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Bhrunyz was coming down one of the branches. That left two to choose from.
Donovan would come. I had to believe that. As long as I kept running, there was a chance.
I tucked my crooked arm against my body and tried to decide which tunnel was better, but there was no way to know. They looked the same, and everything down here smelled like Bhrunyz.
I closed my eyes and took a step toward the right branch.
Bhrunyz cried out.
All the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I froze in place. This time I didn’t have Donovan’s magic to counter its hold.
I was so royally fucked.
The freeze only lasted a second. Just long enough to terrify me.
I ran flat-out, taking twisting turns through the tunnels. Little branches off the main ones kept tricking me. I’d go down one way only to hit a dead end. Back-tracking when Bhrunyz was behind me…
I was fully terrified. Every time the beast’s magic froze me, my fear ramped up.
Adrenaline coursed through me and my teeth rattled as I ran frantically. I couldn’t think. All I could do was try to stay ahead of Bhrunyz.
Run.
Run.
Run.
I went through the cave, stumbling over rocks as I tried to find a place to hide. The only thing that saved me was that Bhrunyz moved slowly. I had no doubt that he could move faster if he wanted, but the beast was toying with me. Making sure my blood was thick with fear before he killed me.
This was his sick game, and when he finally grew bored, I’d be dead.
Time passed in a fog. I wasn’t sure if I’d been running for hours or minutes, but my muscles ached and threatened to give out.
The tunnels were endless. Each turn I took looked the same as the last until I had no idea where I was. All I could do was keep moving forward, with no goal but to stay as far away from Bhrunyz as possible.
I tripped, falling to the ground.
Shit. I tried to get up, but my legs were shaking.
I glanced back in time to see Bhrunyz shimmer into being behind me. Three slices gouged my leg and I screamed.
He disappeared. Transported away. He was giving me time to think I could get away, but I knew I couldn’t.
I sobbed as I tried to get up. My leg burned and I was losing too much blood. But I had to move or I was dead.
I screamed as I pushed myself up from the ground. Pain burned down my leg as I tried to stand on it, but I limped forward. I was even slower than before, but I had to keep moving.
The need to survive drove me. I had to buy Donovan enough time to get Saoirse. He’d find the brooch. I just had to keep going.
Sweat poured down my face, making it hard to see. I tripped a few more times, getting covered in dirt and grime and my own blood. My left leg grew numb, but I made myself move down another tunnel.
I took another turn that looked exactly like the last three—another passage of rock and dirt—but I couldn’t breathe. The air had gotten thicker. Bhrunyz’s scent was overwhelming. I knew I’d taken a wrong turn, but who the hell knew when. Everything looked the same here. Caves, tunnels, and more caves.
I gagged, pulling my shirt up over my nose.
Piles of bone and body parts as tall as me were scattered along the edges of the cavern. The floor, ceiling, and walls were coated with bits of rotting corpses.
This was where the smell was coming from. I was in his kill chamber. The fucker had kept me moving, terrifying me, all to get me to here, where he was going to kill me.
