Chapter 15

ARIA'S SAVAGE

The ground beneath me vibrates, and an easy smile crawls up my lips. I can smell my blood from here, meaning the time is close. So, so close.

Now that the stupid hybrid counter is gone, there is nothing weakening me. I've stripped myself of all the ties I've had to the simpletons of this world. The girl sharing my mind is no longer crying and begging me to stop, because I've silenced her for good.

The empathic powers kept bringing her control, forcing me to hold back and spare those fools. But now… I've been unchained, and there's nothing holding me back anymore. And the girl is silent—for good.

This world needs to be purged of too much for her to come back. I need her to stay gone. She's too weak, and I've got my mission that doesn't allow for weakness. Soon. Very, very soon. It's almost ready to start. I prefer to hit hard and fast, and from here on out, the rest of my battles will be nothing but easy. And bloody.

I can't wait.

The wind stirs as the air trembles. Licking my lips in anticipation, I stare across the horizon, waiting patiently for the one I've sought. She's coming. She's finally coming.

In a blur, the distant figure becomes a prominent fixture before me, her eyes burning a brighter violet than mine. But soon that vibrancy will be lost to the dull, lifeless fate in store.

Her dark smile twists up, but I have a smile of my own.

"Finally," she says in a slow, bored drawl that doesn't match the eager fascination in her eyes.

"Finally," I say, taunting her.

I can still smell her weakness from here. I knew she wouldn't be healed yet. She needs more than weeks to recover from the brutal mess inside her body, but she hides her pain well. Masks are easily seen through by someone with empathic powers.

I circle her, watching her carefully as she keeps her eyes on me. As if we're duelers waiting for sundown, we stare at each other, each waiting for the other to make a move.

"You're different," she says, hissing as she narrows her eyes, her confidence fading as fast as her smile.

"I'm stronger." My laughter bubbles out, and her eyes widen when I allow my pupils to dilate and expand to black.

She only falters for a second, but she regains her composure quickly, throwing her hands out as the first strike releases, thundering through the air with a vengeful intent.

And so it begins.

JASE

"Simone and Kellan are still locked up together, and you really don't want to go anywhere near that room," Rex grumbles, a litany of curses falling out behind his warning.

He runs a hand through his already disheveled hair, and I numbly look over all these supposed leads Araya and Brazen are tracking down. Four fucking hours—that's how long Kellan and Simone have been gone. I swear, it's as though they've lost track of the universe.

"Grayson thinks Kellan was starving for a blood screw," Angelica says with tight lips, her eyes on the papers in front of her. "His body may have demanded it after being stripped of all its energy."

Only hybrid I know that's afraid of the word fuck. Not even that is enough to distract me from the harsh reality in front of me. And I really don't give a damn what Kellan needs right now. He's supposed to be helping us get back Aria, and so is Simone.

"These are mostly just sightings of a girl with dark hair. They're chasing their tails with these, especially since Aria's savage can just vanish into thin air within a blink. Where she may or may not have been spotted is pointless."

No one says anything, but they all agree. I can hear it in their weary minds. The thoughts have slowed down, and only hopelessness has become a constant promise inside their heads. No one has faith that we'll get her back. Even I'm losing more and more hope on a daily basis.

I start to tell Rex something, when a familiar sensation runs over me, bringing me to my knees with a painful cry. Her voice is in my fucking head, but it takes a minute to sort through the words.

"Sherlan. I need… Sherlan."

The waves of nausea cease as quickly as they came, and the dull echo of voices grow louder and louder as my mind's fog lifts. Mel is right beside me, shaking me hard in a desperate attempt to gather my attention. All at once, the voices yelling become distinctly clear, and my breath rushes in.

"Aria's at Sherlan. She needs help," I say, wincing as I stagger back to my feet.

I stumble into different things, still hurting from catching the projected thought, but Mel grabs me by the arm before I reach the door.

"It's a fucking trap, Jason! Don't be an idiot. Aria didn't call you—she wouldn't dare call you there to face that thing controlling her body. She'd never put you at risk."

With a grim smile, I nod. "I know. It wasn't Aria that sent that message. It was her savage."

Everyone's eyes widen, and Rex grabs me before I can walk out. "You can't go out there. None of us can. She'll tear us apart for fun. She already warned us that she intended to."

With a heavy breath that is saturated in all the angst one can acquire, I nod slowly. "She could have killed us then, but warned us to stay away. Now she's calling for me. It's Aria. I'll take whatever chance necessary."

Rex frowns, but he grabs a gun—not that he'd ever use it against his sister. "Then I'm going with you."

I don't argue. It'd be pointless. Besides, she just did a number with that projection. Sherlan isn't too far away, but it felt like she was calling me from much, much farther away.

"Shit," Mel says, drawing my attention. She's on her phone, but I'm so drained that I don't even bother to pay her any attention. I focus on hastily making it to the car without falling over.

As soon as we get into the car, Mel switches on the monitor, her eyes wide as she hangs up the phone.

"Two women were seen tearing each other apart," she says breathlessly, flipping through the United feeds. "This is on the most northern tip of the Unaligned."

The screen stills as Rex revs the engine. I look on at the land that was once a glorious forest. It looks like a meteor the size of the moon hit it. Motherfucker. Everything is leveled, ashes litter the ground, blood paints some of the landscape, and there are numerous embers still smoldering from a recent fight. But it doesn't have video footage of who it was. Not that I need it. Alice. Aria's savage went after Alice.

"Go faster," I say to Rex, feeling the ball of anxiety within me grow. She's contacting me for help because she's hurt. It doesn't look like either woman could have gotten out alive.

Rex floors it, sending Mel squealing as the acceleration kicks her back in her seat. It shouldn't take us long to get to Sherlan, but she wasn't there when she projected that message. I know it for certain now, given the fact where that newsfeed was streaming from.

Sherlan is nothing more than a deserted old compound that hasn't had anyone living in it for centuries. At least we don't have to worry about someone freaking out when they see her.

"If she was in the middle of that…" Rex's voice trails off, and I force myself not to read his mind.

"Then we don't have to worry about her being ready to tear us apart," I mumble, still wincing from the hellacious after effects that the mind projection is still having on my body.

"Up there," Mel says, moving back between the seats so she can point.

I look just as a whirl of… something starts spinning, and my heart kicks up in my throat. Before our eyes, Aria's body materializes from thin air, and my mouth falls open as I watch in disbelief.

The small fragments spin, slowly completing the form of the girl I love. No one is breathing as Rex slams on the brakes, and we all just watch until Aria is whole, her body limply lying in tattered form on the ground. Blood is oozing from her, and I start to worry that not all of her body has come back.

"Don't," Mel hisses when I go to get out of the car.

"She's fucking bleeding to death," I growl, ripping free from her hold, and rushing toward the girl I keep failing.

No more. I'll never fail her again. I know what I have to do, and even though it kills me, I'll release her to save her life.

"Aria!" I yell, biting back a grimace when her head barely raises.

I drop to my knees when I reach her, and her black eyes look up to meet mine, proving my girl is still lost. But I can't stop myself from cradling her in my arms. "Come on, baby. You need blood."

She gives me a weak smile, but it falls quickly when she starts coughing.

"I wasn't… strong… enough… either," she says through labored, painful breaths. She looks up at me, her eyes slowly fading back to violet, and a small tug forms in the center of my heart. "She needs… a counter."

I can't focus on the pain I feel at her words. She's more important than I am. Her breaths stall as she falls back in a languid motion, forcing me to hold her up on my own, and I lift her up from the ground to rush her back toward the car. I pray we have enough damn blood.

"What's going on?" Rex yells as I run through the collapsed gates of the abandoned compound that rests off to the side.

"Grab the blood! And then call in reinforcements. We're going to need everyone here."