Page 17

“Third times the charm,” she whispers, and then the smell of blood hits my nose.

Using my shadows, I hold the wounds together and stop the blood loss. In my nightmare form, I can only speak demon, which is basically Latin, I mutter to myself as I take note of the markings on the wall when the girl in my arms speaks perfect Latin.

“ You can escape the runes; only stop a level nine or below! You’re a level ten, nearly an Alpha! Go, find someone to help the others.” I growl my answer,

“ If I leave to get help, my shadows won’t hold long enough for your wounds to heal, and I’m not strong enough to take you with me unless I fully feed and the door is open.” which will break one of the runes, ‘idiots.’

The one on the floor is pointless against a level ten. I look down and notice her eyes catch a small amount of light and shine like stars as she gives me a small smile,

“My biological family abandoned me at birth as they didn’t want a broken supe. I can’t take any more of this. Let me go, but first feed from my bad memories and save everyone else.” She presses her forehead against mine, not caring what I look like, and whispers,

“See.” In Latin, she shows me all the bad things in her life, trusting me with every ounce of her being.

It’s like watching the worst of foster care in fast forwards. No wonder she has given up and tried to end it all. She’s good at keeping those she cares for out of view or fuzzy. I decide as the reel starts to slow to her time here in the pit that I will save her, even if it takes a month for her arms to heal. As she gets to the end, I see why I scared her when I looked up.

I tell her I will get us both out and that she should try to get some sleep. Thankfully, she does, somehow trusting I won’t hurt her even in this form.