Page 31 of Her Blood Revenge

By the time I reach the water’s edge, she’s already been carried further downstream. Her arms flail as she attempts to grab at the moss-covered boulders and keep her head above the water, but the current is too fierce.

Can she swim?

When I try to call her name, all that comes out is a howl, and before I can leap in, she tumbles over the first drop. Silence rings out as she goes beneath the water. My ears prick up, and my breath catches. I realise I’m fucking praying that I hear her gasp in a breath.

Come on, Pix. Let me hear you.

She gasps, and I run along the uneven edge of the stream, desperate to get her back.

Her screams fill me with terror as she heads towards the second drop. The water’s getting faster, and I can’t reach her in time.

She goes over again, and when she hits the water, she doesn’t come up for air. I land with a heavy thud at the stream’s edge, seeing her face down and drifting with the current. Wasting no time, I leap down, watching her bump into boulders and old logs. Fuck. The water’s freezing! I swim towards her and shift back to my male form so I can grab her. She’s out cold when I pull her face out of the water. The current pushes us to the next drop. The water’s deep. I can’t reach the bottom, so I swim as hard as I can to the edge, hauling herlimp body with me.

A sharp pain strikes my ankle, and I yell as I get pulled under. Beneath the water’s surface, sickly green creatures with tentacles and pincers twist around my leg, scratching and clawing at me as they pull me under.

I shift and rip at them with my teeth before taking Pixie’s arm in my mouth and resurfacing with her. I have to be careful not to take her damn arm off as I paddle to the edge. I’m out and hauling her to the banks of the water.

I shift back and quickly kneel beside her.

‘Pix, can you hear me?’ I tap her cheek.

Nothing.

‘Oh no, you don’t. Not again.’ I cup my hands together and slam them into her chest. She coughs and splutters, expelling the water from her lungs and groaning as she vomits water.

‘That’s it, Pix. Get it all out.’ I roll her over and hold her tight as she wretches and groans.

Lifting my head, I see a water pixie standing on a rock. It tilts its head to one side and fucking smiles.

‘Crap. You fucking spy, piece of shit.’

It flies off before I can grab it. We’re beyond the boundary, and that little critter has no doubt let Neve or her unseelie know where we are.

‘Up you get,’ I urge, lifting Pix as she stumbles and staggers.

There’s a nasty gash on her forehead, and blood is seeping from the wound. It’s knocked her into next week. I grip her tightly, holding her weight close and scanning the area for any sign of the enemy.

A smell of air magic tinges the air. I’m guessing Leo is back on his feet and has returned the barrier.

But we’re not on the right side of it.

We’re in fucking trouble.

‘We need to get back beyond the protection barrier. Hold onto me. I’ll carry you.’

I start running when the first unseelie monstrosity lands just ahead of us. Its grey wings stretch out as it sneers its crooked sneer. Another lands to its left, and a third to its right.

They don’t go to attack. They look at me and then at her.

Pix is still regaining her senses from the blow to her head and the chestful of water she inhaled. I pull her in closer. Her body shakes from the cold, and I really wish we weren’t so unprotected. Never mind my weapons. I would dearly love a pair of fucking trousers.

‘Give us the girl,’ the prick in the middle snarls. ‘Our queen demands her daughter. Give her over, and she swears to let you and your blood-drinking brothers live in peace.’

‘If Neve wants her, tell her she can come and get her herself.’ I gently place Pix on the ground and get to my feet to face them. Dick out and the only thing I care about naked and concussed at my feet. It’s not a great position to be in, but I’ve had worse. ‘You’re not touching her.’

His eyes narrow, and his sneer deepens.

‘We shall see.’

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