Suddenly, I'm flung to the ground, my skull smacking into the thick roots of a blackened tree nearby.
I don’t know why he’s stopped. I don’t feel nearly as weak as I expected I would, but I think that’s because I still have so much blood left within me. He didn’t finish. For whatever reason, I’m not dead yet, let alone even close.
The wound on my neck will be the death of me soon if I don’t staunch the bleeding.
Harland spits blood to the ground. "What the fuck is this?"
Before anyone can answer or I can make sense of what’s happening, Rowland barrels into the heavy noctis, and the two of them are a clash of fists and flesh.
Mira is in front of me a moment later, blocking my view of them.
"What's happening?" I try asking through gurgles of blood.
"Let me see." She peels my hand back and winces at the sight. She presses my hand back to the wound before tearing a strip of cloth from her skirt. "Here, this will help—"
When she removes my hand, she gasps.
My first thought is one steeped in a lifetime of fear, and I'm certain that the transition has already begun. Soon I'll be a ghoul, and no one will be safe around me. Someone better kill me first.
But as she gapes at my exposed neck, I realize it’s not sorrow or terror etched in her face, but shock. Amazement.
And I'm no longer gagging on blood.
I swallow thickly, testing my throat and the horrid taste of metal I expect to find. To my surprise, the pain is nearly gone, and there's only a hint of blood left.
Pawing at my bloodied—if not smooth and punctureless—throat, I mimic her look of surprise.
"How is that possible?" she whispers, touching the tender flesh where a wound should be.
"I—I don't know," I say. Using the tree for support, I sit straighter, but within moments I realize I don’t need the support at all. I feel fine. Better than fine, if not for my lingering questions and worrisome thoughts, but those can be addressed later. "It doesn't matter right now."
As I shove myself to my feet, I find Rowland ahead. A sword shines in his hand like the gods summoned it down just for him—and maybe they did, since I'm not sure where else he would've found one. Julian, hunched over with a broken bolt jutting from his shoulder, wields a knife in his good hand, and the two of them corner Harland together.
I don't know Julian's skills, but I trust Rowland's. If he has Harland handled, then I have to take care of the remaining threat.
"What are you doing!?" Mira calls after me as I run.
But I don't respond.
There is no more time to waste. And now that I know I’m impervious to the bite of a noctis, I have nothing left to fear.
The village pops into view as I burst into the clearing, but I hardly see it, my gaze fixated on the only two buildings tall enough to give her a vantage point: a guard post on the west side, and a bell tower in the cathedral just ahead.
Only the bell tower gives her the angle she needed for that shot.
A bolt whizzes by my ear. Thankfully, I saw Sable appear in the window just a second before, so I knew when to dodge, narrowly escaping with only a nick on my cheek instead of a quarrel through the eye.
As I bound across the field for the cathedral, I can’t help but wonder if it would’ve even mattered. Maybe I’m puncture-proof as well as noctis-proof.
Or maybe that’s a fool’s way of thinking.
Another bolt whizzes by me, but it’s wide and careless.
Using my shoulder, I crash through the main entrance. One of the stained-glass windows lays shattered amid the debris inside, and I gather the longest shard I can find among them before bounding up the stairs. A noctis bite might not kill me but I still need a weapon to fight her with, to put an end to her life.
Up the stairs I run, until I come to a closed door. When I kick it downthe Devonshire bitchis waiting for me on the other side, Sable aimed at my chest.
"Don't you fucking move, or I'll kill you!" The female noctis tosses the black hood from her voluptuous white hair to reveal her beautiful, enraged face. Tears have made the charcoal around her eyes run, but I doubt if she’s ever looked more menacing. "Was it you? Did you take my Rhain from me?"
