Page 74 of A Kingdom so Crimson

I brushed off the awkwardness, noticing Kaizen's confused face, and walked toward the smaller room on the left, glancing inside.

"I don't know if I should be called blessed with a potentialbountyon my head, let alone the Spellcastershuntingme," I remarked, the weight of my situation settling heavily on my shoulders.

"We are safe here," Levon retorted, his voice carrying a hint of defiance, while Kaizen finished off his plate with a stoic expression. I shot a glare at Kaizen, demanding answers.

"We are," Kaizen reiterated, his tone unwavering.

"What was that outside?" I snapped, still looking to Kaizen, waiting for an explanation as my heart pounded with anticipation.

Kaizen took a deep breath. "I believe it might have been a Breva, but I've only heard of their lore," he said, wiping his mouth. Levon's expression grew pale as I awaited further explanation.

Rising from the bed, he moved with a sense of purpose, setting his plate near the door as his cloak trailed behind him with regalelegance. "They're blind," he explained, his voice carrying a hint of urgency, "and rely on echospotting to navigate. It allows them to sense objects and blend into their surroundings. If I hadn't been on edge and noticed the subtle slithering, I might have mistaken the clicking sounds for insects."

I tried to push the horrifying image out of my mind. "Are they similar to the Miehja? Are these creatures bred by the Spellcasters?" I asked, wrapping my arms around myself for comfort.

"The Miehja are bred to kill," Kaizen paused, his gaze flickering to Levon before continuing. "The Breva are bred to capture and report. They attack by striking with a poison, paralyzing you and slowing your heartbeat to barely a breath while they swallow you whole and slither back to deliver their report." His voice darkened. "But whatever you do, do not let one take you.Run away as far and as fast as you can.Because if they take you—" he stopped abruptly, shaking his head, unwilling to entertain the thought.

Bile coated my throat as I shivered at the thought of one of us being attacked—taken. "The Spellcasters know where we are then?" I whispered, feeling a chill run down my spine. Levon came beside me and squeezed my hand in silent comfort, though it felt more like an apology.

"I suspect one was lurking nearby and caught your scent," Levon replied with a hint of disgust. "We'll have to be on high alert as we pass through the Gap."

"My scent?" I echoed, a knot of fear forming in my stomach.

Kaizen nodded gravely. "Each neurological pathway holds a scent and can serve as a beacon to…specific beings. And since you've already had dreams through the 'Caster's anomalies, they have most likely identified your scent or aura to their creatures." His words sent my mouth dry as fear crept over me, feeling disgustingly exposed.

"Perhaps now," he said mockingly, his gaze drifting to where Levon's and my hands were clasped together as his face turned angry. "You'll finally start fighting instead of hiding." Anger surged within me, and I shot him a glare that could cut through steel, confused at his abrupt change. "But perhaps that would never be in your nature."

I struggled to swallow, feeling the weight of his words pierce through me, knowing that all I'd ever done was live in submission.

Levon glared at him as Kaizen walked to the other room, forcefully closing the door behind him. I forced the growing anger laced with fear down as I sat on the bed, holding my head in my hands. The bed shifted to the right of me, and Levon's body slid next to mine. His warmth was tangible in the cool room.

"I've been so naïve, Levon," I confessed bitterly. "Maybe it would have been better for me to wallow in self-pity at Jesri's estate—forever a pet to him. I didn't know that the world was this…evil."

His hand shifted onto my back, stroking lazy fingers down my spine, but his touch brought me no solace.

"Don't wish for that. You're not naïve; you've just been kept in the dark, like everyone else," he explained, his voice tinged with sympathy.

"How doyouknow all this?" I shot back, frustration bubbling up within me. He looked at me with haunted eyes as he flexed his scarred hands. I palmed my eyes in exasperation, leaning into him as fear and anger churned within me.

A metallic twang sliced through the air, jolting my senses. Levon snapped his hand back as if stung, his eyes ablaze with an emotion I couldn't quite decipher.

"Eliah," he began cautiously, holding up his hands and rising from the bed. "Calm down."

The world seemed to spin as the metallic scent of blood invaded my senses, setting my nerves ablaze with rage and fear. My vision blurred with fury, my mind clouded by irrationality.

"Calm down?" I scoffed, the laughter ringing hollow as I relished the surge of anger coursing through me like wildfire. The door swung open, revealing Kaizen with a dagger at his side. His amber eyes burned with intensity, but I refused to cower under his gaze. Instead, I met his fiery stare with a snarl, allowing the wrath within me to ignite like a storm of dark, icy flames.

The world tilted with agonizing pressure as the coppery surge of rotted blood stifled my nostrils and pulsed through my veins. I blinked, trying to reconcile myself, as a pit deep within me boiled and retracted as if afraid. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was as dry as the desert. Fury speckled my vision and muddled my fearful mind, instantly snapping my control to succumb to the irrational, moving my body.

"Stand down,orphan," he taunted as a wicked smile crossed his lips. Levon's bright eyes dimmed, brimming with anger at Kaizen, but he backed against the side wall.

"Kaizen, no, not here!"Levon ordered, yet no words came from his mouth.

I cocked my head with confusion but before I could think, a torrent of shimmering rage surged through my veins like a relentless inferno threatening to consume me whole. Despite my efforts, I could only choke a twisted laugh through clenched teeth as the seething anger roared within, fighting back against an oily presence that invaded my core. I grappled with the rage pulsating throughout my body like suppressed ripples. A chilling pressure bore down on me, worming its way deeper into my skull as it surged through me with an unyielding force, compelling me into submission and driving the tendrils ofdarkness deeper into my shaking soul. I struggled to breathe as my body seized.

"At least I'm broken enough to realize I'm nothing more than an orphan!" I snapped, seeing right through his rugged and dark stature.

Kaizen only clapped and grinned, sickening my soul even more, and relished with each tormented part of me.

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