Vixin didn’t bother changing her clothes. She’d wear them until she got her revenge and if she died in them, then it’d be fitting.
Vixin exited and paused to survey the carnage below. She pulled at her magic and let the Wisteria grow, weaving between the bodies of her fallen comrades as she lowered herself to the ground.
She poured magic from her body, feeding, feeding, feeding until the sharp sting of physical pain begged her to stop.
But she didn’t. Couldn’t. Vixin took several steps back and let the poisonous ones take root, springing to life among the beauty. They crawled and weaved, hiding the destruction that had destroyed her newfound life.
Vixin staggered back, leaned against the nearest tree, and slid to the ground. Tears rolled down her face in a river she wasn’t sure would ever stop. She just sat there, staring at the beautifully haunted place that would forever hold a piece of her fractured heart.
Chapter Thirteen
Vixin followed the same path her and Zak had trekked only hours ago. Only this time it was empty. Hollow. Replaced by an unending rage that crackled through her in waves.
Vixin curled against a tree and pulled her cloak tight as the rain started again. She didn’t bother with a canopy. Instead, she let the water soak through her clothes until her body felt the same as her heart. Numb. At least in the moments the rage receded.
Vixin dozed, letting the monster her magic had become slumber. Rest. Recover. Because when she unleashed it again, she wasn’t letting a single person walk out of that camp alive.
The days drifted as she walked and Vixin let herself relive the memories. Her magic shifted and pulled, digging beneath her skin, craving release. But she held it back and when that wall came into view, her memories faded, replaced by a lust for their blood.
Nothing made sense and she felt that hurt even worse. Why slaughter a small camp for stealing a few weapons? It wasn’t like they’d hurt anyone.
Vixin clenched her fists. Her heart pounded in her chest as their hollow faces flashed in her mind’s eye.
She climbed into a tree, keeping her magic on a tight leash as she examined the men guarding the wall. They smiled at one another, passing drinks and food between them as if they hadn’t just murdered over thirty people a few days ago.
No shame. No remorse.
Vixin took a calming breath. Death didn’t matter, as long as she made each of them pay for what they’d done. She’d shatter the night and make each of them regret ever setting foot outside their fortress.
She slid from the tree and stalked the perimeter until nightfall. Vixin counted the guards, located the barracks, and took a mental note of those with long range weapons. She was certain all the guards had some sort of magic.
Vixin spent the day shifting her plants into place far beneath their feet. The soil was thicker the further down she went, but with so many enemies she needed this to play out perfectly. For Sam and Zak. For Anton and Blitz and Daniel.
Night descended and Vixin slipped from a tree. She checked her weapons and stretched her stiff body. Now was the moment to make her father proud. Despite his reluctance to speak of his military life, he had told her a few stories about his friends. About those he’d lost, those who’d saved him, and those he missed dearly.
She understood now. He never wanted her to fall among the lost. He wanted her to find people to spend her life with, people that would gift her with treasured memories.
She found that and these monsters had torn it away.
Vixin dashed between the trees and lifted herself over the wall on silent feet. No one saw her slip inside. She pressed her back against the nearest wall then poured her magic through the earth, harnessing hundreds of seeds she’d put into place that afternoon. They rose another foot to the surface.
No alarm sounded.
Vixin made her way through the compound, keeping to the shadows, until she reached the center building. The same one her and Zak had spent a single night in. She wanted to personally kill whoever had given the order, before she unleashed hell upon the others.
Vixin reached for the seeds and raised them another foot. Then another. She listened, waiting to see if anyone with similar abilities would notice, but the silence stretched.
Vixin pulled her hood up and slipped in through the back door. Warmth from the ovens greeted her, singing her wet skin, but Vixin ignored it and crawled toward the voices. She narrowly avoided a young woman working the kitchens and refused to look at the girl’s face.
Vixin crouched in the doorway to listen.
“You should have seen it. The place looked like a damn treehouse.”
“Was it the right group this time?”
“You saw the tunnel he made from our warehouse. Earth, just like the rumors claim.”
Vixin’s hand shook as she snaked her magic in through the backdoor.
Another voice spoke. “Based upon the descriptions we received, I’d say the boy was a bit young.”
“Descriptions from people scared out of their minds.”
Another to his left chimed in. “Even if it wasn’t them, we still eliminated a threat. They were thieves and living far too close for my comfort.”
“We shouldn’t tell Atilla until we know for sure.”
Their voices faded. Earth. Zak was dead because—her body shook—because of her magic. Because they thought he was someone he wasn’t.
It’d been her idea to sneak in. Her idea to tell them he possessed her magic. Her breathing accelerated
