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“Release,” I whispered to the dog as I reached for my borrowed mask and felt a jolt of fear whip through me when her teeth gnashed together in warning.
Autumn had said her name. I was sure of it.
But with the frantic and terrifying events unfolding around us, I was struggling to remember exactly what she’d said.
“Release,” I pleaded again, my mind racing to remember Autumn’s words as Diggs reminded her, “He was going to kill you.”
“He—” Autumn began, only to hesitate. Her pain and wavering mixed with the lethalness in the hallway until it felt like one wrong move would be the start of the next cataclysmic event.
“Don’t,” Lachlan seethed when a hand grasped my arm, forcing a surprised inhale from me. “She’s mine.”
“Time to go,” a deep voice whispered from behind me. But just as the man started leading me backward, the dog lunged.
“Chaos, release,” I cried out in desperation and stared in disbelief when her bared teeth shifted to a playful, dopey smile as she trotted past me to nudge my side.
Kieran’s head had whipped around to look at us, and I heard more than saw his surprise when he asked, “What’d you just—” The question ended on a shocked curse when he was knocked to the side.
But before I could make sense of what’d happened, I was being rushed away as Kieran’s lethal snarl ripped through the hall and mixed with Diggs’ yells for me and Autumn’s choked pleas and denials.
“Wait, we can’t—” I began as I struggled to keep up, “we can’t leave them.”
“We won’t,” he assured me. “Faster.”
I stumbled a little at his words, but I wasn’t sure if it was due to nearly being tripped by the massive, gangly dog I hadn’t realized was running with us or because I’d just realized I didn’t know the man pulling me farther and farther away from Diggs.
He wasn’t wearing a neon mask...but he wasn’t wearing a black bandana either. And as we turned another corner in the hall, my heart beat relentlessly against my ribs as Diggs’ yells echoed in my mind.
Because he’d known.
Oh God.
I looked back at where the dog had momentarily stopped to sniff a body splayed out on the floor, neon mask marking their position, and reached for her, snapping as softly as I could to get her attention.
“Chaos,” I breathed, my lungs feeling bruised from the perpetual strain on them. I faltered, stammered as I struggled to remember what had been said so clearly in front of me and what now seemed so muddled.
“Faster,” the guy snapped, yanking on my arm and tearing something in my back.
I reached for the dog as she trotted happily beside me, silently begging for her to understand with my touch that I needed help.
“Danger!” I shouted when it suddenly came to me, then pointed at the man dragging me and repeated, “Chaos, danger.”
In an instant, she changed. Rushing the man and lunging for his arm. But when he turned on us, I knew it wasn’t enough.
I should’ve known when Lachlan gave that earlier command. Because all Chaos would do now was protect me and scare him, and scaring people who got a thrill out of murdering others wasn’t enough.
“Chaos—” I floundered for a moment, my stomach rolling and knotting at the thought that I was no better than Lachlan, before I whispered, “Chaos, destroy.”
I took a staggering step back when she attacked in a way I hadn’t seen before. Viciously ripping into the man as he tried fighting her off and yelling numerous commands, even the correct one.
But she was unstoppable now that she’d been unleashed. Tearing into him and proving she was just as lethal as the man who’d raised her.
It was horrifying.
“Release,” I said shakily from where I stood, pressed against the wall, watching in revulsion as she continued attacking the man who’d stopped fighting long seconds before. “Chaos, release.”
“Tree.”
I turned at the sound of that voice—his voice—and nearly collapsed in relief when the dark shape at the end of the hall rushed forward and pulled me into his familiar embrace. Body tight and trembling as he held me close.
