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And now, the monstrosity was at the surface.
I could not fight it.
A low growl rose from my chest as I felt my limbs stretching wide. The growl was not mine, but it also was.
“Jasmine!” It was Fiona who shouted my name this time. I felt her reaching into my mind to calm me, but I pushed her away with all my strength.
She could not get inside my mind. It was dangerous here.
The monster in front of me howled. I growled at her. She dropped her raised claw, and Qai rolled over on the ground to get away from her as I bent into two to deal with the pain that rose from my body.
I fell.
“What is happening?” Kieran was beside me, crouched. He put his hand on my shoulder.
“My back hurts,” I shouted at him. The words were meaningless. So many things were happening in me at once that I could not use words to describe them.
“It’s okay,” Kieran said, squeezing my shoulder and bringing his hand to my forehead. “You have a fever.”
“They’re coming,” Dearen warned the others.
The monster that was killing Qai was gone. I did not know if I had persuaded her to let Qai go or if she had woken up from the dreamy haze which the queen had put her in when she turned her into a monster.
It did not matter. The others were coming now, aware that the bigger monster had left its prey behind.
I could stop the monster within. I knew I could, but I also knew that focusing on myself now would mean the death of my friends.
My eyes were burning with a heat that did not touch me. Kieran was beside me.
“Get away from me!” I pushed him away.
Surprised that I would do so, he staggered back a few steps.
“If you can’t run away,” I said, meeting his gaze and knowing that he could see mine turning red, “you’re gonna have to kill me when this is over.”
His expression twisted with fear. He did not nod or say anything to agree with my decision, but I knew he would when push came to shove. I hoped he would leave me and run away with the others to avoid killing me. I wasn’t sure if he could kill me even if he tried.
He tried to move closer to me. I would not let him.
I put my hand on his chest and pushed him away hard. Seeing the pain on his face fed the monster’s rise. It was exactly what I needed. The monster's power surged within me. I felt stronger, hungrier... My mind went blank.
Kieran fell behind him as I darted away from my friends and ran straight into the forest, where the monsters were. I had to fight them off so that my friends could be saved.
I had to fight the monsters as one of them.
I fell into the depths of my own darkness.
It was the only way.
A high-pitched scream rose from my chest, but I was too far away to hear it.
