Page 61 of Hunted in the Shadows
Rhett rounded on the man who'd spoken, donned in dark, practical clothes that blended into the marshy woods around us. He staggered a step back as Rhett's icy gaze settled on him with an unnerving weight.
“First of all, Austin, you have the intelligence and personality of a used tampon, and everybody here knows it,” Rhett said. “Second—if youevertoss a fairy into the Pit without consulting me first, I will personally feed you this alp one piece at a time.”
Austin paled, his gaze flighty even as he tried to maintain a semblance of dignity. “Yes, of course. Sorry.”
Rhett shoved past him, gripping the chainlink dome to watch Sylvia.
For a single second, I thought that could be the ticket to saving her. If preserving her parts was reason enough to stop this circus act, I’d have a better chance of saving her.
But one of the Pit keepers nodded towards Rhett. “Doubt a little thing like that will get ripped apart. It’ll probably be swallowed whole.”
Rhett’s gaze barely flicked to acknowledge him. “As long as I can slice open the alp’s stomach before she’s digested, I’ll get what I need. My client's gonna be pissed about the siren, but a fairy’s more than a worthy replacement.”
My fingers dug into the chain link, itching to rip out his tongue and shut him up forever.
Cliff grabbed my shoulder, stealing my attention. “Cover me. No one’s looking our way, right?” he pulled out his gun anddiscreetly checked its magazine. “I can make the shot, take it out before it gets to her.”
“It’s moving quick,” Gwen muttered. “What if you hit her?”
He smirked tightly. “Remember who you’re talking to?”
“They’ll know it was you,” she snapped.
The crowd erupted with new noise—some with disappointment and outrage, others with awe. I put a hand over Cliff’s wrists to make him lower his gun. “Wait.”
Although Sylvia had been herded to the middle of the enclosure, she was anything but helpless. She shot volley after volley, hitting her mark almost every time. The few stray bursts of spellwork felt intentional as they smashed against the Pit’s walls and sent some of the more vicious audience members skittering back to avoid shards.
Most of the hunters seethed at the collateral attack, but a heavily tattooed hunter beside me chuckled and elbowed me. “Adorable little thing, isn’t it?”
Sylvia zipped aside to avoid the hawk’s trajectory, but there was no need. It careened toward the ground with a pained screech, wings blooming with black blood. She didn’t relent, not even when the creature weakly began to change again. The alp collapsed, motionless, a bizarre cross between a hawk and an alligator.
“Yeah, adorable,” I muttered in response, stifling a proud smile.
Another roar rippled through the spectators as bets were lost and won—judging by the disproportionate anger, hardly anyone expected Sylvia to still be breathing. I observed Sylvia with a beat of pride. She stayed hovering over the alp, tearing her eyes away only once she was sure it was dead. Her shoulders rose and fell with frantic pants. She turned slowly, clearly searching the crowd, but she was facing the wrong way.
“Maybe they’ll keep her in there like the alp,” I whispered to Cliff, tentative hope blooming. These people liked having something to gawk at. Something to train with. After everyone had their fill of staring, we could figure out how to free her without getting caught.
“Okay, enough fucking around,” Rhett said, glaring impatiently at one of the Pit keepers.“Open the door.”
Shit. Fuck.
Rhett pulled an iron blade from his jacket, making my blood run cold.
“Wait—I can do it, Rhett,” Austin staggered forward, patting the weapons holstered across his person.
“I need this thing intact,” Rhett said, barely sparing him a look. “The wings alone are gonna buy you folks a new building—and then some. I don’t need your butterfingers fucking that up.”
I glanced at Sylvia. Her flight faltered like she might collapse right there in midair as the door rattled, but instead, she shot upward. Her frantic path took her around the top of the dome in search of an escape that she would never find.
But I could change that.
I forced my way forward. “Wait! I’ll do it!”
Rhett cast a bored look at me over his shoulder. “Stay out of this, Nowak. You’ve made it clear you’re not interested in playing ball with me.”
“You saw what she did to your guy. You really wanna risk losing a hand for this?” I demanded, fixing Rhett with a blazing look.
“And you do?” Rhett lifted his eyebrows. A few other hunters echoed his incredulous chuckle.
