Page 53 of The Delver
She nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Good.” His mandibles ticked up. “Brave female. You protected me.”
Warmth flooded her cheeks at his praise. “I tried.”
He lifted his other upper hand and brushed the backs of his claws down her cheek. “And that is most brave, yes? To try even when you fear. And you did not just try, Callie. Youdid.”
With a trill, Urkot lowered his face toward hers. “You must like me.”
Callie chuckled as the warmth inside her burned hotter. “I do.”
Very much.
“Good,” he purred. “My head is hard, but I do not want to test it against your rock.”
“Ugh.” She gave his chest a shove. “Not funny.”
He chittered as he straightened.
The corners of her lips twitched before curling into a smile. “Okay, so maybe it is. But I still don’t like the thought of you hurt.”
“Ah, Callie…” He moved closer and cupped her face between his big, strong hands. “I will take all hurts to shield you.”
Callie’s eyes widened as her belly fluttered.
All the men she’d been with in the past had been shallow. They’d focused on themselves, on their wants, their pleasure. After having her heart broken by her first boyfriend, who she’d given her virginity to, and dating men in college who’d only been interested in what they could get from her, Callie had lost interest in relationships. Maybe she’d even lost faith in the whole concept.
There’d been no commitment, no…partnership. No consideration.
Just by themselves, the words Urkot had spoken were more meaningful than anything those other guys had ever said to her. But when paired with the fact that he’d acted those words out every day she’d known him, for months, without ever asking for anything in return?
I really have been oblivious.
The vrix in front of herwantedher. Not because of what she could give him, but for who she was.
And I want him.
Before she could react or come up with a response, he lowered his hands and stepped aside, sinking down to collect her bag. And any words she might have said died on her tongue as she beheld the body of the pale vrix on the ground in front of her.
Callie picked up her lantern and approached the vrix. Though it was clearly dead, she gave one of its legs a kick to be sure. When it didn’t move, she stepped closer and crouched, holding the lantern toward it.
The brief, nightmarish glimpse she’d had when it attacked her had been real.
Its hide was a pale, sickly white, and its body was emaciated, with long, gangly limbs that were smeared with dirt and blood. In places, she could see bones outlined through its hide—especially around its chest, where its hide clung to its ribs. Wickedly long, sharp claws tipped its fingers like blades. But it was its face that was the most terrifying of all.
Shadowstalkers and thornskulls didn’t have lips like humans; their hard mouths hid their fangs while closed. But this vrix’s teeth were on full display like those of a bare skull, long, thin, and pointed. Its eight beady black eyes were open and lifeless, with three sets atop each other, and the final smaller pair offset to the outsides of the middle row.
Callie stared at its clawed mandibles and shuddered. They reminded her of the mouthparts of a camel spider.
This was a creature made for rending flesh.
“Is…is this a…”
“Spiritstrider,” Urkot said from behind her.
She covered her mouth with a hand as she stared wide-eyed at the horrifying vrix. “Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.”
The stories Urkot had told her were true. The fears he had shared with her were real.
