Page 108 of Elysian

The doctor only spared me a look at my explanation and turned his smiles to Tabby. “Fifty gold coins and it is all yours.”

She drew straight. “A small fortune,” she scoffed.

We had not even brought that much.

It was theft. Awful theft. Besides us, this doctor took advantage of all the other villagers. It would be six moon rotation’s worth of savings.

“If you change your opinion, I will be here.” He was much too smarmy.

“Let us continue,” Tabby announced, turning her back. “Come.”

I followed her, walking along. We crossed cotton sheets, a dress alteration stall, and a fur blanket vendor.

While walking and observing, my mind was otherwise occupied with the passage I had recently read about bondmates.

The bondmate tie is not whole until it is sealed.

The binding is made by choice, and by choice alone.

Two tethers drawn into one.

The Omega makes the final claim; by her mark, the bond is bound.

Thus is the union made whole, as it was meant to be.

The first part was what had me so intent. The bondmate tie was not complete, I had known it in my stomach. Was that the reason Cassiel continued to be weakened by keeping me alive? He had not mentioned anything of the sort.

Tabby selected potato seeds. I paid and placed the package in the satchel with all the other items.

I kept the information to myself.

Screaming erupted through the market. A swarm of villagers began to run in the direction we had come. Tabby and I moved to the side, watching the rush.

One woman continued screaming, her hand missing entirely, leaving behind jagged flesh dripping blue blood. A man half-dragged her.

“Run!” The screams continued, blending with the warnings. Another voice screamed, “Hollows!”

“That is impossible. It is dawnlight,” I whispered. Tabby grasped my hand.

Panic clamped around my throat. Tabby’s fear-filled eyes snapped me to the present. Cassiel was near; he would not allow anything to happen. I grasped both her hands. “Go back to the horses,” I ordered.

She shook her head. “What about you?”

“Cassiel will come for me. I am going to filch the healing salve.”

“I will go with you,” she claimed, lifting her chin.

I did not have time to argue. I cut to the left, through a fruit stand that stood abandoned. As soon as we were on the other side, the creatures came into view.

They swarmed the area, feeding on felled bodies.

They were smaller than the other Hollows I had seen. The leathery bodies were squat to the ground, with six legs the length of my forearm. The face was flat with two beady eyes at the top and razor-sharp teeth that easily tore into flesh. One of them sank its teeth into a man’s ankle, and the man stopped thrashing, going unnaturally rigid.

“It is paralyzing them,” I gasped. I gripped her arm and forced her behind me. The box was in view. I grabbed the jar inside. A male hand lowered on mine and squeezed. I screamed.

“Release it, thief!” the doctor shouted in my face. A stone hit the back of his head. He rounded toward Tabby and I threw myself at his arm before he hit her. With his target gone, he turned and smashed his fist toward my face. I raised an arm and it bore the brunt of his rage. Numbness spread to my fingers.

Suddenly, Tabby was lifted and carried off on a horse.