Anna’s heart hammered against her ribcage as she forced herself to look up at the face of the beast.

She didn’t know what she expected to see.

Deep down she knew exactly what she’d see. After she heard that voice.

But nothing prepared her for looking up and meeting those eyes. They were still the brilliant, heart shocking green she remembered. But now they were lined with a brilliant silver, a subtle nudge to his true identity.

An Empath.

The creature tilted its head down, and right under her eyes, the monstrous, shape shifting outer cover began to ripple and melt away. The razor sharp beak, mirror-like surface and armored like scales vanished. It’s face shifted and reshaped into a strikingly familiar, humanoid face.

A very beautiful face. With hair like spun gold and features like a male model.

Deep, expressive eyes looked down at her with a tenderness and devotion so fierce she felt like she was being consumed. It was a look she knew too well. Like a kicked puppy that still came back to lick its masters hand.

Anna froze. Her breath caught in her throat. The last time she saw him, all the memories and carnage came rushing in. The pain. The fear. The horror of being trapped.

"Tristan..." She breathed, his name tasting like ash on her tongue.

He didn’t speak. He just held her tight against his body, his claws steady yet gentle, like he was worried her accidentally hurt her.

A crazy mix of emotions churned inside and chest. She hated him. He lied to her, deceived her, and all those memories she saw, even if truly they weren’t from him, how was she to know his real desires towards her?

She though she’d never see him again. And yet here he was.

Panic exploded into Anna’s head the moment she couldn’t see the court yard any longer. She was getting further away. From all of them, from Ray!

"Let me down!" She shrieked, her voice shrill as tests of frustration spilled over her cheeks. She struggled violently, punching him and kicking and thrashing hard. Her spores flared a terrifying black. "Put me down this instant! "

"Anna, I’m sorry but I can’t do that,"

"The fuck do you mean by that?! Put me down! Kai is dying! Leon and Kai are killing each other! You...you lied to me! I hate you! Let me go! That’s a fucking order! Now!"

Tristan jaw tightened. Sorrow filled his eyes. He hated seeing Anna cry. He hated knowing that he was the reason she felt so disgusted being held by him. As he looked down at her frantic, weeping form, his handsome featured scrunched unto a frown.

"I can’t do that, Anna." He whispered, his smooth voice cutting through the whistling air, still carrying the weight of his forbidden feelings towards her. "If I let you go now, there’s no telling when I’ll ever see you again."

"Good! I never want to see you again! Ever!"

"Anna please! I had to come back. There’s something you must—"

"Don’t talk to me!"

"Anna please...please just listen to me. I beg you."

Anna paused. So did he. For a few seconds, they hovered in the air. Tristan sighed softly, relief flashing through his features.

But that was short lived.

Anna truly had no intentions of listening to whatever he had to say.

In her desperation to break free, her inner anger flared violently. A sudden wave of potent black spores explored from her skin. The acidic mist blasted his face, making him stumble and cry out.

For whatever reason, Anna noted her black spores was more effective against AI beasts.

The effect hit Tristan like it was a physical blow.

He groaned, his form beginning to splinter and crack, glitching out like Leon did when his corruption claimed. His wings locked up and vanished. Same with his claws. His form reverted to a humanoid one.

And for one, terrifying second, he reached out and grabbed Anna, pressing her to his chest just as their bodies plummeted into the ground.

Gravity pulled them down instantly.

Anna screamed, regretting what she’d just done. Fearing for her own life, she held onto Tristan, her eyes squeezed shut as they fell.

Tristan used his body as a shield for her, but even then he couldn’t control their decent with his body reacting negatively to her black spores.

CRASH!

They tumbled through the massive glass skylight of a grand building. In a burst of protective rage, Tristan’s wings erupted and wrapped around Anna. Covering her as they ripped through the glass and tumbled onto the cold floors below.

For a while, there was only silence.

Anna laid across his chest, unharmed, but deeply rattled by the entire experience. When she finally got up, she was horrified to see the state he was in.

His body glitched. His features transformed, one second it was the Tristan she recognized, and the next it was the inhumanely beautiful face of an empath, with silver hair and white eyes. His wings vanished, and his body twitched in and out of control. Pooling around him was a thick river of red.

Blood.

Guilt settled inside Anna’s chest like a boulder. Empaths bled red.

"Tristan..." she reached out for him, her fingers hovering inches above his face.

"Anna..." he looked at her, his changing face sending terror down her spine. "Are you hurt?"

Anna looked around, at the blood, the broken glass and pieces of the roof.

Her eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled. She shook her head, despair wrapping around her heart. "I—"

Then, a dozen heavy footsteps echoed all around them. Guards surrounded them weapons raised and pointed at Tristan.

"Your highness! We’ve come to rescue you!" One of them yelled.

"On your knees, beast!" Another roared.

Anna looked around, colorful curses boiling on the tip of her tongue, when she realized where they’d crashed into.

The royal medical wing.

Ray!

She shot to her feet, her worry for Tristan overshadowed by fear for Ray’s life.

"Lock him up!" She barked at the closest guard, while she gathered her blood soaked gown in her hand and rushed ahead.

"Anna!" Tristan called after her, his voice fracturing. "Anna! Please! I need to speak to you!"

Anna paused, glancing at him over her shoulder. Her heart ached and she felt so bad for what she was about to do. "You shouldn’t have come here, Tristan. This kingdom is no shelter for beasts."

Tristan looked crushed. Totally. His eyes, flickering between silver and green, widened and filled with hurt so human it made Anna went to rush back and pull him into her arms.

Instead, she turned and ran ahead.

Later. I’ll see him later. Then we can talk. For now, Ray needs me.

"Anna! Please! Anna please!" Tristan’s shouts and cries continued to echo till she could no longer hear them.

Anna raced down the halls of the medical centre, looking around frantically for any sign of Ray. The nurses and other personnel looked at her worriedly but were too scared to approach. She spotted Azul emerging from one of the rooms and ran up to him.

"Ray!" She cried, stumbling into Azul’s arms. "Where’s he?!"

Azul’s jaw worked. His eyes were still harsh, his body tense. "Your highness, you should rest. You’re injured and—"

"Where is Ray?!"

"This way." He gave a curt nod and then led her down dwindling hallways and stairs till they arrived in front of an operating room.

Through the glass walls, Anna saw Ray strapped down to a table, his wings folded, his chest bloody and bare, as a dozen medics and doctors raced around him.

His chest was hacked open, his ribs visible, his heart outside, still pumping weakly. Machines she had never seen before floating around him, some of them hooked to his body via metallic wires. Anna couldn’t hear anything due to the thick glass walls, but what she saw was enough.

"He might not make it," Azul announced gravely.

Anna knees gave way and she crumpled to the ground. Azul reached for her and she shook him off, an anguished sound welling in her throat.

Her body trembled as she scream built in her throat.

Where did it all go wrong? Why?!

Azul’s words echoed in her head.

He might not make it.

He might not make it.

He might—

No! I can’t let him die!

Anna forced herself to her feet, wiping her eyes furiously.

She needed to get in. Do something. Anything at all.

Suddenly, a massive, deafening explosion rocked the entire foundation of the Royal Medical Wing.

The glass walls shuddered violently, and a thick, heavy wave of territorial alpha pheromones and bloodlust flooded the air. The unmistakable, roaring vibrations of a fully feral lion and the chilling, melodic laugh of a mutated shark beastman echoed from the path right outside the medical wing’s grand entrance.

Anna didn’t need to be outside to know what had just happened.

Her face paled. Fear seized her entire body.