Page 19 of Cruel Vampire King

There would be. I pulled in a deep breath, attempting to ease the hurt in my body. Was it just my imagination, or did I feel worse than when I went to sleep? Movement would help. I just needed to loosen up my muscles again. I grabbed my pack and slid it onto my back.

“Let’s get going,” I said. “And Greyson? Try not to waste anymore of your magic.”

He smiled and winked. “So glad that you care.”

I turned away. I didn’t care. I just didn’t want him to die before he helped me get my goal. Didn’t I?

Chapter 8

The day was suspenseful, but we weren’t attacked again. Though Thessa caught sight of some minotaur tracks, we didn’t run into any beasts other than a flock of griffins. They were small beasts, only about the size of a house cat. The real danger was that their noise would alert others to our location, so we killed them quickly.

That night, we cooked the griffins over a low fire. We still had at least a week’s worth of travelling, and we only had three days of supplies left. Best to extend it as much as we could. It was a shame the kelpie flank had ended up full of maggots the morning after we cooked it.

Greyson joined me as I was setting traps to protect us from a night ambush.

“I was finally able to see you fight when we took out those griffins,” he said, leaning against a tree. “You’ve got a good technique. I’ve always found flexibility to be the most desirable trait in my women.”

I tightened the snare and glared up at him. “Your women? Are you counting me in that number now?”

Greyson’s smile remained firmly on his face. “I think you’d enjoy being my woman, Elara. I’ve made my interest clear, haven’t I?”

A retort rose on my lips. I’d had plenty of male interest. Before my family was slaughtered, there were Michael and Jaxon, both who had vied for my attention. Neither of them had gone any further than holding my hand, but I sometimes wondered how far they wanted to go, and how many ‘no thanks’ signals I’d been sending them. My head was so full of romantic notions that the pimple-faced boys I knew couldn’t fit.

And at the coven… well, there were plenty of males who thought my legs would fall open the moment they complimented me. After all, how else could I thank them for being so generous enough to give me their attention? Me, the scarred woman, missing half her face. And that wasn’t even counting the times I’d overheard them wonder—what other parts of my body had been scarred? I had breasts, but did I have nipples left? What did my ass look like under my clothes? Had my clitoris been burned off?

I stopped myself from snapping back at Greyson. He didn’t flirt with Ysara or Thessa, although Ysara flirted with him and Kael. If he was just looking for someone to take advantage of, Thessa, being as young as she was, would be the prime suspect.

Maybe he was earnest in his interest. Maybe he wasn’t wondering about my body as a collection of parts that may or may not work for his pleasure.

Greyson wagged a finger in my face. “That nose is pretty nasty. How about I fix it up for you? Your injuries will make fighting more difficult, and we still need to stick together.”

“I don’t understand you,” I admitted, squinting at him.

“Maybe you can’t understand that I’m genuine,” he murmured, his voice low.

His dark eyes certainly seemed sincere as he gazed up at me under his lashes. My heart skipped a beat as I took in how handsome he was. Even being in the forest for these days, he was elegant and attractive. His shoulder was bandaged still, and I absently ran my fingers over the bandages.

“Are you sure you should be wasting it on me?” I asked. His scent drew me in, sweet in the forest.

And I found myself wanting… something. What exactly, I wasn’t sure. Maybe I wanted to feel a draw to him that would allow me to forget about the ever-present vampire king, even for a few moments. Would Luken be watching my channel now? I hated that I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what he thought about this.

“Sure, you can heal me,” I finally agreed.

Greyson grinned and opened his mouth. A high, keening wail burst through the trees. It was distant but still felt like nails raking down my spine. The wail was answered by a series of screams. It was a symphony that had been haunting us all day. The other teams were close enough that we could hear their deaths, whether, by other teams or the beasts of the forest, I wasn’t sure.

“Gods, I wish we knew how many there were left,” I sighed.

Greyson snorted. “Where would the fun be with that?”

I rolled my eyes and gestured at my face. “Get on with it.”

His lips twisted briefly, but his smile came back soon enough. He put his hands on my face, cupping my cheeks tenderly. I closed my eyes as the tingling heat radiated from his hands. A sharp pain went through my nose as the bones realigned. I winced, but the pain went straight to my core. If I’d been turned on a little last time, now it felt like a liquid fire was taking root in my belly.

Would it hurt so badly to give into the flesh?

“That’s enough,” I said quickly, pushing aside Greyson’s hands. My face wasn’t so puffy; when I touched it, the swollen flesh only throbbed dully. “Thanks. I’ll take the second night watch—wake me when it’s time.”

“What about the griffin?” Greyson asked, his eyes widening.

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