Harsh thuds of stomping feet sound behind me. They’re coming. The end is here, ready to take my life once and for all.
Doomed or not, I’ll take one of these bastards down with me. This one. I’ll take this one because I cannot allow him to hold on to the piece of my soul I gave him.
He doesn’t deserve it.
All of the rage I’ve ever held in my body comes roaring out all at once. I spin, gripping the dagger I kept hidden to finish the job I started.
Maybe my new form of hope is in vengeance. Maybe that’s all that is left in this god-forsaken world. All that’s left in me.
She told me to kill him. So, I will.
Haze’s eyes are wide as the blade plunges into his chest. The sound isn’t the same as when he killed the green-eyed girl. It’s a thunk and gasp and gurgle.
Unsure if it’s even enough to kill him, I throw my weight behind my thrust and I push as hard as I can.
He stumbles back, and me with him. He doesn’t speak or yell or fight back. He just stares down at me like he never could have foreseen this from me.
Like I’d betrayedhim.
Then, I shove him one last time into the black abyss. He stumbles once and then falls.
It feels like slow motion as he flutters down, falling into the pit below. In only seconds, he is swallowed whole by blackness.
I never even hear him hit the ground.
57
Lina
Laughter rings through the darkness. Maniacal, hysterical, cruel.
Slow, purposeful steps bring the man into view. A new Dread. Taller, with thicker muscles.
“You have turned out to be so much more entertaining than I’d ever imagined, Little Mouse.”
My fingers tremble. My teeth chatter.
He looks over my shoulder to the void below while I carefully slip the blade now covered in Azkel Haze’s blood back into the cloth at my thigh.
“Think he survived the fall?” he asks. “I hope so. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you tried, but it would be disappointing not to have the opportunity for my own revenge.”
I inch back, but my heels find the edge of the platform. I look down and go dizzy.
“Don’t worry, Little Mouse,” the new Dread tells me. “If you want a dive with our beasts, I’ll give you one. But first, you have a little visit to pay.”
His hand is around my wrist in an instant, tugging me toward him. I yelp as he twists me and pulls my back against his chest.I thrash against his hold, but it’s no use. I am far from strong enough to resist him.
“I wanted you,” he says in my ear, taking a long breath of my hair. “Before that asshole took you from me.”
I whimper. This is the other Dread who fought for me when I first came. Haze’s former commander. Ivar.
“What are you going to do with me?”
“Eager for a real man, are you?” He chuckles. “I intend to take a piece of you before all this is over, but alas, I am not the only one interested in your rebellious spirit. The priestess Blythe has requested your presence. They’ll get to have you first. If you survive, then it will be my turn.”
My heart hammers in my chest. I consider giving up, right then and there. What is there left to fight for? What chance do I have to survive this now?
But the moment is fleeting. Anger takes hold, and I cling to it.
