Page 71 of How Does It Feel?

“What the fuck!” I shouted, forgetting briefly my need to keep quiet.

I kicked the small arms away and scrambled to stand before I felt the acid drop hit my chest.

I shook with defeated rage, and my fists balled, digging tiny crescents into my palms.

I couldn’t continue. I was outnumbered in every possible way. They commanded this forest, and I had no idea of what dangers lay ahead if I continued to run, what trap I would waltz into. I was outdone in strength, size, and ability to fight—everything that would have kept me alive.

Heavy defeat settled like a weight in my chest as I pressed my back against the tree. I wiped my face with dirty palms as harsh realization settled over me for the first time.

Humans couldn’t survive beyond the veil.

Even with the queen’s protection, I would never survive in the world of Fae.

I grabbed the tree behind me for support as I felt half of my heart break.

A distant crowd laughed. I could pinpoint the higher-pitched laughs of glee and the deeper male chuckles.

Somehow they watched me, laughing at my defeat.

I felt the heaviness of the monster’s presence again as the air in the forest shifted.

I dislodged the burning marble from my chest and tore off just as both monsters shook the ground when they dropped down to grab me.

Click! Click! Click!

Blood poured painfully from my wounds, which now felt like they lined every inch of my body. The pounding of my heart as I ran only increased my blood loss.

Click, click.

I looked up to see the creatures easily trailing me in the sky again. They probably enjoyed this. This was easy pickings now that I was slowing, full of acid wounds. They knew I wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

Click, click, click, click.

Wait—

I stopped sharply and ran in a different direction as silently as possible.

Click, click!

After continuing flight for only a second, they turned back to my location.

Click, click, click, click.

There was no fucking way.

Click, click, click.

Oh my god!

They were using some type of echolocation to track me. That was why they didn’t look at me but watched the sky because they couldn’t see me! They were sending out some type of sonar to locate me.

I laughed.

I laughed so damn hard that anyone who had doubted I lost my mind would no longer question it.

The clicks. They weren’t talking to each other, they were sending out a sound, and the reflected sound waves told them exactly where I was. Just like bats or dolphins used.

The freshly oiled wheels of my mind began to spin as a flash of the winged man Mendax had stabbed popped into my mind, and I couldn’t help but smile.