“No,” she whispered, horror twisting inside her, as a strangled sob escaped her lips. “Father?”
His head lifted slowly, weakly. His eyes, heavy with sorrow, locked onto hers.
They had beaten him, broken him, all because of her.
Evelyne’s chest heaved, her body shaking violently. “Please—please, let him go,” she sobbed, her voice raw and desperate.
A Noskari clicked its tongue in mock pity and moved closer, its ice-cold fingers curling under her chin, forcing her to meet its black, soulless gaze. Kaldrek growled nearby, a deep, guttural sound that sent a chill down her spine. She didn’t need to look to know he was ready to tear through them. She could feel it in every fiber of her being. But she was pinned in their grasp. And there were too many. If he attacked now, they’d rip him apart before he ever reached her.
The Noskari curled its lip, blood staining its fangs. “Foolish little girl,” it hissed, voice slithering over her skin like oil. “She warned you to turn back, and yet…” It tilted its head, mock curiosity flashing in those hollow black depths. “You surround yourself with friends.”
It turned, arms outstretched, gesturing to the carnage. To the wolves and humans closing in. To all the warm, pulsing blood.
“Plenty for us to feast on.”
Bile burned in her throat. This was her fault.
She tore her gaze away, looking back to the man on his knees, to the one who had raised and protected her. To her father. His body sagged between his captors, barely upright. But his eyes were filled not with pain or fear, but with love. And guilt.
“Don’t do this,” she pleaded once more, though deep down, she knew it was futile. Her mind raced. Why was her father here? Was he traveling alone? How long had he been in pain? He looked so weak and broken.
Time seemed to freeze around her, trapping her in an endless moment. She barely registered the warm trickle of blood sliding down her arm as a Noskari dragged a razor-sharp black fingernail across her skin, slicing it open. The sting was distant, insignificant compared to the horror unfolding before her. It was going to feed on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to fight or even look away. Its strength held her captive, but it didn’t matter, because all she could see was her father.
“I was looking for him too, Evelyne,” he rasped. “Don’t give up on him. I… I know he’s still in there.”
The Noskari snapped its head toward him, snarling. “Silence.”
Her father hadn’t come to drag her back. He had been searching for Cillian, just like her. And he trusted her to find him, believed in her. Pride and anguish swelled inside her, tangling into something unbearable.
The Noskari turned back to her. “This is your final warning.” A cruel smile twisted its face as it leaned in close, whispering the words against her cheek. “Let the lost stay lost.”
“No.” The plea left her lips before she could stop it, but she knew, even before she spoke, that they were past mercy.
The creature moved.
Too fast.
Her stomach dropped, ice flooding her veins. “NO!” she shrieked, thrashing against the iron grip of the Noskari holding her back. She watched helplessly as the other Noskari knelt before her father.
His lips parted. “Stay brave, Evelyne. I’ve always been so proud of—”
There was a brutal thrust, and the Noskari’s arm punched through his chest with a sickening crack.
Flesh ripped. Bone splintered. A wet, gruesome sound filled the air, followed by the slow, gurgling choke of a man gasping his final breath. Then—blood. It spilled in thick, pulsing waves, slick and dark, seeping into the earth as if the ground itself were drinking him dry.
Evelyne’s broken screams erupted through the night as the Noskari wrenched its clawed hand free. Clenched within its grasp was her father’s glistening heart.
His body spasmed. Once. Twice. Then crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
Lifeless. Gone.
For a moment, the world stood still. No sound. No breath. Just the horrific sight of that still-beating organ, slick with blood, pulsing weakly before the grip around it tightened. Thick droplets splattered onto the soaked earth, mingling with the ruin of so many before him.
Then everything erupted.
Kaldrek lunged, a savage rush of muscle and fury, his fangs sinking deep into the Noskari’s throat. Blood gushed in thick, steaming ribbons, but the creature didn’t fall. It snarled and wrenched free, hurling him to the ground with a brutal force that cracked bone and left the earth trembling.
Pain ignored, he rolled to his feet with a guttural growl and launched himself at the creature again. And again. And again.
