Chapter 40: Fight The Monsters
>>Aelin
Ruoxy stood barely a step away, her grotesque, elongated form hunched over, her pitch-black eyes locking onto mine. Blood—fresh and glistening—streaked her mouth, dripping down her chin. The smell of iron and rot hit me, choking me.
"You didn’t break," she drawled, her voice low and almost playful, a mockery of civility.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. My hands trembled as I instinctively stepped back, but my legs felt weak, like they would give out at any moment.
She tilted her head, her neck bending at an unnatural angle as her claws flexed, glinting in the dim dungeon light. "It’s a shame I couldn’t use you as a sacrifice," she mused, her tone almost wistful. "No doubt, you would have been a great one."
My throat tightened but I couldn’t show her my fear, even though it felt like it was consuming me.
Ruoxy stepped closer, her towering form casting a shadow over me. Her claws hovered in the air, inches from my face, their sharp points catching the light. "I don’t know exactly what you are," she murmured, her lips curling into a bloodstained grin, "but I can feel it. There’s something special about you. Something... delicious."
I wanted to scream, to run, but my body refused to obey. My heart was hammering in my chest.
Her arm drew back, her claws poised to strike, and I braced myself, every muscle in my body tensing.
And then, like lightning striking, she was gone.
!?!?!