Page 30 of Held By a Monster

“Dead.”

No emotion, no inflection in his voice. Just a simple fact.

“I want to see.”

He stilled. I was thankful he didn’t outright deny my request. However horrible the sight, I needed to see. To make my brain truly understand they couldn’t come after me again.

“If you think it will help.”

I nodded, took a deep breath, and opened my eyes. I was facing into the forest; the sunlight dappled where it hit the ground, a soft breeze rustling the branches high above. It was quiet. Tranquil even.

I turned around slowly.

One man was lying between two trees to my right. Or rather, his torso laid there. His head was several feet away. It looked like it had been torn from his body.

I felt … nothing. No remorse, no regret. No nausea even. The only feeling I could summon was a hint of relief.

I swung my head to the left. One man was a crumpled lump on the ground. The one he’d left alive, I assumed, since he wasn’t covered in blood or missing any limbs. The other’s throat was gone. Not slit, not crushed, just gone. Like something grabbed it from the front and ripped it clean away.

No, not something. Drym.

I looked up into his eyes, now back to their normal gold color. He reached for me and then pulled back.

“Thank you.” I let him see how much I meant those two words.

He reached for me again, and I took a step back. I smirked and waved at his arms. “You gotta take a bath before you touch me.”

He started and looked down, staring at the blood and gore that soaked him from claw tip to bicep. He snorted. “Fine.”

Quin slid to a stop in front of us and whistled. “Next time, leave some fun for the rest of us.” He scanned me from head to toe. “You okay, Kendal?”

“I’m good. Do you mind guiding me to the caves? I think Drym should carry the one he left alive, because I’m not letting him carry me.”

He laughed and bowed, extending his hand with a flourish. “It would be my pleasure.”

Drym followed close behind, grumbling the entire way.

twenty

None of us likedgetting wet, so we’d never found or made a bathing area in the caves. I was really missing Kendal’s shower as I plunged myself into the frigid lake on the far side of the forest.

I reminded myself holding Kendal was worth any discomfort.

I reentered the main room and found my brothers looming over our prisoner.

Roul started when he saw me. “You’re wet.”

I nodded. “I took a bath.”

His jaw dropped and his ears flicked. “You took… a bath?”

I nodded and put my hand on his shoulder. “It’s not so bad out here. Kendal showed me it can even feel good.”

He stared at me like he wasn’t sure he could believe me, but we’d never lied to each other. Roul snorted and pointed to the man, who was still out cold.

“How hard did you hit him, Drym?” Roul clicked his claws together. He was probably sadder than Quin to miss an opportunity to shed blood. He’d gone to a dark place after our escape, and nothing I nor my brothers did helped.

I leaned down into the man’s face and saw a telltale flinch. “Not hard enough to keep him out this long. He’s faking.”

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