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The world came back to me in a burst of brilliant colors, and I saw the shadow monster for what he truly was — Jaiel —my Jaiel… thrashing against the taut chains that held him in place.

He let out another inhuman scream, and my heart wrenched.

"Kaiya," the widow called, pulling at my shoulder. "We need to go. Now, while they're distracted!"

I tore my attention away from Jaiel to see the other volunteers scrambling into the forest.

But the widow had stayed behind for me. Kind even now…

"I need to stay. You go on with the others."

"But —"

I pointed to the girl from earlier, standing at the edge of the forest, eyes wide with fear.

"Go! Help her get to safety. Please!"

The woman slid her tear-filled eyes from me to the girl, then nodded. She staggered away, worried gaze still trained on me as I turned back to Jaiel.

He struggled against the chains, yanking at them as shadows poured from his wounds like blood.

Fuck!Fear battered my insides. They were killing him!

I leaped from the torn cage, stumbling on my weak legs as I raced towards Frexin and Jaiel.

"STOP!" I screamed. "It's Jaiel! That'sJaiel!"

Frexin glared at me. "Restrain her."

Soldiers dashed past the mechs to seize me.

"What?! No!" I dodged the first man, jabbing the second in the face. But there were too many, and I was too fucking weak with Tye so far away.

They captured me quickly, and I stood there, arms painfully twisted behind my back — chest heaving, heart breaking — as they hurt Jaiel.

"Frexin," I tried, voice raspy. "He was just consuming their corruption! Let me try to talk to him — to connect to the man inside. You don't need to kill him! Please!"

Frexin turned to me, face twisted in disgust. "I don't care about what he was trying to do, child. I just need that shadow of his."

Icy fingers of despair wrapped around my spine. "You knew?"

Frexin laughed, stoney eyes sparkling. "Of course, dear. I was there when it took him." She tilted her head to smile at me, all traces of the caring woman gone. "You should have seen him, begging me to let you go as theshadow burned him away." She shook her head. "I think perhaps that's why thatthingwants to kill me so badly — an imprint left by a dying Fae trying to save his love."

"You bitch!" I yelled, struggling against the soldiers.

The mind mage moved past the struggling mech, eyeing me as he passed.

"Get away from him!" I screamed.

The man just ignored me, and a mech pushed Jaiel to his knees before the mind mage.

Tears traced down my cheeks as the mind mage placed his hands on Jaiel's head — those once-blue eyes going wide as he let out a haunting scream.

"Noooooo!" My throat burned and my vision blurred as I struggled to get to him. Jaiel was still in there somewhere. But once that mind mage asshole got through with him …

Panic shuddered through me as Monster-Jaiel collapsed to the ground with a thud. The massive form began to shrink as the black smoke dispersed, leaving behind a man with burnt and cracked skin, and wounds that bled liquid shadows.

Had the mage killed him?!