CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

{Dominic}

The scent clawed at the back of my throat like mildew mixed with blood, such a horrid smell definitely didn’t belong in my territory.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen something like this. On the night of the gala, when that fire broke out, I had stumbled upon the same kind of corpse. It was burnt, horridly disfigured, and corrupted by something so vile, it reeked of forbidden magic.

I disposed of it before any other person found it, and Ryker was the only other person who knew of their existence. He's been helping me keep an eye out ever since.

I crouched beside the blackened remains of the corpse. Most of the skin was charred off, and what remained had fused with the stone beneath. I reached out and touched the Bloodhound crest, brushing ash away with two fingers.

“Who is he?” I asked without looking up.

Ryker shifted behind me, “Name was Butch. One of our border runners.”

“He’s part of the scout class?”

“Yeah. He was in the lowest tier, but loyal kid. Never missed a shi