Blood Ties

16

The boy and the girl in the coffin
~
Cadence
~

Cadence's palms laid flat and readied for impact. Her body collided with the ground, tumbling and she inhaled from the sharpness digging into her side.

"I told you to stop doing that." The hybrid said and came to a grinding halt.

He knelt beside Cadence, his very essence digging into her senses so deeply it made her wince.

"And I told you to piss off! Turns out neither of us are good at listening!" Cadence wheezed out and pressed her head against the cool soil.

The hybrid had been on a cat-and-mouse chase, trying to put as much distance as he could from him and his brother, Gabriel.

And every chance Cadence got, she would try and wring herself free from Rexton's arms.

A hand found its way on Cadence's shoulder and she stilled, a boiling rage working its way up her throat. "Get the fuck away from me!"

The hand shook back but his voice still echoed into her ears, "I am sorry, Cadence, I will stop running so fast."

"We're not on a first-name basis, prick. Remember that." Cadence spat and drew herself upright, shaking away the dirt and muck. She avoided his watchful gaze. He could drill a hole into her head from all the looking he did.

In all her years of hunting, the enemy tended to level their gaze with the same hate, a mutual understanding, but the hybrid repelled all of that, his stare was shameless and unapologetic.

Cadence was positive no one had ever watched her as much as he had and she wanted to pluck his eyes out from the unwanted attention he was giving to her.

Scanning her surroundings, Cadence's heart plummeted into her stomach. The trees nestled tightly together, a woven maze anyone could get lost in and the branches excluded the nightly skies, ensuring darkness shrouded this very place.

Kara forest.

"Why the hell would you come here?" Cadence seethed and got to her feet.

The hybrid followed her movement and nervously coated a hand through his tousled hair. "It was the first place I thought of."

Cadence clucked her tongue, refraining from saying anything that would result in yelling, but it burned on the tip of her tongue. A chill passed through her, emitting her arms in goosebumps at the eerie-looking cave they stood outside of.

"I'll gladly lock you back in the tomb if you want," Cadence said, a laugh trembling through her words. "You could be feeling homesick."

The hybrid gave her a confused look, his fringe curtaining his eyes and he briefly shook his head, but the movement was confirming enough. He never wanted to go back in there, in the obscurity and chains.

"Please, no." The hybrid burst out and Cadence jumped back, expecting the worst from him.

He didn't feed off her when the corner of her head began to bleed nearly an hour ago and it was a lost answer Cadence wouldn't dare to ask him. Why didn't he slice his fangs back into her neck and finally finish her off?

He had a facade of being innocent and clueless, the mask holding up long enough even Accalia fell for it.

But Cadence wouldn't, she wouldn't trust the boyish face, the innocence and soft-spoken tune he sang with. The first chance given, he would strike. It would be only a game to him. The means to have the last laugh.

"How do you know Alexene?" He said after a few moments of silence.

Cadence swallowed, knowing she would have no chance of running or fighting back. His skin was steel, his strength unmatchable and he had no means to release her.