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“Can you feel that?” His voice was full of shaky excitement
All I could feel were my own rattled nerves, so I took a ht reed Souishable As I widened my senses, I could alic was thicker down here, and I was positive weclose If we could—
A pebble skittered down the passage behind us
With ed up from our moment in the woods, I heard it first My eyes flew open and I spun around, prepared to fight whatever monster was after us this time
Xero, Jayce, and Kai followed e air deeper down in the cave I gestured for Kai to go toward the sound on the left, Xero on the right, and for Jayce to stay byto take whatever it was by surprise My heart thudded so loudly that I was sure the intruder would hear us even though our footsteps were silent
Xero and Kai were in position, alainst the dark walls Jayce and I stopped just before a soft curve in the passageway, ready to take the unknown monster from the front while the other two attacked from the back
It would have worked beautifully My muscles were tensed and ready, my body and mind primed to take on whatever new threat the underworld had thrown at us—but the instant the person following us turned the corner, I froze in shock
What the ever-loving fuck?
The guys froze in place as the woman with milky skin and red hair passed by them and came face-to-face with me
“Sonja?” I blinked, utterly confused “What are you doing here?”
Rather than giving me an answer, she shifted into her de up a fireball
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Xero leapt out of the shadows and pinned her arms to her sides
She kicked and screaet free, but he was at least twice as strong as she was in either for another fireball, he head-butted her, and the spell fizzled out of existence Physically spent but still radiating fury, she fell limply back into her human forlared at me from beneath her hair
“Sonja,” I said again, pushing persuasive power through my voice “Why are you here?”
“To stop you,” she said breathlessly, the answer pulled froainst her will “I knew it I always knew you would betray the light the second you had the chance! Ow! Let go, you’re hurting me!”