The circle closed around me like the tightening noose of a gallows. Every face blurred except for Eryx's — hulking, armored in cruelty, his grin splitting wide as his crimson eyes burned into me.
The hunters shifted in the shadows, watching. Lucian's arms folded, lips twisted with that mocking smile that had haunted me since childhood. And above them all, Marcus loomed like a stormcloud, silent, unreadable, waiting to see if I would sink or rise.
I told myself I wasn't afraid. But fear had a weight, and right now it pressed down on my chest until it was hard to breathe.
"Come then, little fledgling," Eryx rumbled, rolling his massive shoulders. His claws gleamed wetly in the light. "Show us what your rebellion is worth."
Liam's voice cut through the stillness. "Aria—!"
"Stay back!" I snapped before he could take a step. My eyes never left Eryx. "This is mine."
He faltered, fists clenched, jaw tight. He hated it, but he didn't move.
Good. Because if he did, he would die before I could even scream.
I bared my fangs and lunged.
The first clash was pure instinct — claws against claws, strength against strength. The impact jolted up my arms, numbing bone. Eryx barely staggered. My own feet slid back through the dirt.
Too strong.
I slashed low, fast, aiming for his side, but he caught my wrist mid-swing. With a savage grin, he twisted and flung me aside like a ragdoll. My back slammed against a tree trunk with a sickening crack.
Pain erupted down my ribs.
I gasped, forcing air back into my lungs. Not broken. Not yet.
Eryx stalked forward, laughing. "That's it? That's the feral who spat in Marcus's face?"
I leapt again, forcing speed, aiming for his throat. For a heartbeat, my claws brushed his skin—then his hand crashed into my chest like a hammer.
The world spun. I hit the ground hard, blood splattering from my lips.
"Aria!" Liam's voice shook.
I struggled to rise. Eryx was already there, looming, his shadow drowning me. I slashed upward, nails carving across his cheek. Black blood welled, but he only snarled, eyes blazing brighter.
"Finally," he growled. "Something with teeth."
His foot slammed into my stomach, folding me in half. Agony exploded white-hot as I coughed more blood.
The circle roared with laughter.
I staggered to my knees, chest heaving, body screaming. My vision blurred. Every instinct said run. But there was nowhere to go. No path out except through him.
So I fought.
I lunged again, claws flashing in a storm of desperation. Left, right, feint, strike. For a moment I pushed him back, wild fury driving me. My nails raked his chest, his arm, his jaw.
But then his fist slammed into my side. I heard ribs snap like twigs.
I screamed, staggering. My knees buckled.
Eryx caught me by the throat, lifting me off the ground. His grip crushed, iron and merciless. My legs kicked helplessly, air choking from my lungs.
Liam shouted, trying to surge forward, but Marcus raised a single hand — and the hunters blocked him instantly, blades gleaming.
"Aria!" Liam's voice broke.
My vision darkened. My claws scraped uselessly at Eryx's wrist. His grin widened, fangs dripping.
"Pitiful," he sneered. "All this fuss, for this?"
I was going to die.
The thought rang cold and final.
And worse — I would die here, before Liam's eyes. I would die, and he would watch everything we had risked crumble into dust.
No.
No.
Not like this.
A voice stirred in the back of my mind, low and hungry, like the hiss of wind through a crypt.
You want to live.
The shadows beneath me shifted, curling up around my broken body like smoke.
Then let us in.
Eryx's claws tightened. I felt skin split, warm blood sliding down my neck. My strength drained. My heart faltered.
And in the heartbeat between death and surrender—something inside me shattered.
Darkness flared.
The world slowed.
I moved.
One blink, and I wasn't in Eryx's grip anymore. I wasn't choking on blood. I was behind him, shadows peeling off my body like a living cloak.
Eryx froze, hand still clenched around empty air.
"What—?" he snarled, whipping around.
I didn't think. I slashed. My claws ripped across his back, tearing through flesh, black ichor spraying.
The hunters gasped. Lucian's eyes widened. Even Marcus's gaze sharpened, the faintest flicker of interest lighting his face.
Eryx roared, spinning, striking with murderous force. But I was already gone—slipping, dissolving into shadow, reappearing at his flank. His claws cut only air.
Power sang in my veins, cold and electric. The shadows clung to me, answered me. Each heartbeat made them sharper, faster.
This was no ordinary strength. This was something else.
My skill.
The first I had ever touched.
I darted in and out of his reach, my body flickering between darkness and flesh. His blows slammed into trees, splintering trunks. Mine carved deep into his flesh, tearing lines across his arms, his chest.
He was still stronger. Still faster. But for the first time, I was untouchable.
Eryx's rage boiled over. "You—wretch!"
He lunged, both arms wide, trying to pin me. I slipped between his strike like smoke, reappearing at his throat, claws pressing close.
"Yield," I hissed, voice ragged, blood dripping down my chin.
His crimson eyes burned into mine. For a heartbeat, I thought he would tear my head off anyway. But slowly, grudgingly, he sank to one knee, ichor dripping from his wounds.
The circle fell silent.
Only my ragged breathing filled the clearing.
Liam broke through the hunters with a roar, sprinting to me. He caught me before I collapsed, arms trembling as he lowered me against him.
"Aria—Gods, you're bleeding—" His hands shook as they pressed against my ribs, my torn side.
I clung weakly to his shirt. "I'm alive," I whispered. "That's enough."
Above us, Marcus finally spoke.
"Well," he murmured, voice velvet and venom. "Perhaps you're not such a disappointment after all."
His eyes gleamed with something far more dangerous than approval.
Desire.
Ownership.
And I knew, with bone-deep certainty, that I had only bought us more chains.
The shadows still curled around me, whispering, restless. Liam held me tighter, but his warmth could not drown the chill creeping into my soul.
Because even as I breathed, even as I survived—
A part of me wondered if the shadows had saved me…
Or claimed me.