"Run, Alira!" Suri's voice cracked through the night just before the branch struck her skull. The sound was sickening, and her body crumpled to the ground, fingers twitching, silently pleading with me to go.
I wanted to scream. To run back to her. To fight.Instead, I ran - like a coward.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. I had a life once. Before eighteen. Before the ceremony. Before my powers failed to awaken and my family cast me aside like ash in the wind.The Gray family is strong. You are weak. Nothing but a failure.My father's words echoed as hot tears blurred my vision.
"Get back here, you bitch! I paid good money for you!" The Baron's voice ripped me from memory. Thomas knelt in the dirt, his hands clawing deep into the earth. The ground trembled beneath my feet. "You're going to regret running."
Thorned vines erupted, slithering toward me like snakes. I darted left, desperate to get away, but they adjusted instantly. One lashed around my ankle, yanking me backward. Its thorns dug deep into my skin, pulling me to the ground. I clawed at the soil causing my fingernails to snap as more of his vines restrained me.
"No one runs from me. No one," he growled, rising with a sick smile. His hand lingered on his belt as he loomed closer.
Then Suri. Somehow still standing with her eyes glowing, seized his mind. He screamed, clutching his head, and for a breath the vines slackened. Freedom brushed my fingertips -Then the thorns sank deeper. A scream erupt from within me as the pain clawed deep into me.
Suri's eyes met mine, wide with worry. In that heartbeat of hesitation, he broke free.
A vine surged from the soil, striking before I could even scream. It pierced clean through her skull - the thorn tip bursting out beneath her left eye. She twitched, still standing for a terrible moment, as blood streamed down her cheek.
"No…" My voice cracked. "Suri…"
"I warned that bitch to stay away." Thomas yanked the vine free, letting her body collapse like refuse. He spat on her before turning his hate toward me. "You've cost me too much, girlie."
The vines writhed around him, hissing like serpents. "Now you're gonna owe me." His voice dripped venom as he knelt, fingers tugging at his belt.
"Please, don't," I begged. "I'll do anything - please."
"But this is what I want." His grin split wide, feral.
The vines tightened, thorns digging into my flesh. I shut my eyes, bracing for the end.
Then - silence.
The pain ebbed. The vines recoiled, sinking back into the earth.
Something heavy hit the ground. When I opened my eyes, Thomas's head lay at my feet, lifeless eyes still frozen in rage.
From the shadows, a man stepped forward. Dark leather armor clung to his frame, his presence as sharp and cold as the blade still dripping red in his hand.