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I grabbed a handful of soft sand from the creek bed and scrubbed at the dirt embedded in my skin, relishing the feel of finally bathing. After washing away the grime, my skin tingling and raw from the sand, I laid back, spread my arms wide, and let myself just float as I stared up at the treetops. For just a moment, I pretended I was somewhere safe. Somewhere untouched by all the evil, darkness, and ruin.

I’d only had a few seconds of peace, it seemed, before I felt it.

A shiver crawled down my spine, and it wasn’t the cold water that chilled me. It was the unmistakable weight of being watched. Again.

I sank deeper into the water, so everything below my ears and nose was submerged, and I scanned the treeline, my breath slow and controlled. The wind barely stirred the leaves, the silence pressing in.

Unease coiled tighter in my gut. My instincts had kept me alive this long. I wouldn’t ignore them now.

Then, the air shifted.

A shadow passed over the creek, massive and swift. My heart slammed against my ribs as I tilted my head to follow its path, and that’s when I saw it.

A scream lodged in my throat, and I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from making a sound.

Staring at me from high in the trees was a monster in every sense of the word. The creature hovered above me, wings stretched wide, blotting out the pale, dying sun.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my body locking up. Although the monster resembled a man in many ways, it wasn’t human. Not even close.

This deep rumble came from it in the most frightening growl I'd ever heard, and then I blinked, and it swooped down until it stood just feet from the creek’s edge.

It was seven feet tall—maybe more—and built of solid muscle. He was naked—and yes, he was a he, which I could tell out of my peripheral vision—but I refused to lower my gaze and look at…that.

His skin gleamed like polished silver, smooth, which made it look unnatural. He had claws at the end of his fingers, curling and black, fangs that hooked over his bottom lip, and wings. Not feathery like a bird’s, but dark and membranous, like something out of a nightmare.

The worst of it though were his eyes.

Glowing. Focused. And locked onto me like I washis.

I barely had time to suck in a breath before he crouched and grinned, flashing a mouthful of sharp teeth that threatened to tear me apart.

And that’s when I finally screamed.

3

FREYDIS

It was hard to escape while submerged in water, but I staggered back, water splashing around me, as he watched me like the predator he was.

He spoke in some strange language, broken bits of words and sounds that were terrifying as much as they were beautiful.

My heart slammed into my throat, panic clawing its way through me. I had seen things in this broken world, beasts and monsters alike, but they’d all had one thing in common.

They were human men.

This creature was too still, too controlled, as he watched me.

I forced myself to move farther back until I reached the opposite edge of the creek, and then another step back, the water now only lapping at my toes.

His gaze dipped lower, and a new kind of fear twisted inside me, because although many feet separated us, I stood before him… naked. Exposed under his burning stare.

His nostrils flared as his black, curled claws twitched at his sides. He said more words in his language, but then said so I could understand, “I have you at last.” His voice was like a dark cloak wrapping around every single part of me. “Oh, Marrex, youhave finally found her,” he spoke a little quieter and obviously to himself.

His words played through my mind on repeat. They were certainly wrong, but strangely, they felt… right.

I shook my head, barely able to process what I was seeing, what he was saying. “I…. Let me go. Please.” I’d been strong for so long, fighting and surviving for as long as I breathed. But right now, I felt weak in the strangest of ways.

Because although this creature was horrifying and probably saw me as food, I didn’t feel fear.