Page 67 of King of the Unsightly

I grimaced at how banged up he appeared. His clothes were tattered and stained crimson. His bare chest was exposed, and the evident slash marks on his shirt hung on by the sheer willpower of two very thin strands of fabric.

“I swear it wasn’t—I mean ... let me help you walk,” I said in a hushed tone like if I spoke any louder he would crumble to the ground.

Kaschel pursed his lips. “Pity is the last thing I want orneedfrom you. Now move. We need to get out of here and try to get out of this loop.”

I was baffled by how collected Kaschel behaved despite what happened.

I panicked and pointed to Kaschel’s chest as blood squirted out of his open wounds. “How could you be fine when you’re gushing blood?!”

Kaschel sighed and flicked my forehead. “This place can nullify magic, but it can’t take away what I am. Have you forgotten?” he asked, enunciating the wordforgottena little more aggressively than I would have liked.

I mean, I saved him. A little gratitude wouldn’t kill him. “Whatever. Just know that if you pass out on me ... I’m leaving your ass behind.”

Kaschel's deep chuckle tickled my ears as he wiped his bloody hands on his pants. “Shall it go both ways then?”

“Of course,” I bluffed, and Kaschel’s face told me he saw right through me.

Kaschel’s lips twitched into a half-smirk, and he chuckled again. It was low and throaty and tantalized every crevice of my body.

Wait, what?No. I sucked in a breath and Kaschel perked up an eyebrow playfully—like he heard every indecent thought crossing my mind.

My cheeks burned red, and I looked away.

“All right then. Both ways it is,” Kaschel teased, still grinning as his lively eyes didn’t falter like mine.

How did Kaschel have so much energy? He acted entirely too energetic for a man gushing blood.

I wobbled as the dirt rumbled beneath us and the forest shifted. Our world crashed down, tore apart, and came back together.

The shades of dead branches laced and weaved together, stitching new life, and we, the outsiders, watched it all unfold.

Everything transformed in the blink of an eye—like some sick individual threw us into a video game, advancing us to the next level.

We weren’t on a mountain or in a shivered-up forest. We were in some humid jungle teeming with life. Freshly fallen rain and soil caressed my nostrils as the birds chirping softened against the abrasive creatures screeching.

“Blood is guiding us. I guess we have more to look forward to,” Kaschel said, snapping me out of my daze.

“Kill or be killed. Cool.”

So whoever made this labyrinth was a sadist. Noted.

Kaschel scanned our surroundings and fixed his stare back on me. “It’s not that simple and we need to find a place to rest. I need time to heal.”

“Where could we possibly rest in a place like this?”

“Not sure.”

“Great,” I quipped.

Kaschel stepped through the shrubs and eluded all the liana vines crawling from each tree while I tried not to trip over the roots sprouting from the ground.

Sweat dripped from my neck as the blazing sun dipped down allowing the moon to ascend as we stumbled upon a grove with a remote waterfall. It seemed entirely too good to be true as the moonlight reflected off the stagnant water.

Yet the stillness in the air couldn’t stifle the tremors of my pulse.

Kaschel bent down and his shoulder blades flexed and moved as he rinsed his hands, sending a catalyst of ringlets onto the water.

Kaschel placed his hand on his zipper and peeled his pants off.

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