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Why should he? You’re nothing to him. He doesn’t actually care.
My heart twists at the cutting words coming from my own mind.
Sometimes, I can keep my negative self-talk from becoming actual talk.
That day is not today.
Before I realize it, my mouth opens. “Do I mean anything to you? Or am I just a means to an end?”
I’m surprised to hear the words as they flow out of me.
Sunder opens his mouth to answer but quickly snaps it shut. He holds a finger up to quiet me as his head tilts to the side, listening to something I can’t hear. His brow furrows as fear ices my veins. When Bobble darts out of the tree cover, I freeze, but Sunder leaps to action. He shoves a dagger into my hand and throws both bags over his shoulder.
“Let’s go. The Keepers are coming.”
He holds my hand, dragging me behind him as I stumble through the brush, ducking between trees and bushes. We race until we come to a small stream. I catch my breath enough to whisper, “Who are The Keepers?”
“Centaurs that guard the portals. I thought they wouldn’t detect us if we jumped out early.”
A centaur? Before I can even process that information, we’re running again. My sides sting from the effort of breathing. We sprint through the forest until the sounds of hoofbeats grow louder. A flash of white passes overhead before thundering down toward us. We duck low under branches and dash through the forest, leaping logs and dodging boulders. It seems to last forever, yet somehow it all happens in seconds.
A voice rings out above our heads. “Stop where you are!”
We turn to see two gigantic creatures staring down at us as we skid to a halt, still holding hands while Bobble trails us. I hide the dagger behind my back, lest they think I’m trying to threaten them.
They have muscular bodies like a human until dark brown fur climbs around their waist, fading into a horse’s body. One is female and one male. Both stand about seven feet tall. The female wears tight leathers across her chest, barely hiding the cleavage beneath. Eyes that look straight through me. Long silky hair on their heads. They’re beautiful and terrifying at once.
“You stink of the portals. Show me your papers.”
Papers? Like a passport or something? I’m curious. Sunder didn’t mention this earlier, but I assume he has some kind of a plan.
My eyes flick to him, and I realize with a sinking sensation that his muscles are tense, and that only means one thing.
He doesn’t have papers.
And his plan is about to get really, really messy.
Sunder raises hands slowly and reaches for one of the bags. His eye catches mine, flicking to my hidden hand.
He reaches into the bag, dragging something out. Then, in a flurry of motion, he hurtles a dagger directly into the eyeball of the male centaur. The creature drops instantly, clutching its face with a blood-curdling noise sharper than the knife piercing his brain. Blood wells out of its eye socket and pools onto the ground below.
The female stumbles backward before rearing up in rage. I try to leap away from the sight, but Sunder grabs my arm and slings me sideways into a tree. The sound of cracking wood fills my ears as I tumble to the ground, landing hard on my hip.
The female’s hooves land where I was standing just half a second before. She turns, snorting at him. Her teeth lengthen into long fangs, dripping with venom. I stare at the beast looming over us, frozen.
Sunder moves in front of me, wielding something shiny in his hand. I pull myself upright, stumbling just as she swipes down at him. I throw myself forward, slamming my shoulder into her flank. It’s just enough to send her off balance as Sunder dodges her monstrous hands, moving to her side. With a twist of his wrist, he slices deep into her belly.
She howls before collapsing to the ground. Before she can make another sound, he yanks his dagger free and drags it across her throat.
I stare blankly as he cleans the blade of the dagger on her clothes, panting from exertion.
“You okay?” he asks, pulling me to my feet.
I thought I was okay.
But as I rise, I realize that I’m not. The world seems to tilt under my feet. I clutch at his shirt, my whole body shaking. Despite my nod, Sunder peers into my eyes, searching.
What he finds there makes his eyes narrow. “You’re in shock. We can’t stop here, Mira. We have to keep moving. I don’t know if they alerted others before chasing us down. Come on.”
