Page 84 of Of Song and Scepter
Like bars on a prison cell, the teeth descend, interlocking. The beast closes her jaw.
Her tongue lifts me high, the soft gray flesh of her soft palette closes in. If I was stronger, I might latch on to it with my claws, slice the beast right where it hurts. But my arms are pinned to my sides, and my mind grows weary. The beast has bested me. Let her take her prize.
FIGHT, DAMMIT! I WILL NOT LOSE YOU. YOU HAVE TO FIGHT.
Pressure at my hand, a dull squeeze. My fingers twitch; my pinky extends, wrapping firmly around something soft, warm, solid. Then the words become a Voice, the soft, mournful note vibrating through my bones.
I gasp. Warmth spreads from my stomach and with it a sudden wash of energy. It burns deeper, hotter, a raging inferno now. My arms regain their strength; my claws find purchase on the beast’s leather tongue. I rip into it with fervor, and handfuls of her meat fall into the base of her mouth, sticking to her gums. She screeches—the sound penetrating my skull—and the tongue loosens enough for me to wriggle free. I dash for the roof of hermouth, finding the soft cavity behind her palette. My claws sink deep, and my frenzy begins.
Tearing piece after piece, I burrow tooth and claw into her. Her blood floods my mouth, her stench clings to my nose. Bits of her flesh clump in my hair. I swim no longer in water but in the currents of her blood. Still, I dig. My teeth crack through bone. Around me, the beast’s body quivers and shakes. I can feel her shaking her head, trying to dislodge the parasite from her skull. She lifts the back of her tongue, swallowing in a sucking vortex. But I hold on tight. With every gash I make, she grows weaker, her fight lessens. Gripping the edge of an artery, I punch through it.
The beast screams, unhinging her jaw, and I’m washed out of her mouth in a tide of blood. Her great head dives toward the sea floor, crashing into the garden of bones. With a final moan, she collapses, dead. The bloodfish explode into a frenzy, attaching to every inch of her fresh meat.
I killed a dredgebeast with my bare hands.
Tephra’s chuckle vibrates through the murky water. “Well done, little fish,” she says. “Blood for blood, your oath is complete. Swim freely.”
Darkness descends in a cloak. I blink, opening my eyes to a bright, white room. Soren’s face is the first thing I see, and he’s bawling like a complete idiot.
Chapter fifty-two
Soren
The pool of energyin my stomach drains quickly, spiraling out of my mouth as I pull more, more, anything that might save her.
The healer’s hand is firm on my shoulder. She says something, a warning maybe, but I cannot hear her.
Enna’s little pinky curls tightly around mine, a lifeline in the dark. Her teeth snap together repeatedly, those fangs long and wicked. She shakes her head, body twitching. Her tail kicks, and water sloshes over. The room erupts into chaos. Still, I stay rooted by her side, that little pinky finger holding me in place.
She shrieks and then goes deathly still. Her tail flops back into the tank, hanging limply. “ENNA!” I scream.No, no, no.She can’t leave me now. Not like this. Not after a fight like that. I will not let her.
I launch off the floor, diving into the tank to join her. The water hits me with a crack as my legs snap together, knitting into my tailfin. My gills sting from the concentration of blood in the water, but I do not care. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my chest. As I hum fervently, magic surrounds her, caresses her with green light, and I will her to respond. My own energy reserve hangs by a thread. With one last push, I sever my spell. I clutch her face, willing her awake with all that’s left of my soul.
“Soren?” Her voice is soft, barely a whisper. The slippery scales of her tailfin shift, brushing against mine in the water.
My eyes snap open, greeted by her piercing purple gaze.
I brush her cheeks with my thumbs, marveling at the sight of her.
“You’re here,” I breathe, a scatter of bubbles kissing her face.
“Almost wasn’t.” She studies me earnestly, reaching with a shaking hand to cup my cheek. “But then I heard your voice. You told me to fight. So I did.”
“Looks like you won.” I push past the stone of dread sinking in my gut. Where she was or what she was fighting, I have no idea, but I hate knowing she’d been on the brink of death, and I’d been helpless.
“Thanks to you.” Her eyes lock on my lips, hunger burning now in her gaze. The tips of her claws curl into my cheek, pricking and pulling me close.
Our lips collide in a heated kiss. She devours me like a savage beast starving for my mouth. I capture her tongue with my lips and suck on it hard. Her responding moan hums through me, sending a zing of pleasure along my spine. She tastes of raw meat and iron.
“I heard you, Soren,” she moans into my mouth. “I was all alone and ready to die, and then you called my name.”
A shiver vibrates her body, and I break our kiss to stare into her eyes. Her eyes sparkle with emotion, a wild chaos of color I’ve never seen before.
“I never left your side, Wicked,” I whisper. “And I never intend to again. You’re mine.”
Her cheeks tint pink. She averts her eyes, taking in her surroundings for a moment, and then frowns. “Why the fuck are we swimming in blood?”
Chapter fifty-three
