Page 33 of The Sacrifice

The monster snarls behind me. Too close! I will my legs to run faster even as I hold the wasted fox tight in my arms. Her hot breath and black hair are so near, they tickle the back of my neck. Wait, how is that possib—

I crash through a clearing and right into a hard wall of slabbed muscle. Breath stolen, stars and sparks consuming my vision, I whirl and fall. Drago’s familiar arms catch me, explaining my sudden senses. Now, I’m more than thankful for them hunting me. The other three’s faces blur as my vision returns to normal. And there is Qora drifting nearby, and I understand she must have left to find them, to bring them here.

Warmth engulfs my chest as Drago sweeps me into his arms, and I squeeze the fox tighter as he lunges and roars at the monster pursuing me. “Back the fuck off!”

23

Tonight, we will punish her.

DRAGO

Confound it all! Out of all the monsters in the fucking Ash Forests, my little brat has to run into the bane of our existence. Make that second bane.

“Back off, Hag!” I reiterate while my brothers form a wall around Tessie. I’m taller and larger than all of them, so I leer down at the wretch, blood bludgeoning my eardrums. Scales rise to the surface, and I fear my half-dragon will unleash itself and betray recent events. Though Kronos knows we gain a leftover sample of power after Hollows Night, he knows I would never turn half-dragon and expend so much of my vitality protecting a mere gray waif.

Tessie shivers in my arms as the Hag curls a rakish claw at us and croons, “The forest belongs to me. And all within it. Finders keepers, Dragomir.”

“And now, she has found her way into my arms and into my territory.” I glance down at Tessie, furrowing my brows and pretending like I don’t know her, hoping the Hag doesn’t pick up on my rushed breath, the rabid beating of my heart. I’ve never had this much pain in my chest when I look at a girl, undead, ghost, half, or whole. “And if you think I’ll pass up the opportunity to fuck a warm blood, then you are thoughtless and heartless,” I retort, digging in the blade and reveling in her shrill shriek, those tentacles flapping at her cheeks. Because we know damn well who has her heart and why.

At least, Tessie seems to pick up on my tactic. She may be an impulsive slip of a thing and as wild as a little monster, but she’s no fool. Her jaw drops, and she hisses a deep breath when I capture a few strands of her hair and tuck them behind her ear. Given how torn the tunic is, it bares one small breast to the air, and heat surges into my cock from the sight of that dusky rose nipple puckering from my voice.

“You should keep a better leash on your pets, Dragon,” the Hag advises, slumping her shoulders and heaving a wanton moan. “They have a tendency to bolt. Especially from you.”

“I am betting this one will enjoy the bone I give her.” I wink and pinch the tight, little bud on Tessie’s chest. She gasps, covering her mouth with one hand before clutching the fox tighter to shield herself. My brothers chuckle in return as I grin. “Yes...” I eye Tessie again and pat her head. “I’m certain she will want to suck upon it again and again.”

The Hag snarls, crouches once, but she knows she cannot cross the border of the Ash woods. It’s a stroke of fortune that my little strumpet managed to cross into the clearing. Otherwise, we may have had to battle the Hag. And we lost the last time, and she loved sending us back to the castle with our tails between our legs and licking our wounds.

Almost as soon as she does, I click my teeth and look down at Tessie, who fumbles with the torn tunic, before finally giving up and letting it hang. Instead, she clutches the fox closer, and I wrinkle my nose at the scrawny mongrel shivering in her arms and burying its snout in her arm. More skin and bones than anything, it probably won’t last the night, but she cradles it like a precious bundle.

I pat the back of her head, stroking those gray strands. “You were a naughty girl to run from us, my little strumpet,” I scold her, paying heed to her body’s responses, how the hairs on her arms prickle but how she tucks her chin toward her shoulder, eyeing me from the side. At least her wounds seem shallow, though the blood trickling upon her curling tattoos smells sweet as a weeping rose. Stubborn, too, I consider the only flower that grows in the Waste.

As noted, she thrusts up her chin, her eyes heated. “I won’t apologize. I found Qora. She’s safe. And now, he is, too...” she gestures to the fox, which makes a sound halfway between a warble and a growl as she lifts the creature. Enough for me and my brothers to get a good look at its multiple tails.

“Damnation!” thunders Mayce with a deep groan while Kyan kneads his eyes. Merikh remains stony as always, though I read the glare in his eyes.

“What?” Tessie wonders, whipping her head around, scanning the four of us.

“That’s a rook fox. They’re tricksters, bad omens, little one. You can’t keep him. I won’t have you bringing that hoodwinker back to the castle,” I warn her, taking her elbow and leading her to a different gate than the one she departed from.

“Oh, burning balls!” she huffs and rolls her eyes, rocking the fox. “He’s a harmless, little runt. Barely bigger than a baby. Look! He’s even smiling at me.” She holds the fox up, her hands under its shoulders, her eyes shimmering with pride as she shows him off.

With his mouth twisted in disgust, Mayce points out, “Its lips are stuck to its teeth.”

Tesse strokes her nails along the fox’s back, holding him to her chest again. “His eyes are so pretty.”

“Are they supposed to look like urine?” wonders Kyan, falling into stride on the other side of her as he observes the fox.

When she curves her fingers beneath the snout, the creature leans into her hand, welcoming her touch. Damn it all! She’s enamored with the hideous, little beast, caressing its mangy patches of fur on its skinny, bald body.

Just as I prepare to escort her into the west walkway through the garden and to the servant’s quarters, I cup her shoulders and squeeze, insistent and admonishing, “We are not about to allow a rook fox, of all things, into our castle. It’s out of the question. Now, do you prefer to release the flea-bitten beast back into the woods from whence it came, or should I give it a merciful death?”

Fuck me! All the blood drains from her face, and she steps back and holds the ghastly animal tighter. I advance toward her, my shadow looming, and growl the command, “Let the little bastard go, Quintessa.”

She scratches its shriveled ears, cups the side of its face, and shakes her head, tucking her chin close to her chest. “No.”

Infuriated by her audacity and defiance, Merikh crosses the distance to her, bloodthirst scrawling in his eyes as he snarls, “The King gave you a command, little dove. Do not forget the generosity you have been granted in this land of rot and death. You should be on your knees begging for forgiveness and sucking all our cocks for your right to breathe the same air as the gods before you.”

I almost find it amusing when she goes so far as to stick her nose up in the air and argue with him, “If you’re all big, dangerous gods, then I’m sure you’re not threatened by a bony little fox like him.” She presses her lips to the fox’s head, her eyes burning against Merikh’s. “What are you so afraid of?”

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