Page 67

I drop my sword.

My captor leads me away from camp, his sword sliding down from my throat around to my back, its tip pricking my spine, prompting me forward. Terror drains my blood from my face as we slip silently away from the rugged stone walls of the outpost, his hand still wrapped around my mouth.

I’m tempted to reach out to Daeja, but even if she could save me from this man, her death would be imminent if she were discovered by Cole’s squad.

The man leads me into the cover of the trees, and I scan the forest floor, my gaze settling on a rock. Without giving myself the chance to second guess it, I fling forward, feigning tripping over something, and catching myself on my hands. I roll to my right, anticipating his blade to come crashing into my skull.

He hisses and snatches my braid, ripping me to my feet as shouts thunder from behind us. Pinning me back into the position I was in before, the man claps his hand over my mouth before I can scream, the tip of his sword settling at the base of my throat.

He turns us to face the approaching beat of footsteps and tears me back, step by step, farther into the forest. But the surging group of shadows from the outpost is much faster, and recognizable figures emerge from the mass of darkness. Cole and Archie appear at the front of the group.

My captor growls. “Get back, or I’ll sever her!”

Cole goes rigid, his eyes calculating as he raises his open palms to us. He shifts one hand behind him to stop the approaching squad, never breaking eye contact with my captor.

The blade digs harder into my throat, and my skin burns, a hot trickle of blood races down into my nightgown.

“Where are you?”Daeja’s growl is laced with intense panic.

“Stay where you are, I’ll be okay!”I lie in fear of risking her life. The reality hits me over the head as hard as if it were a rock—my mother told me the same thing before she died.

“What do you want?” Cole demands through gritted teeth. “Whatever you want, you’ll have it.”

My captor snickers. “There’s nothing you have that I want.”

Cole’s eyes darken to an unrecognizable level, his voice dipping into an otherworldly wrath. “If you so much as nickanother inch of her flesh, I will rip every breath from your lungs with my bare hands. I will beat the life out of you into another lifetime.”

My captor drags the sword down, slicing more of my skin in a taunt.

A shiver snakes down my spine as I witness in slow-motion Cole transform into the pure embodiment of wrath, rage, and fury. He roars—animalistic—lunging as multiple people spring forward to stop him. But it’s no use, Cole swings them off of him, managing to shake the grip of them all.

A whirl of silver flashes toward my captor and me.

Cold metal grazes my cheek as the silver passes and sinks into my captor behind me. His grip on my mouth slides off, and the cold sting of his sword against my throat disappears entirely. I whirl, and the man who held me hostage slumps to the ground, a dagger sunk hilt-deep into his gurgling mouth. Blood bubbles out of lips, his eyes wide and hands clawing at his face.

Stepping back, I gasp in horror.

Cole brushes me behind him. “Look. Away.”

I stare off into the forest, but I’m unable to block out the sound of squelching flesh. Turning back slowly to Cole, I watch him sheathe his bloody sword, rage still fuming in his pinched features. Lying on the ground in a pool of blood, blank eyes staring up at the stars, is my captor. My stomach churns, and I cup my hand over my mouth.

Cole pulls me into him, his strong arms wrapping around me as if he’ll never let go. His heartbeat is rabid inside his chest, and his dilated pupils shrink as he locks eyes with me.

“Are you okay?” he whispers, holding my face between his hands and searching every inch of my skin. His thumb brushes underneath the slice against my cheek, his finger coming away smeared with blood.

“Yes…I–I think so?”

Cole whirls. “Archie, what the hell was that!”

Archie dips his head with a sheepish grin. “I…uhh. I used to throw daggers?”

Cole’s voice dips into a growl. “If you missed you could havekilled. Her.”

“I-I knew I wouldn’t,” Archie murmurs, blinking at Cole’s uncharacteristically furious tone.

I rub up and down Cole’s arm to get his attention, then tug his collar when he doesn’t budge. “Hey. Hey! Look at me.” I pull his chin to face me, resting my hand on his cheek as I whisper, “I’m okay.”

Cole locks into my gaze, his anger fading like the darkness after the sun rises. His breathing slows. Finally, he looks at Archie, his voice gravelly, “Thank you, Archie.”