Page 88 of Demon Monster's Little Human

But even as I repeat the words over and over in my mind, the nameAmaralingers on the edge of my thoughts, like a blade poised at my throat.

And the presence, whatever it is, whatever it wants, laughs.

I force myself to my feet, staggering deeper into the forest.

I am not safe here.

Not from Dain. Not from it.

Not from myself.

The only thing I can do is run.

But the moment my feet move, the world shifts beneath me. My legs falter, the exhaustion hitting all at once, sudden, brutal.

I make it only a few steps before my body gives out.

I crash into the roots of an ancient tree, curling in on myself, my chest heaving, my skin slick with cold sweat.

I cannot run anymore.

I cannot fight this.

Not tonight.

The forest is silent.

The dark presence does not speak again.

But I know it is still there.

Watching. Waiting.

So is Dain.

37

DAIN

The night stretches before me, vast and endless, but she is the only thing I see. The only thing I chase.

The moment she fled, something inside me twisted, sharp and wrong, like a blade turned inward. The rage that should have burned hot and wild has cooled into something worse, a hunger, a need, a compulsion.

I should let her go.

But I can’t.

Not when I feel her. Not when she is still inside me.

Her presence thrums in my blood, woven through the magic that binds us. It tugs at me, relentless, a chain I never asked for and cannot sever. She is too far, and yet I sense her—her heartbeat thudding unevenly, her breath hitching, her body weakening as she stumbles through the wilderness.

She’s running on fear and desperation, but it won’t be enough.

She cannot outrun me.

I move with purpose, each step cutting through the dense undergrowth, branches snapping beneath my weight. My senses narrow, locked onto the pulse of her presence in the distance. The forest bends to my will, yielding as I press forward, unrelenting.

She’s slowing.

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