Knowing Kaden attempted to reach out to the animals, Zander and Anson fought with their backs toward Kaden, giving him the time and space he needed to convince the attacking creatures to release the compulsion to kill. Having hunted to provide for the castle, none of them were sickened in taking what they needed for survival. These animals wouldn’t have attacked had Baltura not wrested control of their minds.
This isn’t merciful, Zander thought, this a s*******r. To Kaden, he said, “Can you get through?”
“We can’t stop using our weapons, nor can we leave this spot,” Kaden said. “If we move inside the barn or the inn, then they will attack the buildings, killing whatever or whoever they can in order to reach us. We can’t be responsible for innocents’ deaths because we don’t want to kill—”
