Page 99 of Fire of the Fox

He narrowed his eyes. “Take your dagger. Jonah showed up there before, he can do it again.”

Fighting my grin, I went back to his room to get the dagger from my stuff. Making a show of putting it in my bag, I smiled at him. “All right, dad. I’ve got my dagger. Can I go now?”

“Ew,” he recoiled. “Please don’t call me your dad. That makes things weird. Now if you want to discuss possibly using the name daddy, we—”

Laughing, I waved to him and left without listening to the rest.

Since it was Thursday evening, Dallas was most likely in her night class, which meant the coast should be clear. I’d still been avoiding her since I hadn’t had time to really process the truth about who she was and why she hid it from me all these years. Every time I went to call or text her, the fear resurfaced of discovering she’d never thought of me as someone she could truly trust. It was that paralyzing worry of finding out our friendship didn’t mean as much to her that made me hesitate and always put the phone away.

Barreling up the steps of my dorm, I raced to my room and grabbed the mug off my desk, pausing only briefly to stare at Dallas’ messy bed before heading back to my car. The task didn’t even take five minutes. I’d just shut my car door when I glanced up and saw him.

Jonah stood in the shadows of my dorm building. His wide smirk was eerie, and he narrowed his eyes at me as he walked backward into the woods. I knew that look in his eyes. He was challenging me, daring me to follow.

My heart rate spiked, not out of fear like it would’ve in the past, but because this was my chance. My chance to get answers and be done with this game of cat and mouse. I wasn’t the same weak and defenseless girl I’d been before. I’d trained for this very moment, and my dagger practically sang from where it sat buried in my bag.

I was done waiting.

It was time to be my own hero.

Grabbing the sheathed dagger, I put it in the waistband of my leggings and climbed out of the car. Jonah was no doubt watching me from within the shadows, so I kept my head held high to show him I wasn’t afraid. My footing was sure, my body ready and alert, as I treaded through the woods, fallen leaves and twigs crunching beneath my feet.

I didn’t stop walking until I found the place I was looking for. The creek trickled gently in its bed, its soft sound telling me to stay calm and ready. My eyes never left the water, not even when I felt the dark presence form behind me.

“Took you long enough,” I sighed, turning to face him.

Jonah stood a few feet from me. That same sick grin twisted his face. “That’s my line. You’ve been hiding from me. And healing quickly, I see. Who did that? Your little man who saved you?”

I ignored his taunt about Dax. “I’ve not been hiding from you. Why would I hide from something that doesn’t scare me?”

His ardor faltered, and his eyes narrowed into thin slits. “Your newfound confidence isn’t amusing. It’s going to be your downfall.”

“Actually,” I started, taking a step in his direction. “I think your dismissal of me is going to be your downfall. But before we get to that, tell me why you’ve been after me. What was the point of all this?”

“Why would I tell you? That takes the fun out of it.”

He rushed at me, but I was familiar with his speed now. Quickly sidestepping, I rounded on him as he appeared where I’d been standing. Now behind him, I was quick to unsheathe my dagger and swipe across the back of his neck. As soon as my blade cut into his flesh, my stomach soured. While I had been prepared for this moment, I never really understood what it would feel like to truly hurt someone, to slice into flesh and bone, to watch someone scream out in pain from a wound I’d inflicted. It left a bad taste of regret and guilt in my mouth.

Roaring, he clutched the back of his neck where blood oozed in between his fingers, and he whipped around to face me.

“Yikes. That looks like it hurts,” I taunted with a plastered-on triumphant grin. I couldn’t let him see me struggling with my internal conflict. I had to look strong and confident; otherwise I’d lose for sure.

His chest heaved with angry breaths, and he bared his teeth as he bellowed, “I’ll kill you, you stupid bitch!”

His body evaporated into a burst of black vapor before materializing right behind me. It happened in a matter of seconds, too quick for my eyes to track. His foot smashed into my back, sending me rolling across the grass and right into the creek bed. My grip on the hilt of my dagger slackened, and the water pulled it from my grasp.

“No!” I cursed, ignoring the pain in my back and splashing around in the dark water for my dagger.

“What? Have you suddenly lost your nerve without your weapon?”

He threw back his head with a hysterical laugh. He burst into a plume of shadows again before reappearing by the water’s edge where I was crouched. Without hesitation, he smashed his foot into my jaw. My head jerked back with a painful snap, and I fell onto my back in the stream.

My head submerged into the cold water, but I could still hear his muffled laugh. Pain exploded like a firecracker along my cheek and jaw. Something felt wrong, and I had a suspicion my jaw was broken.

As my aching mouth broke the surface of the stream, Jonah formed above me with a wicked glint in his eyes. He shoved his foot into my chest and forced me back under the water. Panic swarmed my thoughts, and I clawed and pushed desperately at his foot. It was pressed so firmly into the top of my chest, I couldn’t raise up enough to get my head above the water, and my strength was no match for his.

My lungs were beginning to burn with the need for air. His disgusting laugh echoed in my ears beneath the surface. It was the worst kind of torture, his taunting being the last thing I’d get to hear before I drowned.

Why hadn’t I stayed in the damn car? How stupid of me to think I was strong enough to take him! Now I was going to die.

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