"Maybe they saw how many of us there were, and they decided to retreat?"
I give Mira a dubious look. "Doubtful. We killed her...whoever he was. And the big guy? He lost two brothers, thanks to Rowland and me."
Eyes wide and assessing, Rowland looks to me for confirmation of what he thinks I’m saying. When I give him a what-do-you-think-I-just-said sort of look, he blinks his surprise.
"They wouldn't just stop chasing you then,” he says. “This is personal."
I try to contain my irritation, but the moment is too charged, and I’m too depleted. "I already fucking know that. The question is, where did they go? We can’t just sit here, waiting for them to attack. We need to know what they’re doing."
The longer we stand here waiting for them to attack, the more I devolve into a common field mouse that flinches at every gust of wind.
They wouldn't have just given up, which means they're still here, somewhere, plotting the perfect opportunity to attack. But what could that be? Why not charge after us like they had been? It’s not like any of us are armed—
A moment too late,I remember that the female noctis, on the other hand, was.
Another bolt rips through the air like a knife tearing through flesh. It strikes Julian and he’s flung backward by the powerful blow. Shoulder-first, he crashes to the ground with an agonizing wail that almost reminds me of a distressed wolf calling to its pack.
Before most of the others can make sense of what's happened and why Julian is suddenly writhing on his back, thunder rumbles through the earth.
Harland is coming for us.
24
FOREST OF DEATH
My heavy legs slow when I find Rhain's body—or at least, what I think is his body. The face is so badly brutalized that it's honestly difficult to say and I have to identify him by complexion and fashion alone. The figure on the ground is dressed in a jade doublet, the same one Rhain was wearing just last night.
He’s difficult to look at for too long though, and any time I do, I can’t not look at the carnage. The place where his head should be is far too distracting, too upsetting. Where is his face? His head? Something more closely resembling a mashed-up pumpkin rests there instead and my stomach can’t take it.
I'd expected to find him dead, but I didn't expectthis.
"Who did this to you?"
I almost expect him to answer. Like any second now he’ll pull the pumpkin guts off from his shoulders, his head tucked safely behind the mess, and he’ll explode with laughter and tell us all that we should see our faces.
Only, I realize, there’s only me to tell.
Where is Caz?
These woods are more dangerous than I imagined they would be and suddenly I find myself worried—truly worried—about my friends.
"We’re here," Caz says, emerging from a dense bundle of trees just before I can send word through the blood oath. “Sorry to make you wait. We wanted to see if Ursulette left any tracks. And let me tell you, yes she did.”
Renee appears behind him, spine and shoulders drawn in an effort to ignore the awkwardness between us after my dismissal of her earlier. Or perhaps she’s so stiff because of the disturbing sight at our feet. Maybe both.
Her bottom lip trembles, but not once does she allow her gaze to brush over Rhain.
"You found her tracks?" I ask them, trying to keep us focused on finding Ursulette. There’s nothing we can do for Rhain now anyway. But if she’s chasing the Shadow Crusade, we have to stop her before it’s too late.
"Yeah," Caz confirms. "Thought we'd circle back for you before we went after her though.”
“Thank you.”
He nods, but his expression is pained. “I'm not sure we would've been able to get through to her if we found her anyway. Not without you."
Wiping the tears away, Renee scoffs, a sound that says he puts way too much faith in me and too little in his own sister.
On this matter, I might agree with her.
