Page 9 of The Songs of Fate (War of Fate)

A sarcastic laugh left his lips, and he continued to walk.

“Okay, fine. Put me down, and I can show this whole thing was blow out of proportion,” I said with fake sweetness. If he kept holding me close to him, he might notice how fast I had healed. I needed to keep my distance from this man.

He paused and peered down at me and then at my leg.

The three jagged bite marks went from the top on my thigh, near my hip, ending near the top of my knee. All were encrusted with dried blood, so black it almost blended with my pants.

What animal seeps black venom?

I slid my eyes to him and smiled while dangling my legs eagerly.

Shaking his head, he bent down and withdrew his hands from underneath my thighs so my feet could land on the ground. Still holding onto my waist, he watched my face closely.

“I’m fine now, really.” I took a step forward and then another.

Even the slight burn had gone away, leaving the leg slightly numb but usable. The healing was something I needed to look into. I couldn’t deny it anymore… there was no way this could be normal.

I stumbled the next few steps over some small pieces of gravel.

The man quickly encircled my waist when I fumbled, inhaling sharply. I could’ve sworn he was a second away from tossing me back into his arms, so I sidestepped his hands and walked further down ahead of him.

“Wow, I guess you really are not that bad,” he mumbled under his breath and kept close behind me.

After a few moments of sloppy balance, I finally began walking like a person instead of a drunk penguin. I tried to quicken my pace, but the voice behind me yelled, “Uh uh. Keep it slow.”

A few more turns, and I was confident enough to take my eyes off of my feet to glance at my watch.

Oh, shit!Four in the afternoon, and we were still at least five miles from my car.

I wiped my palms down the sides of my legs and diligently focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

“So, what happened back there?” He interrupted my racing thoughts.

I turned and absently glanced back. The man bounced off the rock behind me with effortless grace.

“Huh?”

“I said, can you tell me what happened to you?” he asked intently while searching my eyes.

“Uh, well. It’s kind of foggy.” I started walking again.

Should I tell him about what I saw?

Absolutely not. Lie! The less attention to your wounds, the better.

“I mean, I haven’t ever seen mountain lions on this trail before. I’m not sure what could’ve attacked you,” he said.

“Really? I think they’re still prevalent in some spots around here.”

“So, it was a mountain lion?” he asked incredulously while hurrying to walk beside me.

“Maybe,” I said.

“But how did you fight it off?”

I kept my gaze directly on my feet, trying not to limp.

“I kicked it,” I said matter-of-factly.

---