Chapter 12

• The bus’s brakes hissed as it slowed, the evening air biting through the fog of my nerves. Diego’s grip had left a lingering ache along my wrist, but more than the pain, it was the words he’d said that gnawed at me. I stared out the window, trying to steady my racing thoughts.
• “How can you flee when you can’t even see them?” I asked quietly, voice trembling despite my best effort at calm.
• He leaned closer, amber eyes gleaming with something wild and dangerous. “You don’t see them until it’s too late. They resemble us, move among us like shadows. They hunt with precision, nurturing the hunger in their young. Human flesh is a delicacy to them, guilt unknown.” His fingers found mine again, squeezing with surprising force. “They consume their own pups’ hearts and summon another for the same feast the next day. Trust comes with a price, Ayla.”