Chapter 28 · Hunter Under Black Moon

The bullet stops two inches from my face.

I don't move. Don't blink. The round just hangs there in the air like someone hit pause on the world, spinning slow, and I can see the rifling marks on the brass, the way the lead's already starting to flatten at the tip.

Lydia's still got her finger on the trigger. Her face is white.

"What the hell—" She fires again. Three more rounds. They all stop. Floating between us like a fucked-up mobile.

I look down at my hands. They're glowing. Not like a nightlight. Like someone shoved the sun under my skin. White-gold light running up my veins, branching out from the bite mark on my throat, and it doesn't hurt but it should, because I can feel something rearranging inside me, something that's been asleep my whole life waking up pissed off.

Mara takes a step back. "Charlie—"

"Move." My voice doesn't sound like mine. It's got an edge to it, something cold and sharp, and Lydia actually flinches.

She doesn't lower the gun. "Stand down. You're in violation of—"

I don't let her finish.