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“You should have eaten a fruit! We’re starving!”

“We want her dead.” “She is our enemy.” “She is dangerous! Hurry, before it’s too late!” “Kill her!” “She must be stopped—” “WHAT IS THAT NOISE?!” “She must die!” “Do it now!” “Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!” “Go back in there.” “Destroy that woman!” “Go hunt down Alecsander first. Go destroy him.”

“First kill the maiden.”

“Kill everyone.”

“She’s alone out here, did you notice?” “Now would be an excellent time to kill her.” “Kill the maiden!” “Kill her before it’s too late!” “We’re hungry.”

“WE’RE HUNGRY.”

“You made the rules.” “He didn’t follow the rules.” “He doesn’t respect you. It would be better if he was dead.” “You’re angry.” “The only way to be free of pain is to give us what we want.”

“Kill for us, and you will have great power. All your needs shall be satisfied.”

“You will feel better if you kill him.”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Xerxes sat back on his legs, chest heaving, eyes narrowing on the far wall. Yes, he would. He would kill today. He lifted his hands and when the icy sheen of grayness crawled over his knuckles and wrapped his nails, he slammed his eyes closed so he wouldn’t have to watch himself turn.

“Hungry.”

“You must kill the maiden.”

“KILL HER NOW!”

“She must die RIGHT NOW!”

“KILL HER.”

Xerxes’s eyes opened slowly.

—Maiden?

“She must die today.”

“She is the enemy.”

“YOU MUST KILL HER.”

“KILL FOR US.”

“KILL!”

—Ryn?

“YOU WILL ONLY FEEL BETTER IF YOU KILL!”

“KILL THE ENEMY!”

Xerxes’s hands slapped back down to the floor as he shook his head, pushing them out. No, he could not do this. He could not invite them back in. Bile rose in his throat, and he scratched at the blistering hot marking on his neck. His pulse pounded against his mind, muting out the voices that told him to do terrible, unthinkable things.

“Leave me alone!” he screamed into the darkness, grabbing the sides of his head. But they wouldn’t, he knew that. Their laughter tore through his mind from right to left and then back again, spilling in like hot water, making him choke. And he was doomed, because he could not stop them. He wouldn’t survive this because he was utterly alone and no one was coming to help him this time. Because no one could hear a scream for help from a mind. This was his fate. This was always his fate—to die a monster.

He was going to try to kill Alecsander today. And he would die here for it.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”