Chapter 31

31

KASSANDRA

I use my harbara to cut the males down. Apparently, its second form—otherwise known as its begula form—is a dagger. Who would’ve thought?

I very purposely keep my attention off of the dead, brutalized monster.

All three males are unconscious, so I’m unable to do more than help them to the ground and rearrange their limbs into a semi-comfortable position.

Then, I sit on a rock and wait.

Silence stretches through the Forest, made all the more ominous by the desperate thumping of my heart. Every few ticks, my traitorous gaze will stray towards Mitchia’s dead body. My brain will catch up, and I’ll quickly look away. On and on, this pattern continues.

What happened to Mitchia?

What would possess her to take her life in such a way? I’ve never seen anything so violent before. So unhinged. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

Blood splattering in all directions…

Her eyeball engorging, the veins scrambling to hold on to it as it pops free…

Her caved-in skull…

I lean over and vomit.

Only when I’m sure my stomach is empty do I sit back and grab a canteen of water out of my pack. I swirl the heavenly liquid around in my mouth before spitting it out. I don’t like to waste the water—we have no idea how long we’ll be traveling—but I don’t want the taste of bile in my mouth.

Once I’ve had my fill, I return the canteen to the pack and reposition myself so the corpse is at my back. There. Now I have no excuse to look over at it.

Unbidden, I slide my gaze towards the mark on my bicep. The beginnings of an idea take root deep in my mind.

Could the Mark of Chaos have something to do with what happened to Mitchia?

No. That’s insane. Isn’t it?

Stop thinking of her.

Stop!

But without thoughts of Mitchia to consume my attention, I’m forced to fixate on other things.

I slide my gaze towards a slumbering Treyton to the left of me and then to Blaze beside him. Aleksander is to the right of me, a few wayward pieces of webbing sticking to his hair and face.

Could they be my…?

No, that’s impossible. I would’ve been able to tell from the very first meeting.

Yet…

They gave you special attention. Treated you differently. Cared for you. Protected you. Would they do that for just anyone?

It’s because they want me for my powers, I remind my inner voice.

Or could it be because they simply want you ?

My breath saws in and out of me. Anger coils through my chest like barbed wire.

Is it true?

How do I even go about asking that?

I’d sound insane.

Someone stirs beside me, but I don’t pull my attention away from the trees to see which male is awakening.

“What the fuck…?”

Blaze. I’d recognize his growly voice anywhere.

He sits up abruptly, the movement barely visible in my peripheral, and scans his surroundings. I can tell the exact moment he sees Mitchia because he goes perfectly still. Frozen.

“Who did that?”

I don’t answer.

“Little beast.” Shifting. Movement. And then he’s there in front of me, crouching down, one calloused finger under my chin, forcing it up. The light in his eyes illuminates the woodsy brown, interspersed here and there with green, to a honey color. “What happened?”

Insidious fear slithers through my mind and grasps my heart. I shakily bring my hands up and sign, “I don’t know.”

His brows scrunch together. “You don’t know?”

“She did that to herself.”

You stabbed her, though, a snide voice in my head comments. You attacked her first. And if your mark is the cause of all of this ? —

Shut up.

This isn’t the first person you killed, Kassandra. You’re no better than any of the males here. You’re a monster.

Shut up.

You have a darkness in you, Kassandra. It’s an ember just waiting to turn into a flame. You simply need to nourish it ? —

SHUT UP! I mentally scream at the voice.

I haven’t even realized I started crying until Blaze pulls me into his arms. They band around me like iron vises, tight enough to restrict my blood flow.

“Fuck, don’t cry, little beast. Don’t fucking cry. I’ll fix this, okay? I’ll fix everything for you.” His red eyebrows pull low over his eyes. “Just tell me what to do.”

The concern in his voice…

The emotions clouding his eyes…

They shrivel my lungs until what little air they have been able to hold leaves.

I lower my forehead to his chest and allow the sobs to claim me. My body shakes from the force of them.

Blaze holds me through my breakdown. Stroking my hair. Murmuring sweet words in my ear. Assuring me that I’ll be okay.

When I finally pull away, I don’t feel any better. If anything, I feel worse than when I began.

I shouldn’t have felt so safe and secure in Blaze’s arms. The fact that I did only lends credence to Mitchia’s previous claim.

Anger curls through my veins like flames, and I use the back of my hand to wipe the remaining tears away. Blaze is still speaking to me, his voice soft and husky, but I cut him off in mid-sentence.

“Tell me the truth,” I demand, my hand motions jerky. “No more lies.”

“Okay?” He frowns.

“Are you my mate?” I pause at the distinct sensation of eyes on my back.

The air I breathe turns stale and sticky. I can practically feel their gazes on my body like physical caresses.

I turn over my shoulder to address Aleksander and Treyton as well, both awake and watching me with an astute sort of intensity. “Are you all my mates?”