To the others—admittedly, Lewis isn't the best person I've ever met, but he's not the worst either? And not him, nor Julian, nor Dunce, deserve to be yanked from their lives and used as human fodder to be hunted down like game.
We might not have any weapons. We might not be as strong as the noctis closing in on us. But we have each other.
If we work together, we might be able to survive this yet.
I know Sable and, more importantly, I know the distinct curve of her shots.
I can findthe Devonshire bitch—as Lewis so eloquently called her. If I can focus, I know I can.
"One of them killed Rhain!" she screams.
"What do you want? A confession?" The mammoth noctis grumbles but fixes his attention on us. With the nub of one of his arms, he scratches a branch-like scar below his only eye. "Which one of you maggots here has the balls to confess?" There's no sincerity in his tone, and no time given for anyone to answer because he already knows no one will. "No? Just as I figured. No one's confessing, Ursy," he yells to the female. "They all look guilty to me though. Might as well kill them all just to be safe."
"Y-you can't do that," Dunce stammers. "Your king said the rules were—"
"Fuck the rules," Harland says.
"Fine!" shouts the female, and seconds later another bolt is loosed. It impales Lewis in the thigh, jutting all the way through the other side. Over his wailing, I almost miss her maniacal laughter when she says, "But I'm going to make them suffer first."
My eyes meet Rowland's.
No words are exchanged.
There's no time.
But he knows as well as I do that Ursulette is a threat we need to deal with, and with Sable in her possession, there’s no one else I’d let go in my stead.
When Rowland lunges for Harland, I pivot in the opposite direction, the female noctis the only target in my sight. After firing three bolts, she should still have two left—if she hasn’t lost any since the last time I had Sable. Letting her get two more free shots could mean the end of us.
Guilt heavy in my heart, I leave Mira, but at least she's in capable hands. Her odds are better with the group than with me now anyway.
Before I can take my first stride toward the hidden village, something snags my arm. I’m ripped backward and a mountain of a monster erupts into view.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I find Rowland scrambling to his feet on the ground, a gash in his head where he was tossed into a tree.
My eyes return to Harland's, untampered rage gathering in a dark cyclone behind their dark depths.
"Where do you think you're going?"
He doesn't give me an opportunity for smartass banter, nor adequate time to escape. Fingers as rough as tree bark and as hairy as a rat’s hide wrap under my jaw and jerk me closer.
A horrendous sound shreds Rowland's throat."No!"
And then Harland's fangs sink into my neck.
The pain is piercing. Molten. Like someone's learned how to forge flames into teeth and their brand is coursing through my veins.
I'm skewered in his grasp. Unable to move. Unable to voice my terror in a scream or cry or anything. My torment remains trapped in my mind alone. A prison of fear that I am all too familiar with.
I might've begged Malachi to kill me days ago, but I knew then that I wasn't ready to die. I've never truly wanted to cease living; I just wanted the pain to end. I wanted a better life, to stop having to run. But I never wanted my life to come to an end, especially not at the hands of a noctis, one who looks like he's killed half of the United Realm singlehandedly.
Like a rabid dog, Harland locks his jaws around my flesh and gives my entire body a jerk. Warm blood pools from the wound and drips down my neck, a waterfall of warmth down my chest. He laps it up, savors the sweet revenge on his tongue.
I suppose I should be grateful that I won't have to watch the others meet their fates now.
Even though that might be true, my body refuses to give up. Once the initial shock of pain has passed, the rest of my senses reawaken.
I pound against his chest for release. I kick. I roar, a sound so horrific and guttural that it scares even me to hear it.
