Page 60 of Feral Guardian
“Alastair.” Lily’s voice pulls me from dreams, and I blink awake.
There’s a chill in the tent and I hear the storm is upon us. It’s not snow as I’d hoped, but freezing rain. I roll over and nearly shout at the sight of Lily kneeling beside me. Her lips are blue, and her hair is soaked.
“What’s happened?” I ask, reaching out.
Her skin is like ice and her clothes are drenched. She’s so cold she’s at risk of losing her limbs, or her life.
“Thetent leaked,” she says with a chatter.
The lower corner of the tent had let in water, but my side is on higher ground. Why had she waited so long to say something to me? Gods, it doesn’t matter. I have to save her.
My ring—no, that only reflects her own body heat, and she has none. It’s so wet outside there’s no way I could start a fire. There’s no time for runes.
“So cold,” she whimpers.
I know what I have to do, but I’m hating myself for it. “I’m sorry, princess. This is the only way.”
I grab her shirt and pull it up over her head. She doesn’t stop me, her eyes closing intermittently as I strip her wet clothes off her. I pull off my shirt and pants, then tug her under the bearskin cover with me. She’s so cold, the touch of her skin burns against mine.
I wrap my legs around hers and pull her tight against my chest. “You’re okay now. I’ve got you.”
Her body trembles hard every few seconds, and she whimpers.
“I’ve got you, Lily. You’re feeling warmer by the second. Don’t worry. You’re okay,” I whisper into her hair, praying it’s true.
Please, by all the gods, don’t let this be her end.
Chapter eighteen
Lily
“Obedience.”
Mother carves the rune into my arm and I withhold my sobs, though I can’t stop the tears.
“Power.”
Her knife digs into my forearm and the dark power of the Pit seeps into my being. I don’t want it in me, but Mother promises that I’ll be stronger, that I’ll be more worthy.
I’m such a weak girl. My powers are barely better than a low-blood magus clown. She’s making me strong for the throne. Belle is gone, and I must take the throne.
“Fortitude.”
Blood leaks from my arm and drips to the dark stone. It bubbles when it hits the ground and disappears into smoke, as if this place is eating it. Eating me. I can’t help the quiet cry that spills from my lips.
“Quiet!” Mother barks, waving her dagger in my face. “I need quiet to perfect you. You are weak, Lilianna, and this will make you strong. You weren’t supposed to be the queen, but now you will haveto be. So be quiet and accept this gift I’m giving you to make you powerful.”
I grit my teeth so hard I think my jaw might shatter, but I keep the sobs inside. I’m weak, and she’s making me better, making me stronger.
The animal skulls’ hollow eyes stare at me from the walls and a low moan fills my ears. It’s not me moaning, this I know. Mother turns to smoke and the Pit gets watery, like a reflection I see through a distorted mirror.
The blade pulls away from my arm. A red-eyed reptile, with claws, horns, and wings, coils around my body.A dragon, I think, as I watch the beast encase me. I should be scared, but I’m not. There’s something protective, and possessive, about the creature’s embrace.
Its scaled arm winds over my shoulder and grips my breast. I gasp at the sudden flood of excitement that washes away the last of my pain. There’s a strange, pleasant sensation between my legs, one I can’t explain. The Pit fades away until I’m left in a dark ether.
Then I’m floating in the hot spring. I must’ve dozed off while washing up. Alastair stands before me, nude and beautiful. He’s the embodiment of Yegress: strength and life. His hand slides along my collarbone and grips my breast where the monster had grabbed me. I sigh into his touch and let it purge the memory of the Pit from my mind.
“Do you like this?” he asks.
