"Oh really? … Tell me more."
The voice slithered across the clearing, smooth and mocking, but cold enough to chill the marrow.
Avin's eyes snapped open, vision blurred with blood and dust. The bandit's heavy foot, pinning him down, faltered. His head turned sharply toward the sound.
At the edge of the hill stood Leo.
He looked utterly unharmed, his white coat immaculate despite the crash, his hair neat, his lips curled into that snake's grin Avin knew too well. His green eyes glowed faintly in the shade, narrowed, burning with venomous hate—but the smile never wavered.
Relief crashed over Avin like a wave. For a split second, he could breathe again. Leo was alive. Leo had come. The nightmare wasn't his alone anymore.
The giant lifted his foot from Avin's back, and air surged painfully back into Avin's lungs. He rolled over, gasping, clutching his throat as precious oxygen seared into him. Each breath was jagged, desperate.
