52. Bay #2
“N... now!” The man manages to command through his labored breaths, and before I can understand what’s happening, Miguel’s body collapses on top of me, knocking me flat on my back in the sand.
“They have some kind of a disabling drug. That’s how they caught me,” Miguel rasps, “Are you okay?” he asks, and I manage to turn my head to the side, noticing the metal dart embedded in his shoulder.
I struggle a bit to move his body, which pins me to the ground, but stop when I see the man in front of us advancing on Alin with a victorious grin.
“If you killed Mariana, you’re the one who’s going to join her.”
How the hell did he break free from her hold? I turn my head toward Alin and see Pedro and her lying motionless on the ground.
“Son of a bitch!” she curses, her voice barely a whisper.
“He shot them too?” I whisper to Miguel, and he confirms with a choked breath, fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Don’t you dare close your eyes!” I warn him and use the moment while the man is speaking to Alin—his back turned to me—to slip out from under Miguel’s body.
“As soon as you kill me, you’re a dead man walking!” she spits at him in pure hatred. For the first time in my life, I see Alin looking so helpless.
The man reaches under his jacket and pulls out a black gun in one swift motion, aiming it at Alin.
Pedro croaks weakly, can’t move a single bone too.his threat raw with fury.I follow the man’s gun
The sound of metal sliding into place reaches me, cold and final.
“NOOOOOOO!” A scream bursts out of me, the searing pain in my chest peaking.
My turn now. Finally.
The guardian’s roar detonates in my skull, rattling every corner of my mind. The light radiating from my chest is blinding, so intense that tears stream uncontrollably down my face. My body feels like it’s being torn apart and stitched back together in the same breath.
Let me in . The dragon’s voice is relentless, a tidal wave of power crashing against my will.
“No—” The word barely leaves my lips before the pain crescendos, a searing fire that consumes everything. My knees buckle.
You can’t do this alone.
The weight of his presence presses harder, suffocating. My ribs feel like they’re about to crack under the pressure, my lungs burning with every shallow gasp.
“Stop—please, stop!” My voice is a whisper now, hoarse and broken.
They’ll die if you don’t let me.
The words cut through me, sharp and undeniable. I see Miguel’s battered body lying limp in the sand. Alin and Pedro are crumpled nearby, unmoving. My hands shake violently, my heart pounding against the cage of my chest.
“Fine!” I scream, surrendering to the inevitable. “Take it!”
The moment I relent, the dragon surges forward, his power engulfing me. My skin feels like it’s peeling away, layers of humanity stripped back to reveal something raw and primal beneath. Heat radiates outward, unfamiliar and all-consuming.
“What the—” The man’s voice reaches me as if through a fog, distant and irrelevant.
The sensation shifts. Warmth turns into a strange comfort, like falling into a familiar embrace. The pain dulls to an ache, and for a fleeting moment, I feel safe, cocooned in something greater than myself.
This is where you belong.
The words stir something deep inside me, a truth I can’t deny. I open my eyes, and the world blurs back into focus.
Miguel’s frightened groan pulls me back to the present.
“Can you get out of my body?!” I choke on my words, half in disbelief, half in exasperation.
Hovering above us is the dragon—a towering, coiled mass of white scales shimmering with streaks of violet light. His massive figure stretch wide, blocking out the sun, and his bared teeth glint like jagged ivory blades. The air vibrates with his fury.
The man facing Alin falters, his bravado crumbling as his knees give out. The gun slips from his grasp,landing with a muted thump in the sand.
The dragon roars, the sound a bone-shaking crescendo that seems to reverberate through my very soul.
The man collapses, his unconscious body dropping onto the sand with a muffled impact.
Pathetic, inferior race. I haven’t even started, and he’s already out.
His voice is still in my head, and I roll my eyes dramatically at him with a retort, Arrogant.
This isn’t even the real show. Ready? His question catches me off guard, and I have no idea what to expect next.
I need your huntress’ screech, now! His command is clear, and for once, I don’t question him.
I open my mouth and follow through. The glow from the mark on my chest rises to my throat, shooting out of my mouth like a laser, and the Guardian soaks it into his body, as if he’s been waiting for this moment his whole life.
What’s happening? I ask, still screeching, as I see light blue familiar lights swirling above us in the air.
Yes, these are the souls of these weak humans, the Guardian confirms my thoughts, and instead of asking more questions, I grin victoriously, stopping my screech just as the dragon absorbs all the floating souls into his mouth.
I rush over to Pedro’s body lying on the ground. “Are you okay?” I rasp, brushing sand from his face with trembling hands.
“That’s the dragon?” Pedro asks hardly, his voice raspy in shock, and I nod.
“That massive thing was inside your body?” He asks again, and I laugh tiredly as I rise to my feet, heading toward Alin.
“Need a little help here!” I clear my throat toward the dragon, who’s still hovering above us, looking up.
I can almost hear him rolling his eyes in my head.
His long, coiling body lowers carefully onto the beach, and his enormous arm stretches out, picking up both Alin and Pedro like they were tiny pieces of debris.
Their bodies look so small in his hand, and with surprising gentleness, he places them into the water.
I breathe a sigh of relief. The water will break the effects of the drug quickly.
“Miguel too,” I tell him, turning to look at my wounded childhood friend who saved me just moments ago. But my breath catches in my throat.
There’s nothing to save. The Guardian’s voice echoes in my head as he returns to my chest. The stab of reality in my heart makes the burning in my chest feel insignificant. Tears stream down my face.
What have I done? I should’ve saved him earlier! I knew he was weak…
You couldn’t have saved him, even if you’d tried sooner. His internal injuries were too severe.
No. The water would have healed him! I scream at him in my mind.
Bay, he knew there was no turning back. His body wasn’t strong like the royals. You know that.
I can’t breathe. What was Miguel even doing here? How did they catch him? I have so many questions. The tears sting my eyes, and my heart clenches in pain.
I’m sorry. The Guardian’s voice is soft, almost choked.
He’s sorry? ‘Your pain is my pain.’ I remember his words. He’s suffering just like I am now?
“Bay! Where are Alin and Pedro?” Luca’s familiar voice suddenly appears behind me, panting heavily as if he ran all the way from home. Just in time, I sigh.
“They’re fine. They’re in the water. Give them a few minutes, they’ll be out.
” I reply dryly, the heavy emptiness filling my chest as I rise to look at him, wiping away the tears with the back of my hand.A heavy sigh escapes Luca’s lips, and a relieved smile spreads across his face when he sees Alin and Pedro’s heads surface above the water.
I can’t smile right now. I’ve taken another life unjustly. Miguel is dead. And I couldn’t do anything about it, just like Elyr… It’s hard to breathe.
Get a grip! We can’t lose focus now! The urgency in his voice tells me this isn’t all.
What now? Please give me a break. I beg.