Page 26 of Victoria's Discovery

Vi’kail deliberately delivered the suggestion off-handedly then feigned total absorption in scanning the hold, but he was paying close attention to his pet’s uncertain fidgeting. Finally, the little beast gave a disgruntled warble but tapped his palm twice in agreement.

Hiding his relieved exhale, Vi’kail nodded slightly and murmured, “Wise thought, my friend. I agree that’s the best solution.”

He could actually feel Snitch puff up with self-congratulation at the praise a moment before the smug crik gave his hand a conciliatory pat as though to comfort him for not having thought of such a brilliant solution before he had.

Biting back a wry smirk, Vi’kail hummed. “Yeah, yeah, you’re smarter than me. Now, go chew on something so we don’ all end up slaves.”

At that, Vi’kail felt the air move as Snitch flew out of the feeding port in the ceiling, just in time for the smaller hoses to drop in and begin pumping the tranquilizer into his cell.

Knowing there was no escaping being put under, Vi’kail got comfortable then settled his gaze on Victoria, wanting her to be the last thing he saw and not caring onecrik just how much that revealed his own obsessive fixation on her.

Nostrils flared and teeth gritted, he watched on as she panicked and tried to hold her breath while one of the giants ineffectually attempted to shield her, as though that would stop the sedative. The other did his level best to rip the hose in two. Neither was going to stop them from being put under, but that they tried was another tick in their favor.

The last thing he saw before the haze swallowed his vision, was the three of them collapsing to the absorption pebbles. A darkly amused laugh followed him into unconsciousness when he saw the darker giant had landed in a decidedly undignified position. He was going to wake up with a crik of an ache in his neck.

Just rewards for tasting my little flower.

Chapter 14

Victoria dreamt she was lost at sea in the middle of a raging storm on a glass boat. The violent waves crashing against the hull flung her against the clear walls hard enough to knock the breath out of her and send pain radiating through every limb. The deafening boom of the thunder sounded like screaming metal being torn apart and was so loud she felt like her eardrums were being stabbed with icepicks.

Then, all of a sudden, she was cocooned in a bubble. She could still feel the turbulence, but she was no longer being tossed about… until a wave slammed into the boat so hard it capsized.

A sharp pain in her arm and stomach, like something had just been ripped out of both, pulled her out of the dream and into a nightmare. Her eyes flew open, and a scream clawed its way out of her throat.

Everything was vibrating so hard she felt like she was going to shake apart, and that terrible screech of rending metal followed her out of her dream, only now it was compounded and intensified by the horrifying, gut-wrenching wails of fear and agony coming from the other prisoners trapped in the hold.

Blinking hard, she tried to pierce the darkness enveloping her so she could see around her, find the giants, but it was too dense. The fear that she’d gone blind briefly drowned out everything else.

“Thegan! Thorn!”

Raising her arms, she tried to feel for them only to encounter something warm and soft looming above her.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, what is that?” she yelped.

Like magic, light flooded in, making spots dance in her eyes. Squinting, she gasped when a face materialized out of thin air not six inches above her.

It was- it was… Vi’kail’s pet?

The pocket-sized animal had somehow grown to twenty times its size and wrapped itself around her so tightly that the violent bucking of the ship was no longer throwing her about.

That was when it clicked that the ship was crashing.

Just then, the ship slammed into something with a deafening boom. The impact crumbled her into a ball within the cocoon of the animal’s body with such force her knees bashed into her chin and cheek hard enough to damn near knock her out. Pain exploded in her face and the taste of blood filled her mouth.

There was a sound almost like distant rocks falling and everything went still.

In the blink of an eye, Vi’kail’s pet was almost nose to nose with her, scanning her frantically with big, black eyes and making an anxious-sounding whine in the back of its throat.

“I’m okay… I think. Nothing’s broken, anyway. Are you okay? I think you saved my life. What the hell happened?” she rambled breathlessly, returning its examination before looking around for the giants. “Oh, shit!”

They were both crumpled on the floor, not moving. Scrambling to hands and knees, she hurried to Thorn lying closest. He groaned the moment she touched his shoulder, but he didn’t move, and that scared her.

“Please, tell me you’re okay! You can’t die! Please, don’t be dying.”

When she climbed over him so she could see his face, she almost had a heart attack when she saw half his handsome features were covered with blood. There was an awful gash on his forehead, just below his horns, and he wasn’t opening his eyes.

“Wake up, Thorn!” No response. “Shit!”

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