But Titus was hesitating, his eyes lifted behind her, above her, to— Darkness embrace her. She’d forgotten about the bait beast. The creature chained behind her, so close she could smell the carrion on his breath. Titus’s stare was a command for the bait beast to stand down. To let him eat Manon. Manon dared a glance over her shoulder, to the sword in the shadows, so close to the chained anchor of the bait beast. She might have risked it if the beast wasn’t there, if he wasn’t looking dead at her, looking at her like she was— Not prey.
