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I shook my head, insisting, “He will know. And he will make you pay.” I wanted to believe this was true, but more important, I needed forthisman to believe it true.

“This is what is best. For him. For all of us. Now.” He clapped his hands together jarringly, and his smile faded. “I will give you a head start.”

I gulped, panic swelling, rising up in my throat to choke me.

“Go on,” he prompted. “Run.”

That look in his eyes. I knew it. Knew his foul intent.

Arkin had followed me into the woods to do more than harm me. He was here to make certain I never came back out.

“I’m a sporting man,” he continued. “I’ll count to three. One—”

With a swift breath, I spun and fled, darting through the trees. Blood rushed to every limb as my fingers clawed, ripping through sheets of moss.

He gave chase, his breath crashing on the air after me. Not from exertion. It was the thrill of the hunt taking him. He was older, twice my age, but strong, his warrior body well honed and accustomed to this kind of sport.

He was the predator and I his quarry.

Fear flooded me as my legs pumped, carrying me deeper into the woods. I was too loud, panting, tearing through the brush like a wild animal. Desperate. There was no hope of losing him. I knew it. Knew how this game would end.

My chest tightened, the pressure building there, coiling, hurting. I gasped at the pain of it, but there was no time for pain. My head whipped from side to side, trying to decide where to go. What to do.

Fire blazed through my veins. My skin snapped, heated. A fever rushed to my face, reaching the tops of my ears. Tears blurred my vision. I had no idea which direction to turn, which way to the camp. I was lost.

Fell.

The thought of him burned through me. I willed him to appear, to help me. Perhaps Arkin was right. Maybe Fell would be glad to be rid of the wife forced on him through lies and trickery. Just as soon as the thought entered my mind, I rejected it with a fresh sob.No.If Fell wished to be rid of me, it wouldn’t be like this. It wouldn’t be through my execution. He wouldn’t have sicced his man on me.

It didn’t matter, though. He was not coming. No one was.

The only person who could help me... was me.

Arkin tackled me. I screamed as I was flipped over onto my back. He pinned me beneath his suffocating weight, glaring down at me, triumph gleaming in his eyes. My chest pulled and clenched. I fought through the pain of it, slapping and clawing and punching at the hateful face above me. I fought as I never had. As the whipping girl never could. And still it was not enough. I could not break free. Could not escape him.

He overpowered my efforts, forcing my arms to my sides, jamming them down and trapping them with his knees. His hands went for my neck, hard fingers circling, squeezing. My throat ached for air beneath his crushing grip. Awful sputtering sounds spit from my lips. Spots filled my vision, distorting his terrible face.

No. No. No. No.I was not ready to die. Not yet. Not like this.

The heat continued to course through me. My head throbbed, and a buzzing pealed in my ears. Deep vibrations started in my chest. Tears filled my eyes, rolling freely down my hot face, hissing on my suddenly sizzling cheeks. Steam rose from me... and I didn’t understand it. Somehow there was smoke coming off me.

My once muddled vision cleared. Focused.

I could see as I never had before. Colors were brighter. Sharper. Every nuance improved, refined. I could count his pores, the fine hairs on his bulbous nose, minuscule crumbs from his breakfast in his coarse beard.

My core purred, simmered, flared through me in a wave of wildfire impossible to contain.

Arkin swore and yanked back his hands, gaping at his bubbling,blistered palms. “What did you do to me, you little bitch?” He fell off me and staggered to his feet, looking from his scalded hands to me in fury.

I shook my head, bewildered, as a seething vapor ate up my throat... as my bones pulled, my muscles stretched, my back tingled.

I continued to burn, to smoke.

Arkin unsheathed his sword. “What the fuck are you?”

I held up a hand as though to ward him off and gasped at the sight of my skin. My hand rippled and winked red-gold.

His eyes widened, and he lifted the sword higher with a battle cry.