My gaze centered on the Origin in the next yard. Static crackled down my skin. Fury fused my cells, mixing with the rage and pain already there. It burst from me like a shock wave, rolling out in a surge of power.
Mom’s car rattled, forcing Dee to jump back. Her wide eyes swung toward me as her black curls blew around her head. Her mouth opened, but her words were tossed back in her face.
The force of power was like hurricane winds. It slammed into the Explorer, lifted it up on two tires, and then flipped it over. The vehicle rolled toward the Origin, who spun and ran.
Ran.
My brain had clicked off and my boots dug into the ground as I pushed and took off, giving chase. I heard my name shouted, but I couldn’t stop and I couldn’t listen. My feet picked up speed, and the burst of power and energy rolled through me.
I hit the edge of the forest as I heard my name yelled through my thoughts, but I didn’t stop. I kept going, picking up more and more speed. My heart pounded like a jackhammer hitting cement, and my pulse was as frantic as the beating wings of a trapped bird.
Heat swept over my skin as my hair streamed out behind me. Branches snagged at me, catching pieces of my clothing, whipping back at my cheeks and arms like thin lashes. They didn’t stop me. I leaped over rocks and fallen tree trunks, my muscles screaming as I pushed harder and harder.
I chased the Origin, who stayed a yard or two ahead of me through the forest, darting around trees and large rocks. In the back of my mind, I wondered about the violent energy bouncing inside and if I’d been tested enough to ensure I wouldn’t self-destruct like some hybrids, like Carissa. What if they hadn’t, and this—this was what self-destruction felt like?
I was burning up inside, full of murderous rage and frustration and sorrow that cut so deep it was like an endless well of hurting. And I couldn’t believe that my heart could beat this fast and still keep going.
Kat!
I heard his voice again, but I was focused on the Origin, on the need to take him out, to end this with none of them getting away.
I had no idea how far I’d run, but the trees started to thin when the Origin glanced over his shoulder. Something about the look on his face caused my feet to stumble just the slightest.
But it was too late.
Up ahead, I could see the base of Seneca Rocks, their quartzite flecks glittering in the sunlight, rising as tall as I could see, their peaks like jagged fingers reaching into the sky, and I realized I’d run for miles.
The Origin broke free of the trees, and I was only a few seconds behind him, clearing the forest, when I stopped, or tried to. Sliding across the ground, I kicked up grass and loose soil as I stared at the rooftops of houses that sat at the base of the rocks, and then my gaze dipped, frantically traveling over the mass of people in front of me.
Hundreds, if not thousands, and they weren’t really people. Nope. They were Luxen. Maybe even a few Origins. It didn’t matter. My heart nearly came out of my chest as the horrifying realization kicked in.
“Oh shit,” I gasped out.
One of the Luxen, a female, smiled while I started to back up, swallowing the rising panic. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I was so incredibly stupid and reckless and more stupid.
I’d run straight into the colony of Luxen.
There wasn’t even a second to get the hell out of there. A blast of whitish-red light blinded me for a second, and then fiery pain lit up my shoulder. The power of the hit knocked me backward. My feet came off the ground and I saw the blue sky above me.
Oh God.
But I never hit the ground.
Heat enveloped me. Strong arms surrounded me. I was suspended for a moment, not touching the ground, and then I was pressed against Daemon, who stood before the colony in his true form.
He shielded me from his own kind.
They began to shift, one after another, like Christmas lights blinking on in succession. There were so many of them, too many. We would not be able to fight them all. We would not be able to escape. And this was my fault.
I’m sorry, I said to Daemon. The only thing I could think was that maybe one of us could get away if the other caused the distraction. He didn’t deserve this. Shoulder aching and possibly smoking, I started to pull away from him. I’m sorry.
Daemon’s arm tightened around me, and I didn’t make it far at all. No. His voice wrapped around me. Don’t even hink it. If this is it, then we face it together. His light receded, revealing the form I’d fallen in love with first. The unruly dark waves, broad cheekbones, and bright emerald-colored eyes. “Together,” he repeated out loud.
My breath caught, and static built in the air around us. My body was trembling from the unspent energy and the knowledge that there was no escape.
“Together,” I whispered.
Daemon bowed his head, lowering his mouth to mine, as a sudden rush of noise caused the blood to freeze in my veins. I feared that this was it—the end.
The great massive oaks and pines around us shook, branches rattled, and birds—thousands of them—took flight, their wings beating into the air as they circled high above the colony of homes, veering sharply to head in the direction of where we’d come from.
What the . . . ?
The strangest thing happened. Clouds, thick and so dark they were almost black, dropped from the sky above Seneca Rocks, and they continued to fall to the ground at a rapid pace.
Except they weren’t clouds.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
Daemon hauled us back, farther away from the line of Luxen, as they started to shift in and out of their forms.