Finally my hands find the jagged edge. I throw my leg over the wall and very carefully crawl onto it, balancing on the thin edge.

Below me, Gillian makes a noise, grabbing the rope. Glancing at me, he shakes the thing and twitches his lip.

I raise my middle finger to him.

I may be a show off, but at least I was up here.

A man appears in the glass doorway below, looking wildly back and forth. The full moon reflects off the shiny blade of the sword he holds in his hand. The red sash around his chest was dark with sweat. As soon as he spots Gillian with the warmblood, he screams loudly and runs towards them.

Gillian turns too fast and nearly falls. He curses without sound.

"Gillian, dork! Give me the warmblood!" I stretch my arm and try to lift the body off his shoulder. My fingers slide over the dust of his shirt. Just one more piece. I was almost there...

Got you!

With all the strength I have left in me, I lift the warmblood. My molars clench together and sweat streams down my back.

I slide the warmblood onto the ledge next to me and wrap the rope around my waist.

Gillian at that moment jumps on the attacker and forces him back. Away from me.

With trembling arms I clamp the warmblood against my chest and descend on the other side.

Halfway through the warmblood appears to have woken up, because he starts to move violently against my arm.

"Let me off! Put me down!" Together we rock back and forth. I hiss as he punches me hard in the shoulder. The pain travels to my arms and the rope slips from between my fingers. The knot around my waist must have been untied by his writhing, because I plummet down with him.

Thorns break my fall and the needles pierce my flesh that feels like a thousand daggers.

That bastard! That dirty, dirty...

I crawl out of the bushes and stomp to a hollow tree trunk where I left my favorite sword. Tendrils of ivy made of gold flakes twist around each other to form the handle where they all come together at an amethyst. Fides buzzes in my hand as if he missed me. Once I've tied the quiver behind my back, I pull it out and stride over to the warmblood who's still sprawled on the floor, clutching his head with a groan.

"You!"

My field of vision turns red. I want to tear him apart, pierce him with Fides to see the life pour out of those ugly brown eyes of his. I start to pant and feel my strength fill my body. My hair flies through the air. The earth beneath me rumbles in response to my call, ready to spring into action. He's roaring and growling on the edge of my control. A command, a word and the forest around us throws itself like one on the warmblood and he would be buried alive in a cocoon of branches and roots until he suffocated in the earth.

The warmblood's eyes widen and he scrambles to his feet.

"You will beg for death! Backstabbing failure! This is all because of you, you slave!" My sword flashes. I chop off the arm just below his elbow. Blood spurts around and the warmblood falls to his knees, crying. He grabs the remaining stump and looks down at his forearm, which is now on the floor in front of my feet. The salty smell of misery and blood fills the air between us and I take a deep breath. It took me years to smell that scent without gagging. Without leaving

run. But whenever I did my brother was there to rip that out of me. To beat me out.

Pathetic pile of misery. Mom and Dad would even kill you if they saw you like that. Remember how hard Daddy used to hit? Ah, how I miss those times.

I banished Drazhan's voice from my mind. I swallow back the bile that has risen.

I smile coldly. As soon as I bend over him, the salty smell changes to that of urine.

"From now on I will follow you everywhere. In your dreams, in the shadows and all through your damned life." I wipe the blood from Fides' leaf on the warmblood's remaining upper arm. "Everywhere you will fear me. Your appetite will disappear just like your sleep, you will wonder if I might be there and as soon as you are not paying attention, like something for a moment, I will strike. And I'll enjoy every cry from that filthy human mouth of yours."

Two soft thuds come from near the wall. There's a cry and I recognize Gillian's voice. A pair of strong hands grab me. They pull me away and Felix examines my entire body, from my scraped face to my bare feet. His light eyes pin me to the ground.

Although nothing has changed on his face, his pupils have dilated. He shakes his head.

"Elysia." My name comes out of his mouth hard and cold. It hits me more deeply than if he had yelled at me. I want to burst into tears, but instead I raise my chin and grin. I'm not a coward. My monster is disgusted but I don't care.

None of us want to be the first to lower our gaze. Whoever does that showed weakness, and I'm not weak at all. Not anymore. Drazhan took care of that.

I point to the warmblood lying on its side and rocking back and forth. Felix walks over to him and I cross my arms.

Gillian saunters over and picks up the arm at my feet. 

"Elysia Delcour, you've been violent again."

He waves his find like a flag and strokes my hair with his limp hand. Felix pulls the warmblood to its feet and guides it to a large stone.

I make a disgusted noise as I see him kneeling in front of the warmblood to study the stump.

Gillian places the severed hand under his chin and nods to his brother.

"Oh, my dear little brother. Always been so soft-hearted." His mouth becomes a thin line and he turns red. I shake my head in warning, but he just ignores that and calls Felix's name. Felix looks up stiffly. His shoulders are tight and the muscles in his back roll as he turns a quarter turn toward us.

Gillian waves his toy at him and giggles. "Fancy a game of arm wrestling?"

Felix tears a piece of cloth from his cape and wraps it like a bandage around the stump and then around his injured knee.

Gillian growls next to me. As upset as I am by Felix's actions.

"You know what, Elysia and I will just hit on some nice nymphs. With this arm as payment, I'm sure they'll do anything with us."

"Don't bother, even if you give that thing as a gift, they won't come to you," Felix stands up and wipes his hands. "Nymphs only come to handsome men."

Gillian folds the fingers and raises the middle one to his brother. "You're my twin brother, asshole."

Felix sighs audibly and looks at the forest that stretches out in front of us. The full moon illuminates the whole forest and you can see as much as if the sun were shining. Rabbits and other creatures run, sneak and crawl by. "We have to move on. The blood attracts dangerous creatures."

He stands beside the warmblood and throws his healthy arm over his shoulder. With a quick glance at us, he walks into the woods.

"That boy will kill us someday." 

I suck in my upper lip. "Which one?"

Gillian cocks his head at me and throws his arm over his shoulder. "Both."

Thenhe walks away and leaves me behind.