Page 39 of Beast

“This is not a resort,” he growled.

I stood up, putting us almost at eye level.“Is that really what you wanted to say?”

He dropped his gaze again, clearly counting a second time.When he looked up, his anger hadn’t faded; in fact, it seemed worse.“If the princess wants a bath, she’ll get a fucking bath,” he snapped.

I blinked once.Then twice.“Do you want a bloody nose?”

He threw up his hands in exasperation and stomped away.

I looked down at Cosway, my new best friend, the man who knew where I could take a bath.“You get to go too,” I said.

“Good, good.Feed the kiddies,” he muttered.

That caught my attention.“The what?”

“Feed the kiddies.Kiddies hungry,” he said, nodding enthusiastically.

Oh, hell no.“King!”I shouted, making Cosway jump.

King turned, his eyes narrowing as he marched back toward me.

“He has children,” I said urgently.“We need to go.Now.”

The “kiddies” were supposedly a short distance from the river, according to Cosway’s directions.We divided the men evenly, leaving Labyrinth behind with Axel for added protection.Beck, much like King, didn’t trust our prisoner at all.He grumbled as much as King did, and his irritation was obvious in every step he took.

Beck tied a rope around Cosway’s neck, and I held my tongue.For now.If it came down to it, I’d fight both Beck and King to protect Cosway’s life.They weren’t killing an innocent, no matter what they thought.I also stopped dreaming about water.If we found children, getting them to safety would be far more important than a bath.

As we moved through the metal and cement debris littering the main road, a coyote darted away from us in the distance.Besides the mice and rats, we’d seen scurrying about, it was the first animal we’d come across.

About thirty minutes in, Cosway led us onto a smaller side road, even more hazardous than the last.The thought that this might be a setup crept into my mind, but I kept it to myself.Cosway seemed to know his way and kept us moving, though I couldn’t help expecting the scenery to change.It didn’t.He kept us firmly within the city.

Two hours later, I was thoroughly lost, but Cosway pressed on.Occasionally, he reached up to rub the skin beneath the rope.It must have been chafing, but Beck ignored the action along with my killing glares.

King was brooding and remained silent.He must have found it incredibly difficult having me as one of his soldiers.The stress of our disagreement was starting to wear on me too, and Ms.Beast wasn’t helping.She’d decided everyone needed to die, which didn’t exactly make things easier.

“Kiddies, kiddies,” Cosway shouted suddenly, pulling against the rope in Beck’s hands.

We weren’t in a wooded neighborhood like I’d imagined.Instead, we were in what had once been a prime corporate center.Broken glass littered the ground, and gutted skyscrapers loomed over us, their windows dark and empty.

Then I heard it.A faint noise.Cosway tugged harder, his excitement growing.

“Hungry,” he said, pointing ahead.

I spotted a small area that had been converted into a makeshift shelter.A potted plant sat beside the swath of material being used as a door.

King stopped me with a firm hand on my arm.Without a word, he moved in front of me and threw back the swath of material covering the shelter’s entrance.He leaned in for a look, then quickly pulled his head out.The expression he gave me was confusing.His jaw clenched, teeth grinding again.

Then I heard it, a soft “meow,” followed by another.

“Kiddies, kiddies,” Cosway chimed from behind me.

I pulled back the blanket myself, and sure enough, his “kiddies” were kittens.Five of the most adorable little things I’d ever seen, no more than a few weeks old.

Inside the shelter, a can of powdered milk sat on the ground beside a tin plate holding a mixture of milk and water.The kittens mewled and pawed at each other, a tangle of tiny bodies.

I stepped inside, scanning quickly for weapons.All I found were books, small trinkets, and a picture frame.I picked it up and studied the photo.A man and a woman with a small girl standing between them.Probably something Cosway had found and kept.

“Send him in.It’s clear,” I called out.

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