Page 34 of Her Blood Revenge

Neither one of us says anything as she looks down at it in her trembling hands.

‘The Moon dagger,’ she says in a shaky whisper. ‘It’s Cole’s father’s. The same one used on me at the blood rite.’ She looks out at the treeline. ‘Guess he wanted to finish what his father started.’

Her fingers grip its handle so tightly that her fingers whiten.

The ground begins to tremble again, and she breathes in and out furiously before releasing a scream so full of hatred and anger it makes Dorian and me fall back. The ground splinters from her feet, and cracks spread out in all directions. Her roar carries on. It’s a damn war cry. Trees fall, and boulders shatter in its wake.

She finally runs out of steam and slumps, her head hanging and her arms limp at her side.

I side-eye Dorian and see him looking between her and me with profound focus.

Neither of us know what to say or do.

What do you say to a girl who just had that happen to her? I was angry she ran. Then, I was scared when she was almost taken.

Now, I’m afraid Cole’s just broken her even more than she already was.

She walks forward and picks up Cole’s severed hand. I’m disappointed I didn’t kill the fucker, but thrilled that I took something from him. Something he will miss. And I’m even more content that she has it. She stashes it in Dorian’s coat pocket.

‘That will go nicely with the one the Dream Walker took from Neve,’ she says, her voice low and tired.

She walks slowly. Her feet drag a little as she sniffs and swallows the urge to cry, and she stops before me. I look down at her. She looks so broken. So lost. Her hand reaches out, and her fingers run through my hair.

‘Thank you for saving me,’ she says.

I take her hand and kiss it.

‘Always,’ I reply. ‘I will always be there to save you, Pix. You’re my life.’

Her lip trembles at those words. And I think she knows I meant every single one of them. Her snake wraps around her wrist and looks up at her.

‘Take me home?’ she says, defeated. ‘Before they come back. I want to go home.’

Home. She actuallysaid home.

I nod and shift, needing the warmth of my fur and the protection of my jaws in case anyone else tries to attack us. As I turn to start walking, I feel a pull on my fur.

Pix climbs onto my back. Her arms gently rest around my neck as she lets out a long exhale with her face buried in my neck.

Does she want to ride me?

No one has ever ridden me before.

Her fingers play with the fur around my neck, and the indignity of being ridden like a pet disappears instantly.

I look back and lick her bare leg. Her arms give me a little squeeze in response.

‘You’re letting her ride you?’ Dorian says quietly, his brow raised. ‘I’ve never seen you allow anyone to ride you.’

I huff out a breath. Like he can talk. He linked with her. I’ve never seen him do that with anyone else, either.

Besides. She heard me. That’s also something that I’ve never experienced before.

We start to move, running back up along the stream at speed before we’re attacked again.

Chapter eight

The Necromancer

---