“And that is where we can agree to disagree.”
“You were locked away for wreaking havoc and causing death and misery wherever you went. You deserved your punishment. It’s too bad you didn’t learn anything from it.”
With that, I turned dismissively away from him. Maybe he would attempt to kill one of us now that we were free of the building, but I doubted it. The horsemen weren’t stupid enough to piss off the calamuts.
“We have to find Lix,” Shax said.
“Take Hawk, Aisling, and Jolie to do that. The hounds must be around here somewhere too.” They’d stopped howling, but I didn’t believe they were dead. “Magnus and Amalia, maybe you can find them?”
“We will,” Amalia said.
“I’ll go back in,” Magnus offered.
“No, if something goes wrong, your ability is of more use to this war than I am.”
Magnus started to protest, but I cut him off. “I’m in charge. Go.”
His silver eyes narrowed, but he gave a brisk nod and clasped Amalia’s arm. “We’ll meet you where Caim indicated,” he said before leading her away.
“I don’t know if the calamuts will attack when they notice us again, or if we’re okay now that we’re out of the school, but don’t use any violence unless it’s necessary. I think the nuckals might have killed some tree nymphs, so it won’t take much to set the calamuts off again,” I said to Hawk.
“We can’t leave you here alone,” Hawk said with a pointed look at Wrath.
“He’s not stupid enough to try something right now,” I said. “I’ll get Corson, and we’ll meet outside the forest.”
Hawk hesitated, but when another boom vibrated the building, he relented. “Stay safe.”
“You too.”
They all gave Wrath one last, blistering look of loathing before turning and loping around the side of the building. I turned dismissively away from Wrath and grasped the edges of the hole. I ignored the broken brick biting into my flesh as I started to lift myself off the ground.
His large hand encircling my wrist halted me before I could go any further. “Don’t be a fool,” he said.
I jerked my wrist free of his grasp. “You’re the only fool here; it’s time for you to leave.”
More fire flared through his eyes as a muscle in his jaw jumped. Then, he released my wrist and stepped away from me. “If you’re in such a rush to die, then I won’t stop you.”
“My life was over the second I met you.”
Hurt briefly flickered through his eyes, but he quickly covered it up as the flames died away and his fathomless, black eyes returned.Are those eyes the darkness?
As soon as the possibility occurred to me, I shook it away. The darkness had haunted me for so long that I hadnodoubt I would recognize it the minute I saw it. That hadn’t happened when I first saw the black of Wrath’s eyes. No, he wasn’t the darkness, but it was coming.
A cruel smile curved the corner of his mouth. “Until we meet again, then.”
With that, he turned and sauntered away.
When he disappeared around the side of the building, I shoved aside the unexpected disappointment filling me before self-loathing swamped me for expecting more from ahorseman.
I was about to climb through the hole when Wren appeared on the other side. Startled, I fell back as she scrambled through and fell to the ground. Corson followed her. Fresh blood splattered their clothes and covered their faces as they lay on the ground, panting before rolling over and pushing themselves onto their knees.
“Are you okay?” I demanded as I knelt between them.
“Yes,” Corson said.
“Dana and Darcy?”
“Dead,” Corson said. “A nuckal got to them before we could.”
