Page 181 of The Last Guardian

The relic guided me like a compass, pushing me through a narrow passage, leaving the sanctuary behind without glancing back. All I could feel were Zaid’s footsteps behind me.

But something stirred inside my soul. A sort of feeling I hadn’t felt in weeks. A shift. An unsettling stillness.

My skin tightened as if the air had somehow recoiled. Something pressed against my ribs, hiding far beneath my quickening heart, clutching my side. My body froze before I could step away from the Celestium.

Zaid’s hand tightened on my waist. “What is it? Are you in pain?” Zaid scanned me, the wounds from the Dead Nymphs’ attack still visible.

I shook my head. It wasn’t pain. It was different. Deeper. Something that kept me from breathing fully. Like the air around us had gone… rancid. Seeping into my skin, sucking the very core of life.

A sensation I had felt around only one person.

Each time he visited the palace. Each time his crimson eyes bore into mine. When his skin touched me for a brief instant. When his teeth pierced my skin.

No.

Zaid looked up, fixing his angry gaze over my shoulder. From his expression alone, I knew who was behind me. Zaid stepped forward, shielding me with his body, and drew his black sword on instinct. I put the relic back in my pocket.

It took all my strength to turn around.

To face the small, numerous monsters waiting motionless at the back of the room.

To face the man I had dreaded to see again.

Haedeon.

SOME THINGS LEFT an indelible mark on your soul, no matter how hard you tried to forget or wipe them away.

They followed you like a shadow.

Forever.

That was the effect Haedeon’s mere presence had on me. Blood-red flames danced in his irises. Ready to consume us.

“Well, what a pleasure to find you, Highness.” Haedeon’s serpentine voice sent shivers down my spine.

His eyes assessed me. Predatory. Hungry.

My blood boiled.

Haedeon moved slowly. Carefully. Each step studied, deliberate. Closing the distance between him and us. When the High Mage came within a few steps, Zaidkiel’s dark blade halted him, its tip poised against his gullet, a breath from breaking his deathly pale skin.

“One step closer and I’ll slit your fucking throat,” Zaidkiel spat in a rumbling growl.

Haedeon smiled. A wicked, animalistic grin, letting out his white teeth. My skin prickled at the sight.

“Interesting turn of events, I see.” Haedeon chuckled. His eyes moved to Zaid. “I was wondering where she had disappeared to, after our interesting encounter. I must say, it’s odd to see her by your side. Alive.”

I felt my gut twist. Had he found me because of the mark? Did my blood call to him again?

Zaid remained motionless, his jaw clenched. His fingers flexed on the pommel of his sword.

“You won’t kill me,” Haedeon said, voice flat. “If you fail, she’ll be in my hands. Either way, she’s coming with me.”

A drop of dark—almost black—blood seeping from his throat, and he added with a whisper, “I control her blood now.” Haedeon flashed his teeth at us.

Zaid’s gaze was fixed on the High Mage. Impending death shone in his emerald eyes. “Alyana, leave. Now,” Zaid ordered, no room for debate.

No way I would go without him. And where? I didn’t have the amulet on me.