Page 80 of Kiss of Magic

“You know that’s not true. I was born of dark magic, just like them.”

“I don’t give a shit where you came from. You’re not linked to them.”

“Natalia, listen to me.” His eyes gleamed green and her unease grew. They were wild. Feral. “The longer I wait, the more I feel like the beast I was. The monster I used to be. I have to go before it’s too late.”

“Go where? To do what?”

“To face my demons.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“No!”

The word roared through the forest, making a flock of birds take flight in panic. His fangs glinted and instinctively Nat drew her blades. Her heart stuttered. She never thought she’d have to do that. Not with him.

“This isn’t you,” she said softly. “Remember who you are.”

With an effort, Beast caught himself.

“You can’t come with me, Natalia. The people, they need you. You’re their protector.”

“You’re not going without me.”

“Put your blades away, slayer. The choice is already made.”

Nat looked at her beast helplessly. He was the only one in the whole gods-damned realm she could be herself with. She didn’t care that he was a monster, that he’d been magicked out of thin air by a crazed sorcerer. With him, she was whole. Without him…

She dropped her blades and put her arms about his neck.

“I… I don’t want to lose you.”

She kissed him, trying to reach him, trying to break through the blood-red thoughts festering in his mind. Tears started to fall as she pressed against him and he tasted their saltiness on his lips.

Natalia never cried. Yet she was crying for him. For a monster.

For a moment the pureness of her love broke through his torment and shone like a beacon.

With a snarl he tore from her embrace and plunged through the vines into the tunnel which led out of the Haven.

He moved fast, not giving himself time to think, surging forward in blind determination. Every now and then when the roof dipped, his obsidian horns would scrape at the rock. It only served as a reminder that he was apart from other beings.

The tunnel came out by the river bank. It was at the bottom of a deep ravine, a day’s walk from the main town in the Forbidden Zone. Few people came this way. Yet Beast couldn’t shake the feeling that someone…something… was nearby.

The blood-tinged desires in his head grew stronger. He bellowed in frustration, trying to rein in his primal urges.Remember who you are.With an effort, he held on to a modicum of control.

He leapt gracefully into the canopy of trees, more at home above ground than on it. It was easy enough to see. Even if he didn’t have the night vision of a nocturnal predator, themoon was full tonight. The forest looked peaceful in the silvery shadows, but he knew it was an illusion.

He swung athletically from branch to branch, moving away from the riverbank and deeper into the forest. The feeling of dread churning in his gut grew stronger.

It was only when he reached the clearing that he saw what had been waiting for him. It squatted in the starlight, misshapen and grotesque. Skinless, hairless. A figure even more monstrous than he.

When its jaws widened he saw rows of serrated teeth that seemed to go on forever. And when it spoke, his fur stood on end.

Brother.

Thirty Seven

Washington D.C.

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