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I grip Raffe’s sword I guess it’sas he has his neings, then I’m the only one who can use it

I s off

So slirip

My feet slip on the wet floor and I slam down onto the concrete The sword skitters out of s spasm so hard at the ie to turn my head to see what has a hold of me

I wish I hadn’t

CHAPTER 42

Behind me, a well-muscled scorpion fetus opens its jaws to screa rows of piranha teeth

Its undeveloped skin shows its veins and the shadows of muscles It lies on its belly as if it crawled all the way froet to er shoots up and over its back, aie and hif I’ve abandoned them

"No!" The scream is torn fro barb The tip narrowly misses my face

Before I can even take a breath, the tip whips up and jabs down again This time, I don’t even have time to brace myself as it whips doards me

"No!" Raffe roars

My body jerks as the stinger punctures my neck

For aits way through my flesh

Then the real pain starts

A burning agony spreads across the side ofshredded froasps and my skin breaks out in a sweat

A tors pump in frantic kicks

None of that stops the scorpion fetus froive me its deadly kiss

Our eyesy to survive outside its artificial worip, in the way it opens and shuts itsto breath, in the way it squeezes its veined eyelids shut as if the harsh light is too much for its underdeveloped eyes

Its venom spreads a swath of torment across el away, but all I can do is feebly nudge at it

My er suddenly rips out ofh me but I can’t release it My mouth only opens a crack The ony My screale

I can’t move my face

Raffe whips the tail in his hands and drags the abo, and I realize he has been screarabs the scorpion fetus, swings it like a bat, and whips it into the scorpion tanks

Three coluh the screeches of aborted monsters

Raffe crashes to his knees beside me He looks stunned And oddly shaken He stares at me as if he can’t believe what he sees As if he refuses to believe what he sees

Do I look that bad?

A?

I try to touch et my arm to move all the way up there I watch it co with effort, then fall limp He looks stricken when he sees my feeble atteer veno, but what co that even I can’t understand My tongue feels enormous and my lips too swollen to move None of the other victims looked swollen, so I assuue has suddenly becoe and cluently "I’m here"

He pullshis war with the pain but outside, I’s It takes allon his arm

The look on his face scares me as much as the paralysis For the first time, his face is completely unshuttered As if it just doesn’t rief line his face I try to wrapFor me

"You don’t even like me, remember?" That’s what I try to say What actually comes out of

"Shh" He runs his finger tips along ht here" He looks at uish in his eyes Like there’s so much he wants to tell me but feels it’s too late now

I want to stroke his face and tell hiht

And I wish so badly that it would be

CHAPTER 43