Page 74 of Of Wind and Terror

How could I have been so stupid?

“Treyton,” the creature whispers. Its voice is like Kassandra’s—light and airy, a ringing of bells—yet something about it causes trepidation to skate down my spine. “You need to help me.”

The monster slowly lifts its head, and I suck in a sharp gasp.

Instead of the face of my beloved, a megart stares back at me. Eight eyes, slightly too large for its small, angular face. Piercers. Tufts of hair.

Fear roils in my stomach as the monster attempts a smile, revealing rows of misshapen, yellow teeth.

Before I can react, or even raise my sword in defense, it charges at me, and the world around me goes dark.

28

KASSANDRA

The final wraith falls to the ground in a tangle of lanky limbs and yellow, putrid-smelling blood.

Blaze stands over the corpse, panting, his massive chest heaving.

I take a moment to study the clearing, ensuring that all of the monsters have been dispatched, before allowing the harbara to return to its bracelet form. I then search the ground until I find my abandoned glove and pull it back on. It’s covered in yellow blood and gore, but I don’t dare leave my hand bare, not around the males.

“Well…” Aleksander kicks at one of the bodies with a low whistle. “That was fun. Just what I needed to start my day. Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned beheading?”

“Is everyone okay?” I ask, somewhat desperately.

My hands are shaking, but I don’t know if that’s from fear or adrenaline.

Blaze’s scowl softens at the corners. “I’m okay, little beast.”

“As am I.” Aleksander pauses, then adds, “But I could use a bath. Don’t ask me how it happened because I won’t tell you, but I seem to have gotten some guts up my asshole. Quite the predicament, I say.”

“And Treyton?” I sign, scanning the clearing once more.

But I don’t see him.

Panic claws its way up my chest and constricts my airways. My breaths come out in harrowed gasps.

Blaze exchanges an unreadable glance with Aleksander before focusing on me. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Then where is he?” I demand.

It’s times like these that I wish I were able to speak. I want to scream, yell, cry, but all that comes out is a gurgled gasp.

“The lazy bastard is probably sunbathing while we took care of the wraiths,” Aleksander says jovially as he comes to stand beside me.

He flings an arm around my shoulders and pulls me against his chest. It’s not a gesture meant to comfort me. No, this is meant to protect me.

But from what?

Despite Aleksander’s lighthearted tone, his eyes scan the Forest with a keen intensity. His grip on me tightens.

“Over here,” Blaze calls from somewhere farther ahead.

I attempt to break free from Aleksander and race to the Fall Prince, but the elf doesn’t release me. He simply moves the two of us to where Blaze and Runt are.

Runt has his nose to the ground as he stalks forward, and Blaze is crouched, one hand holding away foliage to reveal the footprint in the mud.

“Treyton’s?” I ask, my hands still trembling.

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