I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted to go home. 

It took mere seconds for the grass beneath me to wither and die as if my very presence sucked out the essence of its life. 

Then, the screaming started.

The sound made me cry harder. 

I forced myself to turn around and witness what I had done. The Hunter held out his hands, the ones he used to hurt me, as they turned an ugly shade of purple and black—the color of rot and death.

His screams were endless as the decay crawled up his arms, consuming the life from him. He stared at me, disbelief and horror in his eyes. He didn’t stop screaming until it reached his face. Until blood came pouring out of his mouth, his eyes, his ears.

I pushed myself up, the rope that had bound me long dissipated and I watched as he convulsed before he fell over into a pile of nothing.

I faced the other man, ready to defend myself, when he puked on himself, and the smell of piss wafted to my nose. He fell back on his ass, crawling backwards away from me.

“By the Gods, what are you?” he whimpered, choking on the vomit that he hadn’t completely gotten out.

The flowers, the grass, even the trees around us shriveled. His wide brown eyes held mine as he continued to crawl away. He was going to run. He would tell King Aurealis what I looked like and what I could do and more would come for me. My family would never be safe.

I couldn’t let him do that.

My voice trembled as I whispered, “I am so sorry, but you did this.”

Before I could let my guilt stop me, I launched for the other Hunter, tackling him as he got up to run. While on top of him, my hands gripped either side of his face.

My screams mixed with his, cursing him for making me kill him. This time my magic worked faster, hungrier, like it had just woken up and was eager to devour and consume. I let it. 

His cries of agony were short-lived as his body fell apart in my hands—tissues of his flesh flaked off, making him unrecognizable.

My breathing came out quick and short, and after a few moments of silence, I realized I had yet to let go of what remained of him.

His screams still echoed in my ears.