it, I couldn't help but wonder if there was another option.
On my tiptoes, I prowled forward, taking tiny step after step until I was close enough. And though there was no time to waste, this wouldn't take long. I just wanted to try.
My palm extended in front of my chest. I composed my mind, shutting out anything that wasn't in theinner peacecategory.
I sucked in a long, heavy breath, and on the release said, “Don’t hurt me.”
When the beast didn’t flinch, I took another step forward. I had the cosmos swirling in my veins, ready to use, my sword drawn as back up. The Hykah was too immersed in its meal to notice me, and in fear of getting much closer before knowing if my command worked, I picked up a rock and chucked it at the things back.
Its disfigured neck shot over its shoulder, its soulless eyes matching my glare. The Hykah screeched, and much to my dismay, charged at me.
“It was a nice thought,” I muttered, angling my sword upwards. I should have known that something without a soul couldn't be controlled.
I charged back, the tip of my sword aimed at the Hykah’s throat. When my proximity was close enough, I slashed through flesh and the monster jolted back, drool pouring from its jaw with its bellow.
I jumped back to recenter myself and dumped the sword, aiming with my hand instead. I marked my target by aligning my eye and forefinger, then blasted it with the godly power within me.
“I’m getting prettygood at that,” I expressed when I returned to Pia, who still sat on her horse with a blank stare on her face.
“And that’s a good thing?” she queried.
“Better than dying.” I brushed Honey’s neck with my palm before returning to my saddle.
“Maeve,” Pia huffed out my name. “Ineedto stop. I'm serious. I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
Her hair was coated with sweat, sticking to the paled skin of her forehead. Her under eyes were dark and I could see her fingers shaking from here. She didn't just look tired. She lookedsick.
I dropped Honey’s reins back. “Okay. Rest for an hour. I’ll take watch. You sleep.”
Chapter
Fifty-Three
SEBASTIAN
When I found her, I would fucking kill her for being so reckless. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Out of sheer relief that she was okay, I’d kiss her like I’d never kissed her before. But right now, I was livid.
Regardless of my anger, her recklessness was one of the things I loved most about Maeve. She was stubborn, yet impulsive. She was brilliant, yet still so innocent. There was so much in this world that she hadn't been exposed to yet, and that untainted part of her helped me cling to the part of me that had been overexposed to this cruel, grim universe.
“We’ve been riding for nearly twenty hours. How have we not caught up to them?” Kade grumbled.
“Who knows what time they left.” I slowed my steed just enough to make out Kohen’s voice better.
“What’s the strategy for when we arrive?” he countered.
From where I led the pack, I looked over my shoulder at him. “No strategy. I’ll do whatever I have to do to get them out ofthere in one piece.” I would kill every single civilian and burn every single building to the ground if I had to.
“Don’t let your feelings get in the way, Hawthorne,” Kade snapped. “We can't just go in there and wing it. That's how we end up dead.”
