Page 8 of Damian

My heart shatters a bit more for Hallie.

“Are you ready?” Hallie questions after swallowing the last bite.

It’s been four months since I asked for her help. I feared bringing it up again, so I’ve remained silent each night.

I gulp amid the thick air caused by the dampness and the smell of mildew. The darkness of the tunnels reminds me of my oppressive circumstances. The dripping water from the stalactites nags at the recesses of my mind, demanding mother nature cease her whining.

Although filled with pain, Hallie’s gaze still holds a spark of defiance and determination.

She told me in a rare moment of conversation about her life before the tunnels. She was born with a gift, a power she barely understood. Her capture serves as a brutal reminder of the cost of being different.

“What must I sacrifice?” I ask. My words come out trembling with fear and anticipation.

She hangs her head. “My sacrifice will free me from these chains while setting you free. I need a favor first.”

I nod. My heart pounding in my chest.

“The bones beside me. Can you put one of them in my hand? She needs to finally go home so she can rest in peace.”

Her request baffles me, but I’m too afraid to question her. I grab the femur. Because of years of decay, the bone easily breaks away from the rest of the remains. Once she has a grip on it, she closes her lids and mumbles under her breath. All of the witch who stole my mating call disappears. I’m too shocked to hold my tongue. “Where did she go?”

“Home to her family.”

I gulp.

“If we do this, it’s now or never,” she urges.

“I’m ready.”

“First, you’ll need a rune. Grab a stick.”

I take my lantern and search the cave until I find one. The darkness presses in around me, and my hands tremble with the fear of being discovered.

“Now, draw a heart on your body and two over your stomach. It doesn’t have to be visible. Just go through the motions.”

With shaky hands, I follow her instructions and toss the stick away when I finish. My heart seems to speed up, if that’s even possible.

Her vision follows the stick. “Get it back and put it in your mouth.”

My head and look wonders why, but I do it anyway.

She speaks a word in another language before searing pain courses through my body where I’d drawn the hearts.

My orbs roll back in my head. My teeth bear down on the stick. I can take the pain. I’ve known pain my entire life. It’s my girls. They are writhing inside my womb.

Their kicks are flails of torture, signaling that they are suffering along with me. One of them kicks against my rib with such force that it cracks.

It’s over in seconds, but the knowledge that they experienced agony made it feel like hours.

“The rune will protect them from their father. An invisible barrier surrounds the three of you—hiding you from him. None of your herd will be able to catch your scent, giving you time to run and hide. Once the girls are born, I can’t hide the part of them that smells of their father—only of you.”

It surprises me she knew about our ability to smell one another.

Once my daughters are born, they will carry a piece of their father with them, which worries me. Not if I get them out of this state. The men won’t leave the many others on an errand to find the three of us.

“Listen to me carefully,” Hallie orders, her tone low and urgent.

I nod, my heart pounding as I hang on to her every word, knowing that my children’s lives depend on this moment.

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