Page 67 of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human
His large body rumbled as he lowered his head to the ground. A long claw pushed my feet up, helping me climb onto his neck.“You risked your life to come and save me. I think we’ve grown past that.”With a powerful kick of his hind legs, we were airborne. Soaring through the night like a playful wind.
Laughing, I snuggled further into the warmth of his mane. “It didn’t seem like you really needed my help. By the time we got there, you pretty much had them on their knees.”
“You didn’t know that when you came in.”
“No, I suppose I didn’t.”
“That meant more to me than I know how to say.”
To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about leaving without him. Seeing him drop to the floor had filled me with more fear than I’ve ever felt in my life.
This, whateverthisis, it’s still new. Still very new. But the thought of anything taking him away from me is terrifying. Even before I was kidnapped, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this sense of… ease?The feeling was hard to place. If I had to give it a name, I’d say it just felt right. “Leaving you was never an option.”
Dante hummed. The soft mane beneath me radiated a soothing heat, and I found my eyes drooping.“Get some rest,”he murmured.“I’ll wake you when we get there.”
Chapter 22
Cherry
“Wake up.”
“Nmrm.” I rubbed at my eyes with a groan and tried burrowing closer into the warmth at my side. Cold slapped against my senses when the heat slipped away from me.
I looked up to see Dante grinning down at me. “Stop your growling and get up, or you’ll miss it.”
“You took all the warm,” I said petulantly.
He chuckled and held a hand out to help me up. “I am the embodiment of evil. Now get up, you’ve got walking to do.”
The temptation to flip him off and go back to sleep was palpable, but I took his hand anyway. Dante hoisted me to my feet and guided me toward a staircase carved into the side of a rock. I looked around, but the area was covered in a thick fog. The dim glow of dawn did little to help me see past a few feet.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“This is the Whispering Isle, and you’ll need to make it to the top before the sun rises, so get moving.”
Grumbling, I took the first few steps, then glanced back when I noticed he wasn’t following. “You’re not coming?”
He shook his head. “I can’t help you reach the top. You’ll need to do it on your own.”
“Are you going to tell me why?”
“You’ll see when you get there.”
“Cryptic sayings should be illegal before sunrise.”
He laughed and gave my back a light push. “And they say I’m impossible if woken too early. Get moving, honey badger.”
My hand skimmed across the rock wall as I trudged my way up the steps. Pillow-soft moss crept along the wall as the staircase veered along its curve. Legs aching, I grumbled a slew of insults at the impossible man forcing me to exercise so early in the day. Truly, the original plan of absconding into the wilderness grew more tantalizing with each step.
Panting like a dog on their last legs, I caught my breath. A bushel of blueberries protruded from the path a few steps up, so I struggled up a few more steps to try a few. “Hmm. That’s good shit.”
Dante
“Absolutely not,” I said.
Kohara’s mane bristled.“Don’t be stingy! I brought what you asked for. The least you could do is let me test her.”The unicorn clutched in her talons was courtesy of the King of Kibar’s personal zoo. The creature let off a pitiful noise as it tried to buck out of her hold. Its dark eyes looked at me, as if pleading for help.
“No. You’ll break her. Just like you’re about to do to that poor unicorn. Let it go. It’s no use to me dead.”
