Page 106 of Visions of Darkness

But it was my savagery that reigned.

I threw another punch, landing it with all the strength I possessed.

It was enough to send him reeling. So far that he hit the railing at the base of his back. His arms windmilled, his balance lost, before he tipped over the top.

Falling backward.

One second later, I heard the sickening crunch on the pavement below.

A muffled scream reverberated from within the car where Aria waited. Horror streaking far and wide. I rushed up to the railing, and Aria was twisted in the driver’s seat, terror cloaking her as she looked through the window at the mangled body that had landed six feet to the left of the car.

Blood poured from the crack in his skull and pooled around his lifeless form.

But there was no time to process what had just gone down. I grabbed the bags, bounded downstairs, and tossed our things into the back before I jumped into the passenger seat and shouted, “Go!”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Aria

Eyes wide, I gunned it in reverse. The tires spun on the loose gravel as we flew backward.

My hands and spirit were shaking so badly that I could hardly hang on to the steering wheel.

Consumed by the fear and a sickness that had sunk so deep into the middle of me I wasn’t sure how I continued to see—though I couldn’t tear my attention from the creep who lay in a broken pile in the middle of the pavement, either.

Lit up like the remnants of a massacre in the headlights.

I would have chalked it up to a nightmare if I didn’t know the true brutality that waited for us in sleep. If I didn’t understand what had sent this disgusting man after me.

When I was out far enough, I rammed on the brakes, shoved the transmission into Drive, then floored the accelerator. The engine roared as we careened across the deserted lot lit in the dingy blur of lights that glowed from the building.

Both horror and relief thundered through my being, all mixed with a solid dose of shock. My breaths were jagged, harsh, and discordant asthey wheezed into the air, and my heart refused to slow as adrenaline barreled through my bloodstream.

I’d seen so many terrible things in my short life, witnessing them through the vantage of a Kruen’s mind. Atrocities that scarred and flayed, weaving their way into my consciousness to become part of my psyche.

Twisting my hopes and beliefs into chaos and uncertainty.

Into grief and despondency.

But I’d never, ever seen it this way.

Up close.

Playing out in real time.

I’d never had to witness the true consequence of a Kruen’s most wicked thoughts.

The tires squealed as the car skidded onto the street. My insides were trembling so hard that I wasn’t sure I could stay on the road.

I was rattled to the bone.

To my core.

Palms sweaty, I squeezed the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles blanching as I struggled to focus.

To squelch the panic that lifted in my throat and the tears that burned at the backs of my eyes.

I just had to drive.

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