Page 27 of The Serpent and the Silver Wolf

She stepped up beside the man. “Strange?”

“Not like any elemental magic I’ve ever seen before. Black and oily.” His brows scrunched together.

She hadn’t processed much of the fight—hadn’t been able to. Everything had narrowed to teeth, claws, and blood. Holding the rage back had taken everything. Seeing Kazuma broken on the ground…

Even now, her heart stuttered, thudding against her ribs.

She shook her head, scratching her fingers down her arms. “I’m sorry.” The dried blood flaked under her nails. “Can I go wash this off?”

Her skin felt tight, stretched too thin over bones. Her gums ached, teeth pressing against her tongue. There was no enemy in sight, and still, her body readied for war.

“I killed them,” she said flatly. “None got away. But they weren’t acting alone. They took orders from someone—maybe remotely. I didn’t hear any other heartbeats…” Her words faltered.

Kazuma’s head turned toward her, something flickering in his eyes.

She squeezed hers shut.Idiot.“I mean—no one else seemed nearby.”

Nails sliced into her palms as she took a slow step back, eyes on the ground. “Kazuma can explain it better. The technical details. He…he saw more than I did.”

“Aimee?” His voice barely carried.

She didn’t look, but saw the faint sign of movement as his hand started to lift, reaching for her chin.

“I’m fine.” She jerked her face away. “Just need a shower. Or a bath. I mean. Or whatever.”

Another step back. Then, addressing the woman without lifting her eyes, “May I go, Seisho?”

Mira studied her. There was no fire in her hands now, but a tension ran through her shoulders. The hard edge of authority remained, but something softer had crept in beneath it.

“Very well.” She nodded once.

Aimee didn’t wait. She turned.

“See me tomorrow, Aimee. Before training,” Mira called after her.

She raised a hand in silent acknowledgment but didn’t lookback. Couldn’t.

She was losing her damned mind. Again.

The thought repeated as she ran, boots hitting stone, the slope blurring beneath her. Like her steps could outpace the rift splintering inside her. Like she could outrun the silent echo of rock crushing into flesh. Of Kazuma’s body, limp and unmoving in her arms.

What is wrong with me?

If the thought of one irritating man bleeding out could unravel her, how in all the worlds was she supposed to finish this Mission?

Chapter seven

Shewasdrowning,trappedin a thundercloud.

Green light sliced through the dark, flaring behind her eyes as something vast and ancient twisted through her ribs.

She couldn’t scream. Couldn’t move.

The air reeked of static and rot, and scraping voices clawed at the edge of her mind, rising in a frenzied, wordless chorus.

Gold flashed—talons stretched wide, caught in the web. Then pressure, slick and cold, drove between her ribs before it closed around her heart like a vice, sucking.

Her body arched, suspended mid-air, not by gravity but by something moist and humming.