Page 10 of Sapphire Scars

I couldn’t think about Charles or Kyle or the other two Masters already in the caves.

Focus.

Breathe.

I tried to do what Ily did every morning and ground myself. I pictured the pain in my head trickling down my body and into the beach.

I felt ridiculous standing there with my eyes closed and pain tearing through me, but…slowly…breath by breath, my mind quietened just enough for the pain to cascade through my bones and seep out the soles of my feet.

What the hell?

Meditation, she called it.

Wrong…it was a fucking miracle.

My eyes snapped open, clear and focused again.

How had something so simple as shutting out the noise and concentrating worked so well?

Sure, I still hurt.

Sure, I was still cold and drenched and bruised in places I really wished I wasn’t, but…it was no longer debilitating.

The wooziness was gone.

The pain manageable.

I ran.

I chased after Charles and his sick confessions.

I had nothing but my bare hands, all while two guys—who just admitted they got off on chopping up human flesh and turning cannibal—hunted Ily.

If they find her…

The animal inside me prowled and snapped at its tether.

The darkness sucked me deeper.

I’d tried to play this smart.

Tried to stay human.

But…the ocean had either decided to condemn me or free me.

I wasn’t meant to play this as a man.

I was meant to play this as a creature unbeholden to rules and regulations.

Stiff with pain and breaking beneath monstrosity, I stalked Charles right into the darkness of the cave. He stumbled and grunted as he navigated uneven ground, sounding like an elephant seal as I hunted.

Every step, I turned my back on sanity.

Every breath, I embraced anarchy.

I’d eaten with this man.

Spoken with this man.

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