“Close this behind me?” I ask as I remove the stick and rocks holding the umbrella petal door in place. She doesn’t reply, and I don’t glance back to see if she’s heard me. She’ll close it.
Sure enough, as I rise to stand outside, I hear the scraping of rocks being moved from within.
I take a deep breath, my heart racing, and step free of the vines protecting the circle. Gentle raindrops caress my skin.
It’s slightly brighter out here, with the moon shining large and bright, like an observing face in the sky. The male stands in the center of the clearing, his silhouette dark and imposing, his arms hanging loosely by his sides.
A stupid part of me is disappointed when I confirm it’s not the High Lord. But the hairs on my arms rise as I recognize exactly who it is. The red-eyed fucker. The one that licked me. The one I had slapped.
“There she is,” he croons.
“Surely this isn’t how you plan to capture me?” I tease. “You don’t seem like the type of male who likes his prey willing and meek.”
The male tilts his head to the side, and I spy his glistening canines in the moonlight. He is enjoying this.
“Youdoget me, don’t you?” he asks. “I saw something in you the moment you walked by me on Earth. And I saw it again when you slapped me in the field. Itastedit on your skin. You will be mine. I can’t fucking wait to bring you home, feisty one.”
“You can’t just have me, though, can you?” I insist. Fuck, I am walking a dangerous line. “What if I just let you take me? Here and now?”
He pauses, and his eyes flash. “That would be… most unsatisfying.”
“Right,” I say. If I played this right, I might have a chance of surviving, of staying free of him. “So, this is how this is going to play out. I’m going to run. And you are going to chase me.”
He grins. “Perfect.”
“But you have to give me a head start. This is a game, remember? You have to make it fun.”
The male groans and clutches his groin. Gross.
“You certainly know how I like to play.”
I hold back the repulsed shiver that wants to rack my body. This was so fucked up. I was fucking terrified. I didn’t want to do this. I wished the male had walked on by without scenting me. I wish I’d forged a weapon of some sort when I had the chance. I wished my fucking father wasn’t the useless prick he was.
There was no point in hopeless dreams and what-ifs. This, here, right now, would decide my future. This was my moment of fate. And I’d fucking fight for it.
I take a deep breath. “Come catch me then.”
Chapter Nineteen
I turn and run as the male’s laughter echoes through the forest. I hoped Akari would stay hidden. I hoped her hunters wouldn’t find her. I hoped this would fucking work.
The river is fuller than earlier, racing and roiling like a mad snake. That doesn’t stop me from splashing through its depths. The water slows me down, and my muscles threaten to lock up with its freezing grip, but I push on. Even with it being fuller, this part of the river is still not as deep as where I entered it earlier in the day. Or was it yesterday now? It didn’t matter. As the river pushes me one way, I fight to keep my path straight. Eventually, I manage to slog out the other side, looking and feeling like an engorged sponge. I glance behind me. The male stands at the riverbank with a grin on his face. He claps, slowly.
“That was a grand attempt and all, but you’ll have to try harder than that.”
He takes a running step and jumps. He fucking clears the river in one effortless bound. I stumble back from where he lands, just meters from me.
“Run,” he finishes with a feral grin.
I do.
He doesn’t follow me straight away. Thank fuck. I need this head start, what with the river giving me absolutely no advantage. I enter the forestat a relentless speed. Instantly, the moonlight fades, and I squint as I dodge trees and bushes that seemingly appear out of nowhere.
Skirting one such tree has me plummeting into the dirt as I trip on one of its obnoxiously large roots.
“Fuck!” I hiss, my knees and already battered palms screaming as they take the brunt of my fall. I go to push myself up, but instead find myself shrieking and jumping to the side as I find myself face to face with a skull. It lies half buried in the damp earth, its eyes and nose hollow, and its jaw agape. A thin sheen of moss grows along its surface in places, while the bone itself is browning in age and dirt. A sob breaks free from my exhausted soul. It’s human. I have no doubt about it. Likely a Chosen.
It could be my mother.
