The Tussle

Chapter Seven

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The air in THE BETWEEN gave me a serious cold, like static before a storm. Every breath seemed wrong.—Metallic, bitter—like it didn’t belong in my lungs.

Kael’s hold was still locked around my arm, but now Jason was in front of me, giving Kael a look sharp enough to draw blood. Raven, sword in hand, didn’t bother pretending to watch the shadows. His attention moved to me like I was the only thing worth guarding.

I wasn’t sure if I was comforted or cornered.

The ember-eyed figures hadn’t moved. They just stood in that impossible half-light, waiting, their gazes pinning me like I was the only thing keeping them alive. Or maybe it was the only thing they wanted to kill.

“Stay behind me,” Jason ordered, his voice hard as steel.

“Behind you?” Kael gave out a low laugh that had no humor in it. “Last time I checked, you couldn’t even keep her mark hidden.”

“Neither could you,” Jason shot back.

“Enough.” Raven’s voice sliced through both of theirs. He stepped closer to me, the heat from the basin fire still clinging to him. “She’s mine to guide now. That means my rules, guys.”

“Yours?” Jason’s head turned toward him. “You’ve known her for what—minutes? You think that makes you—”

“I think that makes me the only one keeping her alive right now.” Raven didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to.

I pulled my arm free from Kael, but his fingers brushed against my wrist as I did, lingering just enough to send a shiver up my spine. “I’m standing right here,” I said, sharper than I intended. “Maybe you could stop talking about me like I’m a—”

“prize?” Kael interrupted, eyes shining. “You are; you just don’t know it yet.”

The figures then moved one step forward, and the ground beneath us trembled. THE BETWEEN didn't have wind, but the air seemed to pulse.

“Move,” Raven ordered, shoving me toward a narrow path that seemed to spiral away into nothing.

Jason fell in beside me instantly, his arm brushing mine as if by accident. “Don’t trust either of them,” he said under his breath, eyes forward. “They’ll use you if it keeps them breathing.”

“And you won’t?” I asked, matching his low tone.

His jaw dropped, but he didn’t answer.

Kael was on my other side now, his steps deliberate, his presence a wall of heat. “If he scares you, just say the word.”

“He doesn’t scare me,” I said, though my voice lacked conviction.

“Good.” Kael’s lips curved, but it wasn’t kindness. “Then you can handle the truth—Jason is wrong. You’re not just a way to survive. You’re the reason the rest of us are still fighting.”

Ahead of us, Raven stopped so abruptly I almost walked into him. He raised his hand, and faint runes glowed in the black air before him. “This way.”

The path narrowed, twisting into what looked like pieces of glass hanging in midair. Each one reflected fragments of the real world—snow, moonlight, and the silhouette of the Hunters. My stomach rumbled.

“They can still see us?” I whispered.

“They can smell you,” Raven corrected, his eyes moving briefly to my throat. “They’ll follow until your scent is masked completely. Which means we have to keep moving.”

The pieces of glass crunched under our boots as we walked. Jason moved closer again, his voice so low I barely caught it. “When we get out, I’ll teach you how to fight. Not like them—fast and dirty. You won’t have to wait for someone else to save you.”

Kael overheard. “Or,” he cut in smoothly, “she learns to burn everything that touches her.” His fingers brushed mine just enough to send another sharp pulse through me. “I could teach you that in a day.”

“Or kill her trying,” Jason muttered.

Raven ignored them both for a while, then he spoke. “Maybe she doesn’t want either of you. Maybe she wants someone who knows THE BETWEEN better than his own heartbeat.”

I stopped walking. “You’re all talking like this is about you. It’s not. It’s about getting out of here before those things—" I directed my chin toward the ember-eyed figures still following at a steady distance—“decide I’m worth the trouble.”

Jason was the first to move again, brushing his shoulder against mine like a silent promise. Kael followed, his heat lingering at my back. Raven stayed ahead, but I could feel his attention even when I wasn’t looking at him.

We walked for what felt like hours, though time didn’t work here. The sky shifted constantly—violet bleeding into gold, then into silver so bright it hurt to look at.

When the attack came, it was without warning.

One of the figures lunged forward, impossibly fast, its hand closing around my wrist before I could react. The mark beneath Raven’s burn flared like fire.

Kael’s flames came to life, wrapping around the thing’s arm. Jason slammed into it from the other side, blade flashing. Raven grabbed me by the waist and pulled me backward so hard my breath caught.

“Stay down,” he growled.

I wasn’t sure if he was shielding me or staking a claim.

The creature shrieked, a sound that split the air like tearing metal, before dissolving into smoke. The others didn’t advance, but they didn’t retreat either.

“That’s your warning,” Raven said, hauling me to my feet.

Jason’s eyes met mine, his chest heaving. “Stay with me.”

Kael stepped between us, his body a wall of heat. “No. She stays where she can actually be protected.”

“By you?” Jason’s laugh was cold. “You’d burn her alive if it meant keeping her from me.”

Kael’s eyes sharpened. “Maybe. But at least I wouldn’t let her die slow.”

“Both of you, shut up,” Raven snapped. “This way. And don’t let go of me.”

We reached another archway, this one half-buried in shadows. The runes on it pulsed faintly, like a dying heartbeat. Raven pulled me close—closer than necessary—and placed my hand over the symbols.

The mark under my skin throbbed.

Jason’s voice was suddenly right behind my ear. “If you go with him, you’re trusting someone who’s lived half his life in the dark.”

Kael was on the other side, his breath hot against my cheek. “If you go with him,” he murmured, “you’re trusting someone who doesn’t care if you survive as long as the wards hold.”

My pulse pounded in my ears. I didn’t know which was worse—being fought over like a weapon or knowing that part of me didn’t want them to stop.

“They’re coming,” Raven said. “Make a choice.”

“I—” The word caught in my throat.

A sound tore through THE BETWEEN, louder than anything yet. The figures scattered like smoke, and from the darkness behind them, something larger moved. Not a Hunter. Not like anything I’d ever seen.

Jason’s hand closed around mine. “Now.”

Kael grabbed my other arm. “Don’t you dare.”

Raven’s fingers tightened at my waist, Holding me. “Choose fast, Starborn.”

I was totally lost and confused.