Page 38 of Magic & Secrets
The silence between us lingered. I knew we were traveling in the wrong direction. Elatalora was our best option for reuniting with our allies.
We arrived at a human-made clearing in the forest. Large machinery sat abandoned. The Murade designed these outposts in distant lands and filled them with humans. The idea was to spread their kind rather than allow magic to reclaim territory after territory.
Near the bulldozer rested a pile of neatly stacked trees. The humans had been busy until meeting their demise. I found tattered and bloodied clothes near one piece of machinery.
“Varema Ghouls,” Calla said behind me as she found bloodied boots. “They’ll eat everything, bones and all.”
I scanned the woods around this wide clearing. The Murade was foolish to devise a settlement amid Pandorium. Theythought their weapons could defeat anything, yet they were destroyed by simple monsters of claws and fangs.
Ghouls likely watched us from the woodlands. I could almost smell them despite Calla’s overpowering scent. She focused on a spot near a tree, where a clawed hand slipped back into the darkness.
“We should keep going,” I stated and walked past the abandoned machinery.
Slow to follow, Calla ambled around the machinery, picking up supplies and playing investigator.
“Come along,” I insisted, gesturing for her to hurry in my direction. “The growing darkness will no doubt encourage the Ghouls to become more brazen.”
Calla’s emerald gaze scanned the wall of dense trees surrounding this clearing. The sun was already low in the sky. The Ghouls were likely imagining a delicious meal of tender flesh and golden hair.
When Calla lingered for too long, I worried her bruised ego might blind her to the palpable danger. To keep her alive, I chose to pacify her hurt feelings.
“You shouldn’t take things so personally.”
Flashing an irritated glance in my direction, Calla muttered, “I’m uninterested in speaking with you.”
“Nothing I said was wrong, but I shouldn’t have laughed in your face. You must show me mercy. I spend most of my time in animal form. I never need to be charming when alone.”
Calla stopped watching the woods and glared at me. “You behaved as if I wanted you to be my mate. What do I gain from this situation beyond exasperation and distraction?”
“Well, Iwouldmake a superior mate,” I announced proudly before quickly adding, “Not that I think I’m yours. But you’d be fortunate if I were. After all, I’m nearly impossible to kill. Iknow how to hunt. I’m still in great shape despite a century-long retirement. I can also be charming.”
“I doubt that.”
Scowling, I asked, “The charming part?”
“No, that you’re in decent shape. You were sloppy with the Sorcerer.”
A growl erupted from deep in my chest. I was unaccustomed to criticism. Calla’s comment hit me harder than it should. Somehow, she had dug her way under my skin. I cared too much if she lived or died.
Calla heard my growl and studied me. Her gaze was filled with hurt. My rejection had truly bruised her ego.
“Bane Shifters have no mates,” I said when I sensed she viewed my growling as a sign of aggression. “This entire discussion is pointless.”
“You were still cruel.”
“Though I’m capable of charm and kindness, cruelty flows more effortlessly from me.”
“Because you lived for so long in animal form on the mountain?”
“Yes, and I was also trained to disregard the safety of the Shifter at my side. They might be my brothers, yet I shed no tears when they died. It’s not in my programming.”
Calla tilted her head, studying me. “You truly view yourself as an android, don’t you?”
“I might be made out of flesh and bone, but I learned to ignore my emotions.”
“Then, why were you growling?”
“You irritate me.”
