The "trash" Valkar had tossed aside groaned in a hoarse, strangled voice—a sound so pitiful it hardly seemed human. It was a rasp torn from lungs that had nearly been crushed. His whole body quivered on the ground, wracked with agony.
For a fleeting moment, Valkar's expression twisted into something dark and merciless, his golden, feral eyes glinting with a desire so raw it sent a chill across the battlefield. He looked as though he might truly end the man's life this time.
Shin was drenched in sweat and blood, his breath coming in shallow, ragged bursts. He could not tell whether to feel relieved that Valkar had spared him for now—or to be more terrified, because Valkar's attention had shifted elsewhere.
That elsewhere was Kael.
Valkar's towering form pivoted sharply, his movements a blur of predatory strength as he launched himself toward Kael with the brutal force of a beast driven mad.
