Ravage (Royal Fae Academy #1) - Lacey Carter Andersen Page 0,42

I’m rushing toward him, heart in my throat. My senses stretch out, but already I know he’s dead. There’s nothing left within him, just the shell of a body that’s been torn to shreds. Blood splatters the walls. It covers the floors.

Whoever killed him didn’t just want him dead, they wanted to send a message.

I scream as I collapse onto my knees, and anger overwhelms me like fire in my blood. This time when I reach out, I send pain into the minds of every creature close to me, except Lucian. Within the tunnels, I hear a dozen screams that echo my own. My powers work best when I can touch my victims. They work even better when I can see my victim. In moments like this, when I just sense the minds around me, it’s like throwing darts and hoping to strike something.

I was glad I had.

Reaching forward, I close the eyes of the shadow man. He should’ve lived the immortal life of one his kind. He should’ve had a lifetime to enjoy. But someone took that from him.

And that someone was going to pay for this.

Suddenly, I taste something strange in the air. My skin tingles, and I leap to the side as a blade hits the spot I was sitting and clings onto the ground. The scent and smell of iron fills the tunnel, and I scramble back from it, holding my torch out in front of me. A masked man separates from the shadows, another blade in hand. His arm goes back, and I reach out for his mind.

The dagger tumbles from his fingertips, and his mouth opens in a silent scream of pain. And then he tumbles to the ground, unmoving. But I can’t tell if he’s dead, not when some power kept him hidden from me.

Heart racing, I wave the torch around me, searching for any other attackers. I stretch my senses out, and realize something strange and horrifying. I can’t sense anyone or anything now. Never before have I felt this way. It’s as if a cloak has been dropped around me, and the cloak has left me vulnerable.

This man. How did he get so close without me sensing him?

Something is wrong. Very wrong.

I kneel down beside the man and touch his throat. There’s no pulse. So one enemy is dead, but were there more? I rise, my heart racing, true fear making my blood run like ice through my veins.

And then to one side of the tunnel, I feel them. A dozen minds that burn of iron. A dozen beings immune to my powers.

I don’t think, I just run. I run past the shadow man’s body. I run past the blood that soaks the stone like a scarlet pool of death. My torch just barely lights the way in front of me, allowing the shadows to stretch out in all directions.

Some sick logic recognizes that as quickly as the creatures appeared behind me, they could appear in front of me too, but my terror won’t let me slow. It’s as if every bit of fear I haven’t felt in this life has suddenly awakened, and it’s got hold of my heart. Maybe I’ll run until I’m too tired to run any further. Or maybe I’ll run straight into their trap.

Is this how they killed my brother? Did they surround him before driving that blade into his belly? And how did he escape to find me?

I don’t know. I have too many questions and no answers. But my feet pound the stone, and my heart races. Behind me, they’ve given chase. They blink in and out of my awareness. Not quite like the iron demon, but a brethren of sorts. And I know that should they catch me, my life will be over.

I’m fast. But somehow, they’re faster. I feel them gaining on me. My breath burns in my chest and a fire moves over the muscles of my legs. Sweat trails down my back, and I know what prey feels like. I know what it is to be hunted.

Is this how my brother felt? Did he die as prey too?

I round a corner and slam into a wall. Gasing, I step back.

I can’t go back.

I can’t go forward.

Fuck. The torch drops to the ground, and I turn slowly to face my death.

15

Dwade

We’ve never run so fast in all our lives as when we move through the secret tunnels beneath the school. Rayne had taught us ways to navigate this place, to avoid