Chapter 80
ATASHA’S POV
I didn’t know how long he carried me slung over his shoulder. My head swam, the constant jolt of his stride making me dizzy. Just when I thought I might be sick from the motion, he finally stopped. Without warning, he shifted his grip and dumped me onto the snow like I was nothing.
The cold punched through my cloak at once, burning against my back as I hit the ground. Snow clung to my clothes and slid down my collar. I pushed up on my elbows, breath catching, and glared up at him.
Was he not planning to feed me to the beasts? My eyes darted around, and that was when I noticed where we were. The entrance of a cave loomed ahead, narrow and half–buried under
snow.
My grip on the dagger tightened. Was something waiting inside? Another beast? Was he planning to throw me in and let it finish me off?
“Inside…” Cassian said suddenly.
I froze. Since this madness began, he hadn’t spoken a word. Mendez had warned me. Once they turned, their minds slipped, speech became impossible. But now, his voice was sharp and
clear.
“Now…” he added.
I blinked, stunned. “Cassian, you can–ah!” The words broke off into a startled cry as his hand clamped around my arm. He yanked me up with no effort, then in one motion hurled me straight into the cave.
The impact knocked the breath from me, but I forced myself upright, dagger in hand. My eyes darted around the cave, every sense on edge. The space was narrow, the ceiling low, shadows stretching across the rock walls. It was dark, but I half–expected to see glowing eyes staring back at me from the black.
I crouched low, ready to strike at the first movement. My grip tightened, pulse hammering in
my ears.
But no beast came.
Instead, a long, guttural howl split through the night.
I spun toward the entrance just in time to see Cassian colliding with something massive in the snow outside. My breath caught. It looked like a wolf, but bigger, triple the size at least, its
body thick with muscle, fur bristling, eyes wide and crazed.
It hit Cassian like a boulder, knocking both of them into the snow. Only then did it sink in, he hadn’t thrown me in here to feed me to anything. He had thrown me here to keep me out of the way.
He didn’t want me to interfere. Or maybe he thought I’d only drag him down if I tried to fight.


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