A chuckled curled me over him, my lips grazing his. “Tit for tat, Farkas.”
“Gladly, Kovacs,” he rumbled against my mouth.
Movement around me jerked my head to see my friends sitting up, their expressions struck with bewilderment and touches of fear.
They all roused except one.
“Maddox…” I whispered out, scrambling over Warwick to the gutted body covered in blood, his eyes staring absently into the void. “Oh, please, no.” I skirted up next to him, my hands on his body.
“Noooo!” Scorpion bellowed, racing over, falling down on the other side of him. “Maddox, you asshole, you can’t die.” Scorpion turned to me with wild terror. “Do something! Help him!”
I had nothing left. I had used it all up. I couldn’t even feel Warwick or Scorpion, our link dulled, but I still tried to dig deep. “Come on…” I grunted, trying to force energy up. But it was like twisting a dry rag, hoping for a drip of water. Panic and grief spiraled tears down my face. “Please,” I begged, trying again, but nothing was there. I could sense he was already gone.
I was too late. Maddox was past my help.
“No, no, no!” Scorpion barked, his anger flashing over his face seeing my grief-stricken expression. “Try again!”
“I’m sorry…” I croaked, my shoulders sagging. Scorpion’s anger turned to utter pain, his attention going down to his friend. The agony at seeing his comrade—a brother—dead shattered through him, causing my own. “I’m so sorry.” I felt useless, guilty I couldn’t save him and even more so because they were all here because of me. From the day I walked onto their base, all they knew was death, loss, and pain.
Scorpion leaned over Maddox, his grief silent, which made it even more palpable to me. Birdie and Wesley, the remaining two of their group, came around Scorpion, mourning another loss. Another fallen comrade.
The cold prickles of eyes scratched at the back of my neck, popping the little bubble I was in. A wave of fear rushed in, awareness that every single thing I had done had been observed.
Twisting my head back, my attention landed on Istvan. The general’s penetrating gaze burned into me, his jaw locked, his shoulders tight.
Fuck.
Slowly, I stood up, facing the party up on the balcony. They had seen and experienced everything. And there was no explanation for why all the animals were dead while most of my friends dusted themselves off, getting to their feet. Battle worn, but alive and unhurt.
Leon, Sonya, Iain, and Olena’s expressions were struck with terror.
Caden looked confused, almost hurt, as if I betrayed him.
Istvan stared at me, no emotion telling me either way how he felt, which was worse than the others’ fear. Fear was a normal response. But he examined, studied, and assessed me like an experiment.
I could see his mind whirling as he took in the information of what he observed, putting it together. Then he did something which iced every bone in my body. He laughed. Istvan’s head fell back, though you could hear no real joy in the sound. It was calculated—controlled.
His blue eyes found mine, his face suddenly serious. “My dear, you keep surprising me at every turn.” He studied me for a few beats, showing no hint as to what he was really thinking. “Maybe I should have listened more when Dr. Karl said you were different, that you changed when you returned home, and you were no longer human.”
The memory of Dr. Karl’s note attached to the files left for Istvan I found in his office months ago came back to me. “No human can sustain even half of these levels. Ms. Kovacs should be dead. She is not even showing signs of organ failure. If anything, she seems stronger and healthier. We must discuss these results in private. There seems to be just one explanation.”
Peering at Istvan, I realized he was neither shocked nor fearful of what he saw. It was almost as if he were waiting. Wondering.
Dread dropped my stomach into the earth.
“I was told recently you were given the fae pills daily under Killian’s watch.” Istvan lifted his graying eyebrow, glancing at Killian, then back at me. “And they did not affect you.”
How did he know? Before I could even finish the sentence, my attention darted to Iain. A slow, smug smile twitched on his mouth, happily taking the credit. Of course. He was the only one who could have said anything to Istvan. He was there the whole time, seeing and hearing everything about the tests.
“I looked back at the timing when you robbed them from me.” Istvan shot a look at his son and me, telling us he knew I wasn’t alone. “Did you know the whole batch was heading for Leon.” Istvan motioned to the prime minister. “Every one of those soldiers died. Painful, brutal deaths. And all of Killian’s test subjects died in the same fashion. Except you.” He let his accusation ring in the air. “Out of all the test subjects, you are the one it worked on. Why is that? Why didn’t you die as the rest did? Simply luck?”
He tilted his head, studying me.
Staying silent, my chest pumped up and down. Istvan was figuring it was the pills that turned me into this and gave me fae-like powers. In reality, I was always this way, which is why the pills didn’t kill me too.
His lips pressed together. Pushing his shoulders back, he motioned to the guards behind the gates down in the pit. “Grab her.”
“What?” Caden jerked to his father.
The guards reacted instantly. The gates squeaked open, and dozens of armed guards filed out of the tunnels, coming from opposite directions.
Warwick shoved me behind him, growling at the sentries. Ash and Scorpion clustered around me in defense, everyone else following behind.
I could see how this would play out. The newly fae guards were strong, energized, and armed to the teeth. We were weak, bleeding, and some barely standing.
They would join Maddox in a matter of seconds because they were trying to defend me from something they couldn’t stop, no matter what they did. I wouldn’t let them risk their lives. We had lost too many already.
“No!” I pushed around Warwick, stepping in front of them all, my head shaking. “Don’t.”
“What the fuck are you doing, Kovacs?” Warwick gritted, glaring at me. I hoped my expression conveyed everything I wanted to say. The connection between us wasn’t even humming yet. I knew it would; I felt the binds there, but using so much of my power blew out the fuse, and it needed more time to build up again.
“The only thing I can,” I responded, feeling the pounding of feet coming up behind me.
“No,” Ash barked, stepping forward, a burnt-out torch still in his hands.
“Please.” I put up my palm. “This will just end badly. I can’t lose any more of you… I just can’t.”
My friends shifted on their feet, not liking my choice. They glanced at Warwick, ready to respond if he gave them the word to fight.
“Don’t.” I pleaded with him. “Please let me go. There is no other option.”
The guards came up from behind, clutching my arms and binding them with cuffs, pulling me away from my family.
“Wait!” Warwick’s voice boomed through the arena, turning all our heads to him. He pointed his gaze at Istvan. “Take me too.”