There was no answer, but in his haste, the link between us had not been entirely broken. I could still feel him, despite his detaching me from his mind. I could feel him being stabbed with those hooks, yet I felt none of the pain. I could do nothing but watch as the creature’s remaining pincer and beaks began to eviscerate Fox everywhere they could reach. It was a horrible violation to feel no agony even as it tried to kill my brother.

Fox angled his sword and thrust. The blade plunged straight into the creature’s head, coming out the back of its skull—

—Fox was shredded from the inside out. His screams told me he could suddenly feel pain, that he had somehow became human in that split second, only to suffer a grisly death. But the blighted monster was gone, and I had taken his place, my hands winnowing through his insides. Fox’s blood soaked my hands, and he collapsed, a mangled unidentifiable blob of blood and bones, and I began to scream—

The creature made one last feeble cry, and its wings retracted. The blighted monster went still on the ground, blood seeping from its head and puddling in a slippery black. Fox blinked against the bright light in full view of the others.

On anyone else, the pincers would have been fatal. One deep laceration had nearly bisected Fox, and one beak had sunk into his neck, leaving a gaping hole. He was streaked in deep cuts, one hand ripped to shreds. Some of the Deathseekers, fierce warriors who had seen their share of battles, blanched as they looked at him, their faces turning white.

I clasped my head, breathing hard. The false vision of Fox had seemed real…

“Need help?” Kalen asked my brother quietly, face guarded.

My brother shook his head. “Sorry. I know you wanted to bring him back alive if possible…”

“I don’t think we had a choice. I knew it wasn’t likely when I saw the full extent of its abilities.” Kalen glanced down at the corpse on the ground. “We’ll bring back the body. Levi’s our priority.”

“That was some hardcore fighting, Fox,” Ostry said with admiration, despite being green around the gills. “Rather painful though?”

“For it, maybe.” Tea? Are you there? Tea?

I couldn’t reply. In my mind’s eye, I still saw his fallen body, his lifeless, dissected form. I did that. I killed him. I killed him, echoed through my head.

Tea? Tea?

I killed you.

• • •

“You didn’t kill me,” Fox said once they’d returned. I was tending to his wounds, the wards modified so I could draw on Bloodletting and watch his flesh slowly knit back together. Even seeing him made whole again couldn’t shake the nightmare from my mind.

“Then why do I keep having these visions?” I demanded bitterly. “Am I going crazy?”