Page 55 of The Great and Terrible

A minute passed. Then another. And another. Guess he’d?—

He rose, closed the distance, and stretched out behind me. I swallowed a moan as he conformed his body to mine and wrapped a strong arm around my waist, sealing me against him, searing me with his furnace-like heat. His breath fanned my nape. His scent drugged me hard and fast, and his strength awed me. Mmm. The luxury! The sense of safety. The rightness. And oh, the way his (now) steady heartbeat lulled me into total relaxation. A melody more beautiful than the one produced by sirenes.

My breath hitched as Jasher dragged his hand up and wrapped his fingers around the compass nestled between my breasts. Though I agonized over what he might do next—what I wanted him to do—he remained still.

“Goodnight, princess,” he rasped.

“Goodnight, Tinman,” I rasped back, fatigue finally getting the best of me. My eyelids slid closed. As I floated away on an ocean of nothingness, a thought drifted through my mind.What if he comes home with me?

Soft growls awoke me. My eyelids popped open, and I jolted upright, expecting a threat. Trappers. A wild animal. Those winged monkeys or lions.

Sunlight poured over the camp. Leona slept on the other side of the firepit. Nugget sat beside me, staring at rustling leaves. I reached behind me, intending to wake Jasher, but he wasn’t there. Gah! One morning I would enjoy waking up to discover everything exactly as I’d left it.

I swiped up my dagger just as the leaves parted. The executioner came into view, and I sagged with relief. Then perked up with interest.Well, hello, Tinman. His dark hair was askew, his sunset eyes bright. Dirt streaked his brow and sweat wet his shirt, the material sticking to his broad chest. His muscles remained flexed.

Nugget quieted, as if disappointed, but I smiled. Until I noticed the redhead hanging over his shoulder, singing about love gone wrong.

“Patch?” I gasped out, waking the mayor.

The teenager twisted to look at me. Her lids narrowed. “You.”

“Who is she? What’s going on?” Leona demanded.

No one paid her any attention. “What are you doing out here?” I climbed to my feet, a blanket toppling to the dirt. Had Jasher covered me up?

“I caught her sneaking up on the campsite,” Jasher explained.

“Yeah, but only after you chased me around a bit,” Patch boasted, all smirk.

“You know her?” he asked.

“She’s a fellow sacrifice.” I leveled a frownat the surprise intruder. “How’d you escape the Governor’s Guild without causing a storm?”

“Henry and his dad released ten of us from our contracts.” Patch yelped as Jasher dropped her. She landed on her hands and knees with a pff, spit on his boots, then clambered to a stand and straightened her potato sack. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she sauntered past Leona, who scrambled backward.

When the redhead neared, the hair on Nugget’s back stood up like spikes. Patch paid him no heed, lifting the lid on the pot of leftover soup. No. Wrong. Not leftovers. Jasher had prepared breakfast while I slept. A new vegetable medley filled the air with the most amazing scents.

My mouth watered even as suspicions rose. “Why would the Wests do such a thing? I doubt either man suddenly grew a heart.”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Patch scooped out a generous portion of food into a waiting bowl and dug in. Before she swallowed her first bite, she said, “I took off and won’t ever go back.” Broth dribbled down her chin.

Or the redhead had, in fact, caused a storm. Were bounty hunters tracking her at this very moment? I didn’t see evidence of her mark. Maybe West did let her go, hoping she’d find me and I’d welcome the enemy, allowing her to broadcast my location.

A possibility, though it wasn’t likely the Wests would leave anything to chance.

“I wasn’t aware the campsite was yours, okay?” She spoke while scooping in bites. “I smelled food. And don’t think you can steal my serpens-rosa. West has ‘em. Also, why aren’t you farther along? You had a huge head start.”

“Trappers delayed us,” I replied. And there went my appetite.

“They the reason you have a runt rabdog?”

“How do you know he’s the runt?” Look at him! My bigboy had grown so much in such a short time. He was currently the size of a mini-pony.

“The way his eyes flash red. Wait.” She scanned the others with something akin to disgust. “You guys didn’t explain the deal with runts, did you?”

“They did not,” I said as Jasher glared at the girl, attempting to intimidate her into silence.

Patch huffed a defiant noise before licking her bowl and granting herself a second helping of soup. “See, the runt’s grow up to be bigger and meaner than their brethren. Once they make their first kill, a switch flips. They become obsessed with eating their litter mates, mother, and anyone else they perceive as a source of weakness.”

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