Page 21 of Foxin' Around

He glanced down at himself and hissed under his breath as he noted the tiny splatters of blood dotting his sleeve. He gathered the material in his hand in an unsuccessful attempt to hide it, but cursed when the red splatters only seemed to gather together and become more visible along the bunched fabric.

“Is that blood?”

The sharp note in his mate’s voice startled him and he immediately released his sleeve with a guilty grimace. “Would you believe that it is a stain from raspberries?” he queried as she set her cup on the counter and hurried toward him.

To his surprise, she actually made to grab for him. It might have elated him and tempted him to play but the situation was far too earnest, and he was not quick enough to evade her completely other than the dance out of the way.

“That is not raspberries,” she snapped in exasperation as she reached for him again. “Hold still so I can make sure that you’re not bleeding.”

“I am not!” he yelped just as his mate caught his arm and twisted it brutally so that she could get a good look at it.

She shoved up his sleeve and frowned at his smooth skin before lowering the material and lifting it to inspect the little splatters. He groaned to himself when she stared hard at the larger splatters toward the outer side of his sleeve that he had not even noticed. Transferring the material to one hand, she snatched his other sleeve and lifted it, her eyes widening at the even larger splatters he had failed to notice altogether on the inside of that arm. Her blue eyes lifted to rest on him grimly.

“What the fuck is this, Syrix? And don’t even think about lying to me.”

He lifted an eyebrow, unable to resist challenging her. “Or? What kind of fiendish thing might you do to me if I dared to lie? Will you not be worried that I might like it?”

“Don’t be cute,” she replied blandly. “Unless you enjoy sharing a cabin with someone who won’t talk to you or spend more than five minutes in the same room as you until you can start being honest.”

He grimaced. “That is unfair and quite cruel.”

Being ignored and treated like a ghost by one’s own mate was perhaps the worst of punishments that he could even think of. Shunning was reserved among foxes for only the most serious trespasses.

“Try me. I’ve got plenty of practice talking to myself to keep me reasonably entertained for a while. Which of us will crack first?”

It seemed that she was serious. That was unfortunate.

“You will not like it,” he muttered. “It will make you afraid again.”

Something in her expression softened minutely and she sighed. “I’m already terrified. Every day that thing is out there, visions of a bloody death float behind my eyes every time I close them. I don’t think it can get much worse than it already is.”

“That is not a wager I would enjoy making.”

“But it’s my choice,” she replied, catching his gaze with hers. “I love that you want to protect me, but there is a big difference between protecting me and keeping secrets from me about important things.”

All things considered, that was pretty damning for him overall, but he was now frightened to confess his biggest secret. Though she couldn’t see them, his fox ears flattened as he regarded her, but she stared right back at him, her gaze boring a hole through him, demanding everything. He shrank back uncomfortably, his mind working frantically to discover some small trick or pleasure that might distract her from the matter at hand. Nothing presented itself and he found himself growing more panicked.

“Syrix… please. If you are freaking out because you’re trying to shelter me from the lamia, then just stop. I need you to tell me. I’ve seen firsthand what she is capable of just a few days ago. Nothing is going to shock me, and as I’ve said, I’m already frightened, so what more can it possibly do?”

“I dislike this,” he grumbled. “And I do not agree. Fears do not need to be compounded upon each other. You have seen enough.”

She expelled a long breath. “So… she has done something, and you don’t want me to see it.”

He grimaced. She got that out of him far too easily but perhaps it was for the best. Perhaps this one thing would be enough to satisfy her for now and would be penance toward his much larger omission. In any case, telling her and making her aware of it did not oblige him to show her anything, nowor in the future, that he might wish to protect her from seeing. From the hall he could see Fixi slipping out after Fata. The male paused for a moment to peer up at him judgmentally and Syrix just barely kept himself from baring his teeth at him. What right did a common fox, who understood little, have to judge him? It would be many lifetimes before Fixi would understand what it was like to be in exactly this position.

“Syrix.”

“Yes,” he growled unhappily, his gaze tearing away from the fox to meet his mate’s gaze. He was aware of the fact that Fixi used the opportunity to make his escape, but it did not matter now. Closing his eyes, he drew a calming breath and inclined his head in agreement as his eyes slowly opened and focused on her. “Yes, you are right. Ever since her first bloody gift, the lamia has returned every morning in the early hours to leave other tokens for us to find, but unlike the case with the human she hunted, she is venturing onto the porch to leave them at our door. It is… not pleasant.”

Krystal’s face went pale, her eyes quickly dropping to stare over his shoulder at the door. He could almost sense the flurry of thoughts going through her head, but she swallowed and nodded bravely as her gaze lifted to meet his.

“O… okay,” she replied, stumbling over her words. “So, you… took care of it?”

“Yes, I disposed of it every morning.”

“Okay. And what was it? This morning, I mean.”

He sighed, unhappy with the direction of conversation. He had hoped that she would not wish to hear details. Thankfully, he did not get very far in his description before she threw up a hand to stop him and pressed her fingers to her lips as she swallowed sickly. He regarded his mate in sympathetic silence, waiting for her to tell him what she needed.

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