Donovan cocked his head back to gaze at the night sky. “We must hurry,” he warned. “We all can take separate ground. Just in case he tries to fuck around.”
Something felt wrong. Very wrong. Zane was tricking her, but she didn’t know it. I had to do something. “Find her means nothing if we die,” I said.
“We cannot die. I’m sure of it,” Magnus growled.
Donovan sighed. “We can. But it’s not likely.”
We didn’t know a goddamn thing about this place. The only thing that couldn’t kill us was time.
“Heed my warning,” I said.
“I live to serve no one else’s rules but my own,” Magnus replied.
In an act of defiance, he held the blade into the air. A bolt of electricity came thundering down before cracking down onto his blade, enveloping him in bright white light. And then he was gone.
Dust clouded my vision, but I could see Donovan walking away. Even he didn’t believe me. “Wait!” I called out.
“You know what happens if we disobey our urges,” he said.
We turned into killers. We gave people the ultimate sleep. “We will lose if we don’t stay together!” I screamed.
But he was gone. They were both gone.
I turned in the direction of the gateway, knowing they were well on their way. “Adeline, be safe,” I whispered. “We’re coming for you.”
4
Adeline
We got about a mile into our trek before Zane stopped to rest. The forest air was cold against the fabric of my clothes, and I wasn’t in the mood to joke around. That shit-eating grin plastered on his face was starting to get on my nerves.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
He shrugged. “This coincidence we have found ourselves in is very weird, don’t you think?”
Groaning, I continued forward. I didn’t know where we were supposed to go. Out here, I had to rely on my gut. My goal here was to find that tablet, but there was something else I wanted to know more about. The beasts.
I needed to make contact with them again. The things he released from my own head left me floored. It awakened the animal inside of me. A warm rush flooded my thigh, spread throughout my pussy. Was it shameful to be turned on by an alien beast from another realm? I needed more answers.
“How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not a coincidence. You followed me here, dickhead,” I said.
Zane was being nice. Extra nice. The type of annoying-nice that only happened when a man was trying to get something. I wasn’t going to trust him right off the bat. I had come for my studies, but I also yearned for the escape from all that was familiar. His presence was unsettling.
“Whatever you want to say, babe. I know the truth.” Another tight chuckle came from the back of his throat, just hearty enough to repulse the heck out of me.
“Zane. Don’t.”
He ran ahead, spinning around to confront me. “You act like you hate me, but you really just miss me.”
“Zane.” We were coming up to something in the distance, and the sight immediately shocked me.
“Fine, fine. I get it. You haven’t had enough time. Well, babe. This is our time to bond and really knock away our horrible past,” he said.
“Zane!”
If I could focus on his words, I probably would have smacked him. He could admit to what he did with Madison, but he still wouldn’t accept the blame for what happened. Instead, he just kept walking tall with arrogance and smug satisfaction painted all over his face. He walked until his heels hit the massive and towering body of something horrible. He fell back, screaming as he collapsed into the dark figure.
“Oh. My. God...” I whispered, vocal cords tightening to let out a horrifying shriek. As soon as I registered what I was looking at, I marveled at the terrible sight.