Chapter 168
The red-haired monster understood Kuinan’s meaning almost at once. His crimson brows twitched.
[…You’re saying we could use the poison to subdue Hector.]
Of course, if Kuinan refused to share the method of manufacture, the entire plan would collapse.
Kuinan had no intention of cooperating. And yet he dangled the possibility before him. Only after seeing the flicker of greed in those cold eyes did he casually reveal the weight of his true intent.
[Put my female down. Take me instead.]
In his current state, there was no escaping a pack of monsters. So Kuinan chose the lesser evil over the worst. He might have some chance of surviving in their hands. She would have none. Especially not if Hector became involved—Hector loathed human women.
‘Whoever gets their hands on her, she’ll die.’
Better to send her somewhere the monsters could not reach, and let himself be dragged away in her place. The red-haired monster, greedy as he was, would not be able to refuse such an offer.
Sylvia, too, looked as though she had a thousand things she wanted to say. He knew. He knew she had tried to run from him and ended up like this.
He had told her not to flee. And yet she had betrayed him again. If he borrowed a human phrase, this was divine punishment.
She was not a woman worth saving. He had already rescued her once—from Rossa. Even while poisoned.
His body, pushed to its limit, swayed as though it might collapse at any second. The red-haired monster, who had been silent, suddenly answered.
[…Fine.]
[There’s no time. We have to return to the swamp before the humans come after us.]
Overpowering Kuinan in his current condition would not be difficult. The red-haired monster did not even bother to stay wary. He stepped closer and tossed Sylvia toward him.
Kuinan caught her in his arms.
“….”
She couldn’t speak.
He drew her into his cold embrace and gently touched the raw, reddened marks on her neck. When Rossa had seized her before, the fear had not consumed him like this. Monsters were creatures built for slaughter. He knew how easily she could be killed in a single second.
“…Kuinan.”
She had only said his name. But it felt as though he had heard an entire confession.
Pretending his blurred vision did not betray him, he walked toward the horse he had tethered and whispered for her to say nothing.
“Go where you were headed. Looks like you were on your way to your family, weren’t you?”
Struck at the core, Sylvia fell silent.
Kuinan gave a faint, crooked laugh. He wanted to mock her, he wanted to sneer at her but he no longer had the strength or the will. This might be their last meeting. What would fighting accomplish now?
He softened his voice as much as he could and tried to comfort her.
“You might be fine without me. You’re only half-monster, after all. Your roots are still human. Once you get through the withdrawal… maybe your body will return to what it was.”
It was foolish optimism. Some nonsense no true monster would indulge in. Yet he kept speaking.
The stallion was trembling, urine streaming down its legs. The d emonic energy radiating from the gathered monsters crushed it to the brink of collapse. Still, fear had rooted it in place, and for once that was a blessing.
“You’ve still got your things. You can make it on your own, right?”
He was gentle to the very end. Sylvia nodded over and over.
There were so many things she wanted to say, but none she could bring herself to speak. She could not say she was sorry. Nor could she voice her resentment. When she looked into his eyes, tangled in turmoil, he smiled at her—brightly, though his eyes were bloodshot.
“Go well, my wife.”
He smiled as if he would come find her again someday. As if he would continue caring for her with that un-monsterlike devotion.
Then he let her go.
Stepping out of the warmth of his arms and into the open air, she felt abruptly alone in the world.
Gasping for breath, Sylvia asked,
“What about you?”
She didn’t even know why she asked. She already knew he had chosen to give up his own life in her place.
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