I can feel his hot breath rising before me. His hunger so palpable I can sense it stirring within. It’s the only way to track him now that I can no longer see him.
With only one dart remaining, I raise the blowgun to my lips and tighten my grip. Remembering a time when I was afraid of the dark and couldn’t fall asleep without the glow of a nightlight, until Jennika found a way to convince me there was nothing to fear.
You must adapt to the darkness so the light can find you.
Such an uncanny match for the Seeker’s creed that Paloma shared with me when I first started training: A Seeker must learn to see in the dark, relying on what she knows in her heart.
I suck in a lungful of air, tracking the beast as Chay’s last words play in my head: Love is a powerful force. If anyone can save him, it’s you. So go. Go do what you were born to do.
I was born to protect—to keep the Richters contained—and the three worlds in balance.
I don’t have to look far to see how I’ve failed on every count.
My friends are all missing or dead.
The worlds are in chaos.
And though the Richters are finally defeated, the beast has now taken their place.
There is only one force more powerful than evil—love, Dace claimed.
Listen to your heart, Chay said. It will never lead you astray.
What I know in my heart is that the choice is no longer mine to make.
Destiny has made the choice for me.
If I have any hope of surviving, any hope of sparing my friends, Dace’s heart is where I must aim.
I squint through my tears, guided by the hum of his breath to locate my mark, grappling with the horror of piercing the very flesh I once cherished.
He lumbers closer.
I steady the gun to my lips. Whispering one final plea: Dace—please, if you’re in there, stop now—don’t make me do this!
He snarls. Growls. Continues his approach. Taking a swipe at me as he did with Leandro, and only narrowly missing.
One more step and he’s on me.
One more step and I’m history.
I close my eyes. Rely on my instincts to guide me.
My cheeks wet with tears as I release my last dart. Its softly whistled hiss closing the distance between us, before slamming hard against the small golden key that hangs from his neck and ricocheting right back where it lands in a muffled thud at my feet.
I missed.
The three worlds are now his.
I’m so sorry.
It’s the last thing I think before the beast comes barreling toward me.
FORTY-ONE
THE BEAST
An old woman calls out from behind me. Her voice echoing from across the divide. She’s mistaken me for someone else. Insists on calling me by a name I don’t recognize.