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Reaching into the bag he left beside me, I fished out the radio and handheld gun—each tempting in their own ways. My finger hovered over the power button of the radio, a need to talk to my friends tightening in my chest, but I resisted. There was just no telling who was nearby, or who could hear the beep and crackle of the radio before we had any real news to share.

My eyes slid to the gun in my other hand. It had a good weight to it, the handle fitting comfortably in my palm and drawing my finger to the trigger. Something dark and powerful reared its head in the deepest parts of my bones, and my arm ached to feel the kickback of a shot. I could almost smell the tang of blood, could almost feel the hot spray, could almost see the smoking bullet hole in Arthur’s chest.

Wings flapped in a windy beat just before Fox’s feet touched down beside me, shifting mid-landing. “It’s Gavin,” he said in lieu of a greeting.

I shoved the radio back in the bag and moved the gun out of sight as guilt spiked in my chest. Like I hadn’t been imagining killing his brother right before he returned.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked, taking his offered hand to get to my feet.

“He’s about to shift guards. August—my other cousin—is on his way now. Probably five minutes out. I need to act now.” Fox’s hand slid out of mine as he stared off toward the cabin through the dense trees.

His look unnerved me. “Fox...”

“Gavin wouldn’t hesitate to chase if he saw a threat.”

“Fox.”

“Don’t worry. I’m faster than him.” Fox slid the bag onto my shoulders, checking the straps to make sure they were secure. He put the radio in my pocket, then made sure I had a firm grip on the gun. “You get her as soon as the coast is clear, and you run for the highway. Call the others as soon as you can.”

“But, Fox—”

“I’ll meet you there after I lose him.”

So, this was his plan. To be the decoy. To sacrifice himself for me and Everly.

Anger flared in my chest. “This plan is shit. No wonder you didn’t want to tell me about it.”

“There’s nothing else we can do, Rae. It’s going to be okay.”

There were a million ways the plan could go wrong, and yet hardly any time to figure out a new one. Not to mention, I didn’t have Riss to mastermind something flawless. Anything I came up with was sure to disappoint.

“Rae.” He lowered his head, trying to catch my eye since my face had gone blank with concentration. “I need you to say okay. I need to hear that you’re going to get your sister and run.”

Inhaling sharply, I latched onto the first alternative plan that began to take form in the foggy haze of my thoughts. “Gavin would kill you if he had the chance, right?”

“Yeah. No hesitation, but I—”

I didn’t let him give his excuse. I didn’t let him try to convince me that his stupid plan could work out.

“I really hope you don’t hate me for this.”

Traipsing into the woods, I didn’t bother to restrain my heavy footfalls. I plowed through the brush, out of the tree cover, away from the masking sound of the bubbling stream.

“Rae... Rae, what are you—” Fox called after me.

Stepping out of the trees into the clearing, I locked sights on Gavin who sprang to his feet off the bottom step of the cabin.

“Looks like the Fox and the rabbit got loose—” Gavin started to say, cut off by the bang of the gun.

My shoulder burned, my whole arm reverberating with the aftershock of the gun going off.

Gavin dropped.

Chapter 36

At the first sight of black, inky blood pooling beneath his chest, a wash of relief flooded through me. When his chest heaved and sputtered, going still after three attempts to draw a clear breath, righteous satisfaction burned hot in my chest.

In less than a second, I’d crossed a threshold into a space I could never return from. The hungry, vengeful monster of rage had awoken, never to be put back to sleep.