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“Mine,” I grumble. “Mine.”
“Zephiro?” The sound of her voice guides me to her.
“Mine,” I say, louder this time. “Mine…”
Finally, I’m only a few feet away from her, and I notice that she’s shaking. I stumble as I get closer.
“Sierra,” I whisper.
Once I’m in front of her, all I can do is stare. I’m so far gone that I can’t comprehend what I’m supposed to do next.
“Zephiro?” she says, reaching out to me.
The moment her hand touches my arm, it’s like I’ve been shocked. And yet I’m still paralyzed, unable to do anything but watch as she steps closer to me.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
The sound of her concerned voice snaps me out of my trance. I grab her, pulling her against my chest and burying my head in her hair. The scent of her helps to bring me back to reality, along with her soothing voice.
“It’s okay,” she whispers.
Ever so slowly, I begin to calm down. The killing mindset leaves me, and I become myself again. Still, I can’t let Sierra out of my arms. I never want to let go of her again.
She continues talking. “We should probably get out of here. I’m sure we called a lot of attention to ourselves with all the noise, and if that didn’t, then the smell of these dead bodies sure will. Who knows what might show up if we stick around?”
She’s right. I know she’s right, but I still can’t let her go.
“We need to leave now,” she repeats.
Finally, I snap out of it, pulling away from her. I survey her body for injuries, and once I’m sure that she’s not hurt, I pick her up and set her on my back once more.
I know I’ve been injured by the way my shoulder aches when she wraps her arms around my neck. And as we walk, I can feel that same ache coming from my side. But I don’t care. I can handle the pain. All that matters right now is finding someplace safe for us to go so that the elves won’t find us.
We walk for hours, and I can tell something is wrong because Sierra hasn’t said a word the entire time. I can hear her breathing just fine but not a peep otherwise.
It sparks a fear in me that I’ve made it impossible for her to ever love me. How could she? I’m a monster, and I just showed her exactly what kind.
17
SIERRA
The sound of Zephiro’s knuckles as they scrape along the ground is all I can focus on. We have been climbing for hours, and my legs are trembling with every step. But that is nothing compared with the plight of my monstrous lover. His left arm hangs twisted and lifeless at his side, the pain of it drawing him down.
“We need to stop,” I tell him again. “You must rest. You need to heal.”
Zephiro barely grunts in response and continues up the mountain.
Glancing behind into the growing darkness, I am convinced I can see movement. Terror wells up in my chest. Zephiro would not survive another encounter.
There it is again. Shadows playing against the trees. I spin in time to see a hare shoot across the path behind me and disappear into the bushes. There is a crash, and a wolf leaps onto the track in its wake. It stares at me with burning yellow eyes and then leaps after its prey.
The encounter leaves me shaking, but I am thankful it was a wolf and not an elf.
“Zephiro,” I repeat. “We need to find shelter.”
His great hulking shape stumbles. Shit, I’ll never move him if he goes down here.
“Zephiro,” I say urgently. “We need to get off this path. You need to rest.”
