I woke again, stirred by the first light of dawn.
"Finally," I whispered, rushing to stand.
CRACK! I smacked my head on the underside of the desk. The jolt left me rubbing a throbbing lump and cursing under my breath.
Still, I staggered toward the window. Sunrise had never been so beautiful. So necessary.
"Regina!" I gasped, bolting from the room.
What met me turned my stomach. Bodies—everywhere. Limbs, intestines, and blood painted the stones. I nearly vomited as I lifted my foot from a coil of gut that clung to my boot. The early light made the carnage look even worse, gilding it in a sick glow.
I retraced my steps to where we had split up. There, I found the elf from before. His arm was gone, torn off at the shoulder, but his expression carried only annoyance.
"Tsk. Still alive, and in one piece, no less," he said with a mocking smirk.
I scowled and turned away, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
But his voice followed me, sharper now, stripped of its arrogance. "Last night was strange. Too strange. Do you and your friends know something? Perhaps you even caused it."
He brushed past me, leaving the accusation hanging in the air.
Caused it? Us? My thoughts raced as I walked the hall more slowly now. Did that teleportation tear this place open? But that wasn't our fault… was it?
"Lovely to see you in one piece."
Mésos appeared, her movements as composed and graceful as always, though shallow cuts marked her arms.
"The elf said we might have caused last night's… horror," I blurted, my eyes wide.
She tilted her head, unfazed. "Not hard to believe. But I'd rather discuss it over food, not on an empty stomach. Come. Let's find the others." Her hand looped through my arm, dragging me along.
The full extent of the devastation opened before us. Corpses with teeth marks tearing muscle from bone. Bones splintered. The stench of blood, piss, and something alien thickened the air.
We found the survivors gathered in what had once been a dining hall: Regina, Alpha, Omega, the cat girl, Derek, and a handful of others.
Derek was in the worst state—his right arm gone, his bandages leaking more blood than they held back. His face was pale and furious.
"Quite a night," he rasped, his eyes narrowing as they swept across us. "Now tell me—tell me you had nothing to do with what happened, and make me believe it."
Regina said nothing. Her face was an unreadable mask.
The elf scoffed from where he leaned against the wall. The cat girl sat silent, unreadable, and completely unharmed.
Derek's voice rose, shaking with rage. "A thousand men, and now? Thirty." A vein bulged at his temple.
A soldier limped in, his own wounds less dire but his face bloodless. He stammered between ragged breaths: "Sir—Tom and some others—we just found them dead."
Derek's jaw clenched.
"Make that twenty-five," the elf muttered.
"They'd been… eaten."
The words made bile rise in my throat. My mind flashed to the elongated creature with its razor teeth and slack, pale face. My pulse thundered. Sweat slicked my skin.
Alpha broke the silence, hand under her chin, her tone unnervingly calm.
"It seems there's something among us."