I pull against the chains again and again and again.
“Don’t worry,” she purrs, mistaking that she could handle the rage of a god. “They won’t kill her immediately. First, they’ll wound her. To make the final chase more… sporting.” She traces a line across her own thigh, mimicking a knife slash. “Then they’ll give her one last chance to run before the end.”
She laughs, like it’s all a simple game.
“Your little warrior will be gone by sunrise,” she says, trying to regain her dominance. “But don’t despair. I could comfort you after. I’m sure we could find a way to pass the time before they come for you. Maybe give you a little advantage, a hidden weapon of your choice. The men will probably sleep between two hunts.”
The suggestion that I would accept her touch while Brynn's blood soaks the forest floor shatters the last of my control.
The mere suggestion of Brynn being gone by sunrise makes the monster the chains have been suppressing break through every single pore.
My eyes blacken completely, my veins burning against my skin as my clothes are ripped apart, and my flesh is pressing against the chain as I’m changing form. Everything in me is expanding. Everything in me becomesthe devil’s son.
The woman stumbles back, her lust changing to fear in the blink of an eye. But I don’t care about her. Tonight, she’ll die here with everyone left in the mansion.
I pull against the chains with every ounce of my transformed strength. The marble pillar cracks deeper, the fissure widening from the floor to the ceiling, and pieces of stone rain down as the structure groans beneath the strain.
The guards rush inside, running toward me, like the fools gonna fucking stop me. The rest of the women, includingVivian, start running down the stairs, some of them only in their lingerie, others completely naked. Their screams fill the space, but their fear is meaningless to me. They all know what happened. None of them cared. Nothing matters except breaking free, finding Brynn, and tearing apart anyone who dares threaten what’s mine.
I am Ares. God of War. Bringer of Chaos. Destroyer of Civilizations.
The chains still hold, but the pillar doesn’t. With a large crack, a huge section of the marble breaks away, weakening the column's integrity. The ceiling above moves, dust covering everything as the house's weight is tumbling down, burying us all.
twenty-nine
-Brynn-
A few hours earlier
I’m running faster and faster. Pain flares up my leg with each footfall, but I don’t feel it anymore. I feel nothing but rage and the urge for revenge. I’m gonna kill every one of these bastards. But I know I don’t stand a chance against all of them together. I have to be smart about this.
I have to survive.
Behind me, the mansion's light fades between the trees, with every step I take forward, my heart urges me to return. To make sure he’s okay. But that would mean the death of us both. Running is the only chance we have. The only chance for me to end them; then return for him.
The round golden moon shines bright in the sky to serve as a guide through the forest.It's at its peak, at any second, I’m expecting a werewolf to crawl out of the trees.
I have less than nine minutes to disappear, to become a ghost with a thirst for revenge.
Still, the forest floor is treacherous at night. Any wrong move could cause a serious injury. Roots twist around my ankles, fallen branches snap beneath my boots, betraying my position to anyone listening. But I don’t slow down. I can’t. Somewhere behind me, six hunters are tracking me through the night, their blades hungry for my blood.
A fallen tree blocks my path. I vault over it, but my injured leg buckles. The pain is immediate, shooting from ankle to hip. But I don’t say a word. I just bite back a scream and force myself upright. I have to be more careful.
East. The hunter’s cabin lies in the north section of the valley. That’s what McAllister said. I have to cross the valley and win the sick game. But the direct path is what they’ll expect. They know this terrain. They’ve done this before. And the thought that Elias died here freezes my lungs for a second right before hot rage surges through me.He was hunted like this, running through the same woods, far more scared than I am now. The thought makes me so sick, I feel like throwing up.
The more I think about it, the faster I run—not from the hunters but from the tears that are gathering in my eyes. I run so I don’t see them fall. So they don’t make me weak.
I run because they said I’m prey, but I will bethe hunter.
A plan forms in my mind. And it’s not to run north toward safety. It’s west towards higher ground. I need to mislead them.
The moonlight reveals a rock formation ahead. I need to get a sense of the land, so I force myself up the slick surface, my fingernails tearing as I pull myself higher.
From the top, I can see the lay of the land. A stream is cutting through the valley, the one I used to hide my tracks from Ares before, a few clusters of trees, and behind me, flashes of light from the mansion scattering between the trees like fireflies.
My head start is over.
I slide down the far side of the rocks, creating a false trail before doubling back to a pine I took as my mark.Twenty feet up, I perch on a thick branch, controlling my breathing as the first shouts echo through the trees.
