27. Meera

Please stay safe. I don't want to lose you to a battle I should be joining.

I wave at Kavian, who simply nods before turning away and walking back into the mansion.

The door closes and the carriage starts to move. It slowly makes its way down the winding road leading to the edge of the estate.

I stare back at the mansion's grandiose doors, my heart heavy.

The carriage suddenly grinds to a stop, the zarryns screeching loudly. The beasts balk loudly and I can hear them nervously pawing at the ground.

Shit! Something's spooked them—they'll probably run off in a panic if they aren't calmed immediately.

"Calm down! Calm down!" The driver is desperately trying to placate the beasts but judging from their noises he's failing badly. "Relax, you stupid anim?—"

The driver's sudden scream sends a chill down my spine. Whatever's happening to him must be extremely painful.

Something makes the carriage shake violently and a scream escapes my mouth before I can even react.

Out! I need to get out!

I leap from the carriage and start sprinting back toward the mansion for help.

"Ka—"

I trip over a filthy clawed foot deliberately blocking my way as I round the carriage. I fall to the ground with a heavy thud, my arms scraping on the cobblestone.

I manage to prevent my face from intimately befriending the ground with my hands, but the wind's been knocked out of my chest.

The foot that brought me down presses down on my head and I turn to try and see who's attacking me.

Sun rays shine directly into my eyes, preventing me from identifying my attacker. When he speaks, though, I can hear he's a xaphan.

"Hey, human bitch. Why don't you play nice and come with me?" The xaphan's voice makes my skin crawl and I try to push myself up from the ground.

Oh, great. These fuckers again.

I silently curse my luck.

He giggles, his foot pressing down harder. His talons dig into my back and I have to bite back the scream threatening to tear out of my mouth.

I refuse to give you the satisfaction of making me scream, fucker.

A big hand pulls me to my knees, its grip so hard I'm sure I'll be bruised for days.

His satisfied grin makes my stomach turn, and I swallow hard to hold back my nausea.

"You thought you were untouchable didn't you?" He bends over and grabs me by my chin to force me into eye contact. "Thought we couldn't get near you just because you're fucking a demon, huh, bitch?"

I grimace and yank my arm out of his grip. "Fuck you."

"Not even if I was paid." The creature spits on the ground before grabbing me by my neck and forcing me to my feet. "I have to ‘collect' your ass and keep you alive." His eyes travel over my body as he speaks. "But that doesn't mean I can't have my fun with you first."

He throws me to the ground and I'm barely able to prevent my head from connecting and possibly cracking my skull.

He growls and kicks me in the side. "Get up. I like to beat humans when they're on their feet."

I refuse, and instead start to crawl away.

I just need to find some kind of weapon. A rock. Anything to fight back with.

My foot is grabbed and I'm pulled back with impressive speed and force. Small rocks cut into my skin and I yelp in pain.

"Where do you think you're going? Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" He kicks me again, this time in the ribs. "You humans are far too weak to escape us!"

I frantically look around, trying to find an escape or a weapon. Either would help me greatly.

He walks over to me and stops only when he's basically on top of me, his feet at my thighs. I glare up at him, which makes him laugh.

"You think you're so tough, but you're just another stupid human. A human that's going to die very soon!" He cackles and reaches out to grab me again.

Thinking fast, I grab him instead, using both hands to pull him down by his arm, his shoulders nearly on top of my head. I keep pulling and then kick him in the stomach and by some miracle manage to throw him over my shoulder.

I hear him hit the ground behind me with great satisfaction but don't stick around to see if he's hurt.

Instead, I make a run for it, once again trying to reach the mansion doors.

Kavian must have heard the attack by now. He's probably on his way, I just need to get to him.

I'm still celebrating escaping in my mind when I run face-first into another xaphan.

Although I manage to stay upright and not fall flat on my ass, my heart drops when I look up.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

He's a really tall, muscular one. He blinks fast, looking at his comrade slowly getting up behind me, and back at me. It dawns on him who I am and a grin spreads on his face.

"Oh, ho. Didn't think I'd get to personally meet with the demon's mistress today. Was hoping to just witness your death with my own eyes, not play a part in it."

He licks his lips. "Ah, it must be my lucky day!" He laughs cruelly. "And your unlucky day, stupid fucking human."

How many of them are there? I need to get away and back into the mansion!

He sees me glancing at the mansion behind him and laughs even louder.

"You're not going anywhere, little former slave. You're definitely not going back to that bastard demon."

He pulls out a whip with unnatural speed and impressive skill. My stomach turns. I remember what xaphans are able to do with whips.

Before I can move a muscle to escape, a loud crack pierces the air and my thigh feels like it's on fire.

I grab my leg, biting back a scream of pain, only barely able to hold back. Tears fill my eyes and I blink rapidly.

"Foolish human, you have no idea who you're up against." His high-pitched laughter drums into my ears and I have to focus hard to block it out and search for a way to escape this situation.

Think, Meera, think! You need to get away!

I look around but there's nothing that could possibly aid me.

Fuck! There's no hope! Unless I can…but he wouldn't fall for that, right?

I look into his eyes and will myself to go calm. I straighten my back and start laughing, almost maniacally.

He stares at me, bewildered. His hand is raised in preparation to strike with the whip again.

"The only fool here is you. Because you don't know who you're up against."

"What?" His jaw goes slack. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

I grin. "You're about to find out."

Making my eyes go wide to appear wild, I start to chant words that sound as if they're from an ancient tongue. In reality, I'm only doing this to distract them. To scare them off. To give me a chance to run back to Kavian once the opportunity allows.

A gust of wind rustles through my hair, lending some dramatics to the moment.

"W-wait. Stop that. Shut up!" He stammers, his eyes panicked. "Stop whatever it is you're doing right now!" His voice goes an octave higher at the last two words.

I let out a fierce battle cry and aim both hands at him.

The confused xaphan closes his eyes and blocks his face with his arms, wincing in anticipation of my attack.

As soon as his eyes close, I start running, swiftly making my way past him and towards the mansion.

I've only bought myself a few seconds, hopefully that's enough.

"You fucking bitch! Get back here!" The whip just barely misses my back and I hear it sing behind me.

I run as fast as I can, doing my best to stay out of the claws of the many xaphans around me. They greedily reach for me and I only barely dodge them. The xaphans" angry cussing isn't far behind me.

The mansion doors are just a few feet away.

If I'm fast enough, I can get to safety. Get to Kavian.

"Leave her! She's mine to deal with personally!" The voice is harsh and cold, and it makes my heart race unnaturally.

The air around me suddenly goes silent, as if nature itself has fled the scene. Unexplainable but truly undeniable fear makes me freeze.

A soft breeze wafts past me and I feel my skin break out in goosebumps—there's a thin layer of sweat covering every inch of my body.

What is this feeling? A primal fear that makes me want to disappear and hope that whoever is behind me won't find me…

Before I can even think of turning around to see who the voice belongs to, I'm pulled back by my hair.

A cry of pain bursts out of me and I reach up, desperately trying to free myself.

I struggle violently, causing myself more pain but not caring. I just want to get away.

"Let me go!" I scream, hoping to sound angry rather than afraid. My voice cracks and I know it's obvious I'm more scared than I've ever been before.

My struggle is in vain, whoever got their hands on me is supernaturally strong. I scream again as my head is brought back with deliberate force and I look into the eyes of a xaphan.

This one is bigger than any others I've seen before. He's got intelligent eyes and a nasty, self-satisfied grin.

There is an almost visible aura around him as if he exudes malice. I shiver, fear clouding my mind and preventing me from thinking of anything but him.

Gorran. This must be Gorran. He's come for revenge against me and Kavian.

As I stare into his eyes, his mirthless laughter makes my heart want to shrivel up.

Oh… is this how I die?

Tears of regret fill my eyes.

I'm sorry Kavian. I let you down. After all our hard work and everything we've been through…