He didn’t deserve to die like that.
Whipped in front of crowds of people who were supposed to be his friends and neighbors. They never really accepted him. He was too different. Different like Astella.
His screams echo through my mind.
He was half-dead already when they tied him by his feet to one of those lizard beasts and rode off. He didn’t even scream anymore at that point.
My father let me loose to chase them down. I didn’t reach the end of town before they were out of sight.
Who gets the credit of the kill?I wonder now. Was my Dread the one who held the whip? The rider of the drakai that dragged him? Or was there more to his punishment that I never saw? Did they bleed him? Or feed his body to the drakai?
Nausea roils through me.
How much would Lucca hate me to know that I’d been with the man who did that to him?
A new wave of that black ocean slams into my chest. This time, the water is boiling hot.
Anger.
I clench my fist around the coin, ignore my sour stomach, and force my weak knees to straighten. Three deep breaths, then I slip the coin into my pocket. I still don’t know the significance of Astella’s gift but I carry it with me like a shield against this storm.
Tight chest. Aching heart. Trembling limbs.
But now, my mind is sharp with anger. I will finish this stupid game once and for all.
This night will either end with me between the jaws of a drakai or free of this fortress for good. If I ever see a Dread again, I’ll laugh as I shove my dagger through their chest the way I should have an hour ago.
55
Lina
My feet are quieter as I finish my trek across the den toward the drakai pit.
I hear no signs of guards this time and pray that means I got lucky and snuck by while they were distracted.
What I do hear is—well, I don’t thinkhearis the right word. Ifeelthe drakai.
Dark power thrumming.
It’s terrifying.
I remember the cold darkness of the pit before. The feeling of the messages ricocheting through my skull.
Is it a warning? Are they waiting for me? Did the priestesses know what I’d planned after all and are just waiting for me to arrive so they can torture me before they end my existence?
Maybe. Yet, my feet continue moving. Even toward the unnerving warning.
The tremble of stone beneath my feet. The soft hum of a predator eager for a meal.
I hope I taste good.
“You will,” a voice purrs.
I suck in a breath and freeze. Was that… aloud? My heart hammers in my chest. Something responded to my thoughts out loud. What in heaven’s name?
“I am here,” a rumbling inhuman voice says.
My stomach churns. Inhuman. Which means… that was the drakai speaking to me?
