He shoves me toward AK-7 but keeps an arm around my waist. “Let’s get this over with.” Seeing us coming, the bear lifts his head. The creature’s ears perk, and he starts backing up. But Titus just moves faster and yells out, “Stop moving, AK-7. You stand still.”
Titus pushes me so I’m inches away from the bear. I can feel the grizzly’s breath hot against my face. The Pandora searches my face, then glances at Titus nervously. My head jerks back suddenly and I feel Titus’s hand beneath my neck. He presses his mouth against my cheek and says, “I’m going to help you win, Tella.” Then he slips a knife into my hand and closes my fist around it. “I want you to plunge this into my Pandora’s heart.”
AK-7 jerks backward, and Titus pushes me forward to match his steps. Then he slides the other knife up my back and presses it against the base of my scalp. “Kill my Pandora, or I’ll kill you.”
Ten minutes ago, I had thought I could win. That I could make it to base camp first. But now I realize it wouldn’t have mattered. I hadn’t killed a Pandora. And I’m not sure I can now. Or ever.
Titus guides my hand toward his Pandora, and the bear drops down on his haunches, like he’s already given up. I stifle a sob and look at the great beast before me. If Titus broke an animal this powerful, then how do I stand a chance against him? Feeling him behind me, I know my only chance to escape is to do as he says.
I don’t want to hurt AK-7, but this moment will last only minutes, maybe seconds. And I have to kill a Pandora if I want to continue the race. What if this is the only chance I get? What if saving the grizzly means killing my brother?
I move the knife slowly toward the bear. His eyes widen when he realizes I’m going to do it. But that doesn’t stop me. I move the knife closer — my hand shaking — and the bear groans deep in his throat. That doesn’t stop me, either. But when I spot the open wounds along the animal’s stomach — I freeze. Pus and blood ooze over his muzzle, and I imagine the things Titus has done to this creature. The animal who has protected him. The animal who didn’t ask to be born into this. Finally, I think of Cody, imagine he is here telling me what to do.
I raise the knife in my hand.
The Pandora closes his eyes.
And I drive the blade straight into Titus’s thigh.
The scream that erupts from him rattles me to my core. I feel him drop to the ground, and I don’t hesitate. I spin around and race toward the eagle. It takes longer than expected, but I’m finally able to pull her leg from the rope. The moment RX-13 is free, she spreads her wings and soars into the sky. She releases a wild call and dives down the side of the formation. Running to the ledge, I search for Harper.
She’s there! Oh my God. I can see her!
“Harper,” I scream.
She whips her head in my direction, and when she sees her eagle, she offers her uninjured arm as a perch. The Pandora lands gracefully. I expect her to ask me what’s happening. To say she heard someone scream. But she doesn’t. She just looks at me for a moment, glances at base camp — and starts racing toward it.
“Harper, no!” I yell in a panic. “I need help. Titus is up here.”
She stops dead and whirls around. Though she’s already far away, I can see how her head falls to one side like she’s in pain. Tilting her chin up, she calls out, “It’s my daughter, Tella. My daughter.” And then she’s gone.
My mind reels. Harper has a daughter. I never imagined — knowing her only as a fierce teenage beauty — that it was possible. But of course it is. It explains why she was so weird around Jaxon and Olivia. And around Caroline and Dink. They reminded her of her own child. I hate her for leaving me, but I can’t pretend to understand how she must feel.
Watching her sprint toward base camp, I wonder if she’ll be able to get in. Has she killed a Pandora? Then I remember something Titus said while debating rescuing Nick from the quicksand: He let your little friend with the bird kill his Pandora.
My friend with the bird — Harper.
Harper killed Nick’s Pandora.
And now she’s eligible to win. But where is Madox? I start to search for him, but I hear something behind me that demands my attention. I spin on the balls of my feet and find Titus standing inches away. He’s pressing down on his bleeding thigh with one hand and pointing his blade toward me with the other.
“I’m going to kill you,” he says. And I can tell from the fury contorting his face that he may be right.
That I may die today.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
My first instinct is to move away from the ledge. Falling would be worse than facing Titus. I manage to take a few steps toward the middle before his open palm whips across my face.
The blow makes everything disappear. Sound. Smell. My vision. It’s all gone. All that’s left are the rocks digging into my cheek. And then everything comes back louder. Titus screaming. Titus reeking.
Titus standing over me with two knives in his hands.
I scramble for my blade like I can’t accept that he has them both. Harper would never have been beaten this easily. But she’s gone. And so is Guy. And everyone else along with them. Now it’s just me and him. I have no chance, I realize. I’m not a skilled fighter. I’m not an analytical whiz who can outsmart my opponent. At least not when they’re hovering over me. I’m just a girl who loves purple and Greek food and mani-pedis and singing out of tune. A girl who would give almost anything to be away from here and magically back in Boston, hanging out with her best friend, Hannah. I’m just a girl who thought she could save her brother.
Titus raises his boot into the air — the same one he killed Nick with — and brings it down on my ankle. I scream in agony as my foot twists in an unnatural direction. But my cries don’t stop him. He only swings his boot out and slams it into my ribs.
I have to get away from him!
Turning onto my stomach, I rise up and try to crawl, my damaged ankle dragging behind me. Something crashes into my butt and I sprawl out onto my belly.
Faster, Tella!
Adrenaline kicks in, the desire to survive despite all odds. I spin around and bring myself to my feet. Pain rips through my body and nearly blinds me. I don’t have much time to think before I feel Titus’s fist connect with my jaw.
For some reason, after all the ways he’s hurt me, I still can’t believe he punched me. Punched me. I always wondered what it would feel like. To get socked in the face. And now I know. Something about this makes me laugh.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Titus pauses. It must intrigue him, hearing someone laugh while they’re down. I smile up at him from my stone grave, knowing my teeth are laced with blood.
“You’re just so pathetic.” I laugh until my sides ache. Until tears fill my eyes.
And then I lunge at his legs and bite into flesh.
Titus howls and brings his elbow down onto the back of my neck. I don’t care about the pain anymore, though. I’m hysterical with adrenaline. Drunk with it. I spring to my feet and hold up my fists.
Titus eyes me. “God, you are amazing, Tella. A girl filled with surprises. If only you’d been smarter about your alliances.” My heart kicks faster as he raises the blade in his right hand. I don’t know where the other one went. I guess it’s in his back pocket. If I can get to it, then perhaps I stand a chance.