Page 44

Jesus CHRIST, Jackson,echoes another voice. It sounds a hell of a lot like my dad.Aren't you a goddamn man?

Tug, tug, pull, pull. The ol’ brain is getting stretched like dough. Am I really that weak? I'm already at that point of fatigue that I'm starting to hearother peoplein my head?

It's like someone has replaced my saliva with sand. My mouth and throat are drier than this goddamn desert.

Airos stops suddenly, and I run into him. I'm too tired to say anything. I rest my forehead against the center of his upper back and just stand there, waiting for him to go on.

"What's happening, Airos?" I grunt.

"Why don't you sit down?" he says distractedly. "Take a rest."

"We both have to sit down," I remind him.

"Ah, yes. Right."

Something in his voice sets off an alarm bell. I look up and see that he's scanning the sky and our surroundings.

"Airos," I say, trying to maintain my composure. It's not easy when you're running on fumes. "Youdoknow where we're going?"

"Of course. I just need to..." He taps his parched lips and mutters to himself as he thinks. "Yes," he says, finally. "This way."

We're walking faster now, and faster means mistakes. We scramble up another plateau. His eyes are trained upward, and he trips over a rock and nearly brings me down on top of him.

"Airos! Slow the fuck down!"

He stops.

"If you don't know where we're going, wandering around isn't going to help. It's only going to make things worse."

"I'm not lost," he snaps. "I've only lost our trail. Temporarily."

"That means we're fuckin' lost," I say. "Fantastic. So we're stranded out here, then. So much for Shalkek and all that bullshit."

"You're right. None of this would've happened were we on our own. And I wouldn't have to be taking care of you."

Ohhell no.

"The fuck? Did I ask for your help? I was doing just fine before all of you came along."

"Then go ahead and go back to that forest we found you in. See how well you do before you get snatched up and put in chains. Gods, why was I cursed to be paired with an aggravating, self-deluded, meat-brained omega like you?"

My face immediately goes hot with anger. I have to grab the rope to keep myself from throwing hands.

"Well, guess what? We're not paired. We're notanything. You don't want to be around me, and I don't want to be around you. So why don't you just fuck off, huh? Forget this Chosen bullshit and fuck right off."

To my surprise, Airos grabs the middle of the rope, and there's a sudden flash of green light from his fingers. It falls into two charred, smoking ends. Without another word, he storms off toward the edge of the plateau. I drop down and sit where I am.

God dammit.

I have no idea where Airos is now. I don't want to look. Instead, I'm fixated on the blackened tip of the severed rope. I can'tbelieve that motherfucker cut it. I can't believe he just walked away from me.

Why does he make me feel so insane? It's ridiculous that the one thing that made me see red was him saying our pairing was a curse, and not everything else he said. Because everything else is true. I am deluded. And I guess I am kind of a meat brain.

God, I feel like a fucking child.

I've gone and screwed everything up, yet again. If I'm not the one walking away, I can be sure that I'm gonna make everyone else walk away from me.

"Imagine having me for a dad," I whisper. "You've really lucked out, kid. I mean, if we even make it out of this alive."