For one stunned beat, no one moved. Hearing her own voice crawl out of that thing hit Azaliyah harder than claws ever could. It was too exact. Same tone. Same sharpness. Same irritation threaded through the words. Like the forest had stolen a piece of her and twisted it into mockery.
Then anger arrived right on time.
Violet fire snapped across both her hands. “You get one imitation,” she said coldly. “Make it count.”
The Knocker’s head twitched again. “You get one imitation,” it repeated in perfect sync, then jerked sideways so violently its neck nearly folded backward.
Camron grimaced. “I preferred the beasts.”
“You preferred being trampled unconscious?”
“I preferred things with understandable bones.”
The creature lunged.
It crossed the distance in a blur of crooked limbs, hands c
