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“Come on, Mel, don’t tell me you’re afraid of one little Feral.”

Her face clouds with anger, and her eyebrows draw down. “I’m not scared of you.”

Now it’s my turn to smirk. I may not have magic, I may not be able to call lightning to do my bidding, but there’s a river raging inside of me, flooding me with the need for revenge. For justice. It churns and pummels me. It thrums beneath my skin.

Almost a being all its own.

The air between us practically hums with anticipation. It’ll take me a few milliseconds to grab the daggers strapped to my thighs. Another to close the distance between me and Coraline. Another for me to jam the knife between her ribs. Melody will hit me a half-dozen times with her lightning in that time, but once I finish with Coraline, I’ll go for Melody, hoping that if I cut off the head of the snake, the rest won’t know what to do.

Friends first. Then Melody.

She spares one last look at the vinculum. “This has gone on long enough. You need to choose. Your tether or this Feral bitch.”

Any hope I had for their help withers. As much as they may not like her, rejecting their tether would hurt all of them, and I don’t think any of them are strong enough to do it. They certainly won’t do it for me.

Me against the world. That’s fine. It’s how it’s always been.

Melody is still scowling at her soon-to-be bonded. May they live together in misery.

I dash to the left, ripping my blade free of its sheath, and she shouts in frustration, unleashing a bolt of brilliant light. Flinging myself forward, I tuck and roll, shoulder hitting the ground first, and pop back to my feet right as another bolt strikes a centimeter away from where I stand.

A heavy presence rages inside of me, two giant fists slamming against my ribs, almost breaking free. I stumble slightly, confused, but another jagged streak of light has me dropping to the right, everything but my own survival forgotten.

A shifter roars. I don’t know who, and I don’t have time to check, because my sights are set on one person.

Coraline is running toward Melody, but I slam my feet into the wooden floor, crouching and launching myself at her. Time seems to slow down as I soar through the air.

Coraline turns, eyes widening, realizing she’s about to die.

{Brace yourself,} the voice in my head warns.

Melody flings her hand out, and a thick streak of lightning barrels toward me, bigger than any I’ve been hit with before.

Shit, this is going to hurt.

My heart thumps.

I breathe in, fingers tightening around the handle of my dagger.

As gravity latches on, I start to drop right on top of Coraline.

I land on her, air rushing out of my lungs, and wrap my legs around her middle. I grip her hair with one hand as I thrust my blade in but hit bone. She cries out, her blood slicking over my hand, warm and thick, the scent of copper flooding the air.

The bolt crashes into me, the force of it flipping the two of us into the air, but I cling to Coraline, yank the knife out and slam it into her again. Her hand catches my wrist, squeezing hard. I grunt.

Fuck, she’s strong, but not strong enough. Grinding my teeth, using every muscle I have, I push the blade deeper, inching it toward her heart.

Coraline whimpers but manages to slow me down.

No, dammit, I’m almost there.

Ever and Bree will be okay.

I’ll make this bitch pay for daring to hurt them.

Shadows crawl up the walls of the clock tower. “Raina!” Bellamy shouts.

Another roar erupts through the space. That one I’ve heard before. Rowan.