Page 166 of A Liar's Twisted Tongue

“Stop,” I demand it when I’ve finally anchored myself. “Be still.”

It stops.

“Can you speak to me?” I look into its black, beady eyes as it tries to move. “Answer me!”

“Yes,” the voice in my head is soft. “I speak.”

“Why are you here?”

“Broken barrier, breaking borders.”

“Breaking borders?” I ask.

“Universal.”

“You’re breaking universal borders?”

“Not us.”

“Who?”

“You know.” I’m about to ask for clarification when I feel the connection severing. I see its legs moving, its claws shaking, the stinger bouncing.

“Be. Still,” I demand, but the connection is weak, and I’ve allowed my shadows to drop to preserve my energy.

The fattas claw swings at me. “Zaire!” I shout, blocking the claw with my sword. Its stinger comes to me, to my chest, and it’s about to stab, but it stops.

“Zaire, beanie off!” I shout, my voice straining as I raise my hand, summoning the shadows around me to create a shield around us.

“You do me a favor, Lucian Aibek. Fighting you was against my duties.”

Within moments, the fatta loses its vibrant red color, turning entirely to stone. I release our shield, but I wish it wasn’t dead.

I want to know more. Luckily, there will be a second.

Azaire lets out a small groan and I turn to him, ready to come up with our second plan and tell him what I’ve heard.

Only, he’s not. A small stinger, half the size of the fattas we’d just defeated, sinks itself into Azaire’s stomach. He’s looking down at the stinger, then he’s looking into my eyes, tears falling and his mouth wide open in shock.

The snakes on his head are already dead.

“Azaire!” I run to him, slicing through the stinger in one fair swipe, the fatta crying behind me. Azaire falls to the floor. The sound echoes through the hallway.

What have I done?

Shadows force the smaller fatta into its place and I stab the filthy, disgusting thing in its heart, grinding my sword against its shell. Then I stick my hand into its chest and pull out its heart, twice the size of my bloodied hand.

This is it. This is the vision I saw.

Dropping the heart, I run to Azaire. I run to my brother.

I pick up his bloodied body, holding him in my arms, and I start running the halls. “You’re not going to die,” I promise him.

Blood spews from his mouth with a cough. “Don’t lie to me.” His voice is already weak.

“It’s not a lie,” I proclaim. But it is, isn’t it? We’re too far from the infirmary for me to make it there before he bleeds out—the stinger has gone entirely through his body. I can feel it poking my torso as I run.

“Please,” he coughs, “stop.”

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