I heard a low hiss behind me, then a crunch of leaves. The breeze collecting along my fingertips whispered a warning.

Dammit.

I had hoped they would be so focused on Ronan they would leave me alone. I pushed myself harder, the wind around me surging up behind me, propelling my legs forward. A familiar light footedness graced my steps, and my body felt weightless. I leaped over a tree root, jumping higher into the air than usual. My leather-clad boots bounced back to the ground, and I had to keep myself from stopping in surprise.

I didn't have time to think. There was another faint snap behind me. My ears perked up. I tilted my head, listening. Over my own faint intakes of breath, I could hear the patter of light footsteps, then a faint sniff of the air as my pursuer tracked me through the thickly warped trees.

I pushed forward, trying to urge myself faster. A sheen of sweat gathered across my skin, the humid heat of the jungle-like forest bearing down on me. The branches overhead curled and moved, as if shifting out of my way.

I need to keep going.

I didn't know where, but once I got away from Ronan, I could figure it out. Find somewhere. Someone had to know something.

There had to be a way for me to get home.

A scuff, then a pant. Twigs snapping, echoing through the air. I ducked under a branch only to trip over a root. I gasped, but then quickly caught myself, rolling to the ground then pushing myself back up. Sharp pain shot up from my ankle but I grit my teeth and continued. Compared to the Hunt, my body hummed with energy. Where I had been tired before, now I knew I could run for ages.

I just had to be fast enough.

My heartbeat remained steady. The wind through my fingers remained fierce. I ripped through the trees, their gnarled roots sticking up from the ground. The moss under my boots was slick and slippery. I turned to avoid a thick looming tree only to slip to the ground. My arm slammed into a thick knobby branch and I let out a cry. Somewhere in the distance, I could smell smoke.

A piercing caw rang through the air. I saw a large raven sitting on a branch in the tree over me. It tilted its head, its beady little eyes meeting mine.

They were bright red.

A scent wafted through the wind, strong and feline, and I turned away sharply from the bird. The smell prickled at my nose. I jolted up to my arms and knees, searching my surroundings. Everything was silent, but I knew the phooka was there.

The wind blew, and I felt the slight shift in the air. I jumped to the side just as the phooka pounced. His nails dug into the area where I had been moments before. He spun on me, his lips lifting off its teeth into a violent snarl.

A strange rumble moved through my chest. My body shifted into a defensive stance. I glared at the faerie defiantly. I would not let it get between me and the first chance of freedom I'd had in days.

The phooka's mouth twitched, his eyes roving over me. His head tilted to the side as he straightened, his wide nostrils flaring. Behind him his tail flicked side to side,

"Human," he said, the sound low and guttural. He sniffed the air again, then looked me up and down.

"What is it to you," I retorted, my voice coming out as a low growl. I strange ferality was taking root inside my body, poisoning my muscles and determining my movements. Like a creature, a second entity inside of me that didn't see or feel things like I did. It was both terrifying and invigorating.

More ash floated through the air, the distant smell of smoke carrying through the trees. I watched as the phooka straightened, his eyes quickly fixing behind me. I turned my head carefully, keeping an eye on him. In the distance I could see a tall flume of billowing smoke.

I swallowed. I needed to keep going.

Fury broke out across the phooka's face. I shot to the side, aiming for the trees beside us. Before I could get far, a biting pain bit into my shoulder, the phooka's long nails digging into my skin. A shudder ran through my body. I let out a cry as my body was flung to the ground. 

The phooka's enraged face filled my vision, twisted into something like the feral creature lurking inside me. Its fingers dug into my neck as he pressed down on my windpipe.

"You are special to Fire Bastard." His voice was low and grating. "I'll take from him what he takes from me." His jaw widened, a long set of carnivorous teeth exposed.

My heart thudded. I clawed at his arms as I struggled to breathe. My head spun. Blood trickled down my neck as he tightened his grip. I stared up into his hard angry eyes. This was it. He was going to kill me.

"No," I snarled. I violently twisted my body, feeling some of that low simmering rage spreading through me. It was like a twisting and furious wind, a force of nature I couldn't control.

If I didn't get him off me, I was going to die.

I closed my eyes against him. I kicked out my legs, trying to shift his weight. He wouldn't move.

I didn't want to die.

I wouldn't die. Not here. Not now.

A shudder ran through me, wild, furious rage unfurling inside my chest. Something dark and deadly woke up.

Air ripped past me, swirling in a mass of slicing blades. It spun in a vicious current, ripping through the surrounding trees. Leaves and twigs scratched my exposed skin. The phooka's eyes flickered. Blood dripped over his skin as the wind cut into him with a furry that matched my own. Overhead the darkness grew thick, clouds moving in over the moon. 

Anger roared in my veins, a hot uncontrollable rage. There was something unsettling about it, a disregard for the life of the phooka on top of me. His eyes had gone wide and bulging as he struggled to cut off my air supply.

But it was no use. The phooka's grip on my neck faltered. I gasped in small, rapid breathes. My body acted automatically. I stretched one arm across to grab his wrist, pulling him to an angle. Wind gathered against my other hand, and I balled it into a fist. 

With a low growl, I thrust it forward into his head. There was a sick crunching sound. His hands released me, his body flying back into the base of a tree.

I rolled over, choking as I gasped in air. My throat was raw and bruised. I staggered to my feet, the swirling mass of wind continuing to whip around me. Only I could still feel it growing.

Quickly I started to panic, trying to tamper it down the force of my Craft. But I didn't know how to stop it.

Frenzied, I stepped forward, balancing myself against a tree. The wind cut past me like a barrage of thin daggers, cutting gouges into the wood at my fingertips. I pushed myself away, and tried to keep moving forward.

I needed to get away.

My skin prickled, the wind slicing into my arms and face. More blood trickled down my cheeks, stinging as it got into my eyes. There was a flash of blinding light, then a loud thunderous boom. I steadied myself against a tree.

I needed to stop it, but I had no idea how. The twisting currents tore into me. I fell to my knees only a few paces away from the crumpled phooka. I let out an agonized cry as hot pain lanced across my skin.

Stop. Stop. It needs to stop.

The air screamed at my ears, as if reflecting the painful cries inside my chest.

Please. Stop.

Finally, as if it had heard my silent plea, I felt the fierceness of the wind shrinking. The slicing winds slowly started to dissipate. I fell to my knees onto the dampened earth. A gentle rain started to fall. 

The last few wisps of air slowly drifted away, and then as if I was released, my body shuddered to the ground. Where my face pressed into the dirt, I could just make out the bloodied phooka sitting at the base of a tree.

There was a crunch of damp leaves, then the faint scent of smoke and charred flesh. I looked up to see Ronan approaching through the thick shadows, his eyes a fierce and glowing red. Slowly he looked around the clearing until his gaze fell on me.

"No," I whispered.

I struggled, trying to move. I pressed my hands into the ground, trying to pull myself forward. Dirt caked under my nails as I tried to push myself back up. I shuddered and fell, pain shooting through me. I let out a strangled cry.

Ronan's gaze glowed red in the darkness, flickering as he watched me struggle. He moved quickly across the clearing, bending down beside me. Carefully he turned me over, his eyes darting from my face to my blood-soaked arms. I saw his sharp features warp then settle into a deep frown.

"Are you dead?" he asked. His voice was strangely thick.

I coughed, trying to turn from him. But he held tight.

"No Heather. Don't move." He sounded relieved. His arms came up under me, cradling me against him as he shifted me upright. I hissed, my body protesting. I shook my head, looking up into his face.

"Just let me go," I pleaded, my voice hoarse. "Please, Ronan, let me go home."

Ronan didn't reply, his arms tightening around me. He shifted my body against him so he could hook an arm under my legs, and carefully he picked me up. Blood mixed with the rain, running in black streaks under the thick moonless night. He looked every inch the monster he was.

But as he cradled me in his arms, like I was the most fragile and precious thing. His eyes softened, his lips brushing against my forehead in a gentle caress. Then his gaze glazed back over, and his jaw set. He looked away from me.

"I can't." He curled his arms around me, straightening up to his feet as he walked back into the trees. "Your home is with me now."

My head rolled into his chest. Fire poured from him into me, and the pain slowly faded.

I had tried to escape him, and I had failed.

As he moved us away, my eyes settled over his shoulder. The clouds overhead parted for a moment, revealing a thick cloud of smoke snaking its way through the forest, following the path Ronan had taken to get to me.

We didn't see another phooka after that.