Page 119 of Hunted in the Shadows
Sylvia stared down at me from Rhett’s grasp, locks of her hair sticking to her tear-stained cheeks. Her expression fell with resignation. Mourning me. My pulse pounded as she whispered something—I’m sorry.
“Move the iron,” Sylvia said, glancing at Rhett. “It’s too close.”
He balked before letting the rod tucked under his arm drop to the ground. “If even a snowflake touches me, I’ll pluck your wings off one by one. See how quick you can heal that.”
The world sharpened and blurred around me. As she raised her trembling hands, spellwork shimmering between her palms, my rage fled. There was no time to be angry in these last precious moments.
I watched Sylvia, memorizing her form even as frost blossomed at her palms, forging the weapon that would end me.
I wanted to tell her that I loved her. I wish I’d done it when I had the chance, to tell her how much hope and light she had given me for the first time in so many years. I loved her, and it didn’t matter what she was or where she was, I would keep loving her—it was suddenly so simple.
But I didn’t dare open my mouth. I wouldn’t make this any harder for her. Countless times, I had made my peace that a monster’s salivating, fanged muzzle might be my last sight on earth. All things considered, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, dying at her hands, ifshewas thelast thing I got to see.
My world narrowed to a point as Sylvia sent the icicle, sharp as a blade, hurtling toward me. I braced.
But instead of blazing pain, the blade embedded itself in the earth just inches from my head. My brow creased with confusion a split second before I caught her eye.This was no missed shot—it was a weapon.
I didn’t waste a second.
I wrenched the frozen blade from the earth and plunged it into Rhett’s thigh as hard as I could. He seized up in shock, loosing a strangled curse. My arm blazed with pain as I pivoted on the ground—one swift kick, and Rhett’s legs buckled, sending him crashing to the ground.
A shriek pierced the air. I whipped my head to the left in time to see Sylvia hit the mud, her drenched wings splayed out around her. The sound of her pain hit me like a jolt, but I couldn’t go to her yet. Rhett was scrambling to reach her, to reclaim his leverage.
No—not again.Not while I was still breathing.
I threw my body onto his and wrenched him away from Sylvia. He struggled as I wrestled him onto his back, desperately pawing for his handgun. I knocked it under the pickup truck.
He cursed, trying to buck me off, but I restrained his arms under my knees to keep him from reaching any other weapons he had hidden away. In an instant, it became clear that he was no match for me hand-to-hand. No weapons or leverage at his disposal. So he tried for words instead.
“You’d kill one of your own for thatthing?” he spat. “I heard whispers that you were fucked up in the head, but I didn’t think—”
I clamped my hands around his throat, tightening until not even a wheeze could escape.
My nerves sang with triumph as I glared down at him, waiting for the inevitable fear to enter his eyes. But it didn’t. Even as Rhettfought for breath, face purpling, unbridled rage poured from his glare.
A soft gasp made my gaze snap in Sylvia’s direction. She flinched as we made eye contact, her hands clamped over her mouth and perfectly still like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Look away,” I uttered.
But she wouldn’t. She was about to see me kill right in front of her—again. I had never killed another human with my bare hands, and she would be here to witness it.
This one’s a monster—human or not, I thought viciously.
But why do it myself when there were other options? An animal like him didn’t deserve a swift end. My gaze snapped to the churning water. Sylvia wouldn’t even have to watch it happen.
I released Rhett’s throat long enough to grab the iron bar he’d threatened Sylvia with. Just as he was gasping in his first breath, I swung the bar across his temple, and he was out like a light. Catching sight of the zip ties in his pocket, I knew exactly what to do.
The shoreline whipped about madly. I worked quickly, dragging him to a tree stationed near the water. Thick roots looped in and out of the soft soil, providing the perfect anchor to zip tie his wrists to. His eyelids were beginning to twitch as I finished. A darker part of me roared in satisfaction at the thought of him being awake when the sirens came to collect.
“Cliff!” I called into the din, looking along the shoreline. He had been pulled further away, but between the sirens and fairies attacking, his captors had all but abandoned him to defend themselves.
Screams pierced the air as two of Rhett’s buddies were swarmed by sirens. One of them was dragged under, while the other managed to escape—at least for a second. As a fresh melody hit him, he staggered to a stop, face going blank. He drew his gunand pointed it at Cliff, who hurriedly took cover behind a tree, wrists bound behind his back.
The hunter fired his gun until it was empty, then dropped it. He turned and walked calmly into the water. The churning water gushed with red.
I caught a glimpse of Cliff in the foliage. He angled himself forward and gritted his teeth, raising his wrists and bringing them down on the small of his back. The ties didn’t break.
As he raised his wrists to try again, I set my sights on finding Sylvia, desperate to ensure she was safe before going to Cliff’s aid.
