Page 30 of The Manticore's Fire

“The creatures of the desert are not what I am worried about,” he spat as he lurched to all fours. She caught herself with one hand as she glowered up at him. “Do you not comprehend the situation? They willneverstop sending hunters.”

Abby stared at him for a moment and then her shoulders slumped with a weary sigh. “You’re right. They will always be there, making the desert and the cavern a prison.”

“You have the opportunity to escape the prison, Abby,” he said gently, though he hated the words he had to speak.

Her eyes lifted to him curiously. “What do you mean?”

Samir drew a deep breath to fortify himself, needing that strength to push him to give her what she needed. “With your aid, I will consider your debt of life to me paid. You will be free to return home, Abby.”

She stared at him, her eyes round with shock. “What?” she whispered.

He nodded, silently affirming his words. “I will speak no further on this. It is a long way to the city still and the sun is climbing high. Let us rest.”

Turning away, he found a space among the serpent’s coils and dug out a protected shelter there. No one would come close enough to the viper to investigate so they would be able to lower his guard completely to truly rest and recover.

And perhaps he could pretend like his heart was not bleeding from the decision that he knew was to come.

Chapter

Twenty

The desert seemed larger than she remembered, though Abby admitted that the first time she had been distracted with her thoughts of her mission and the company of her guides. Or perhaps it just seemed to go on and on because her mind kept circling back to Samir’s words. She couldn’t believe that he was just going to let her go—just like that. They were amazing together in bed and as partners, and yet he was just going to free her after working so hard to keep her? She didn’t understand it. She understood his gratitude if she could help him negotiate peace with King Decort but that seemed a little extreme. Even more confusing was the fact that she wasn’t even remotely excited about the possibility. The thought of leaving Samir and the desert made her… sad.

Abby groaned inwardly. Gods, why was it so hard to admit to herself that she’d somehow fallen in love with the beast? Such things just were not done. Even close personal companionship with a monster was frowned on when seen amongst those outside their circle. Gossip abounded about the red-haired warrior from the north who traveled alone with a minotaur. A hunter choosing to stay with a monster would be met with outright disdain, if not an immediate threat to her life. Andyet she welcomed it. She didn’t want to be just another hunter fulfilling her duties and earning fame.

She wanted Samir.

But he was correct that they needed to sort out the matter with the king and Veldala first. So, she did as he asked and said nothing more about it. There would be enough time to work this all out afterwards. Instead, she engaged with him in light conversation when not just enjoying the companionable silence between them as they made their way across the desert. She swore she still smelled the stink clinging to her from the sand viper rotting in the sun and she mentally added a long bath to her list of things to do. Until then, she was content enjoying the view.

Seated upon Samir’s back as he alternately ran or slowed to walking a pace as they crossed the desert, it truly gave her an appreciation of just how big, beautiful and yet utterly desolate it was. The desert would mercilessly kill someone like her if she didn’t travel across it well prepared. Even travelling at the speed with which they were going, they had to camp during the hottest part of the day as they slowly made their way to the capital. One day passed into a second and then a third, and it was on the fourth when they stopped for a rest and to share water that Abby reclined against Samir’s side and decided that the desert at night was her favorite thing.

She certainly understood why Samir chose that time to prowl, hunt, and travel. Though with her human limitations, her own travel would have been restricted without him since he could navigate the desert expertly without the sun whereas she was practically night-blind. Despite this, she loved the night. The punishing sun was not only absent from the sky, but the desert came to life with insects and the distant sounds of nighttime creatures singing to each other. Logically she knew that many of them, like most wildlife that now occupied the world, wereonce native to the fae realms before the collision and yet she already couldn’t imagine the desert without them. Would the desert have been much quieter in the days that preceded their fragmented records?

Abby stared up at the starry sky as she sipped from her water bottle, wishing that they could just stop and enjoy the tranquility that the night offered. The chain hanging from Samir’s manacle rattled as he shifted positions and stretched tiredly on the sand, reminding her of their purpose. As much as she hated that he insisted that she put it on him just that morning, it was a stern reminder that this wasn’t a leisure trip for their pleasure. They had a purpose for all of this, and she couldn’t forget that. At least not until they completed what they had set to do.

“Do you suppose that it is much farther to the city?” she mused.

Samir expelled a heavy breath, his sides heaving and shook his head, sending the collar and chain rattling. “Not much. It is why I insisted that you remove the chains from the pack and put them on me when we last rose. We are getting close enough that there is a chance that local travelers might catch a glimpse of us. If word of our approach gets back to the city, it cannot be any other than what we want to them to believe—that a hunter is arriving with her captured prey.”

“Understood. Do you think we will arrive by tonight then?”

“We will likely crest the final hill and arrive some time following the dawn. You will need to bind my tail after we rest to complete the illusion.”

She nodded and stifled a yawn. As much as she enjoyed the night and had rested during the midday hours in the hollow that Samir dug out that afternoon, she was a creature of habit and was battling against an undeniable urge to burrow down against the male and drift off to sleep. She must have given something away, however, because he made a soft sound in his throat.

“You are tired,” he observed in a quiet rumble.

She chuckled and tucked her head against his shoulder. “Despite all evidence to the contrary since we’ve been together, most humans are not all that nocturnal. Our vision is poor in the dark and we would be vulnerable to wild animals, so we tend to stay indoors when the sun goes down. I like keeping odd hours to enjoy some of the night, and I have been awake far later than normal since being captured by you, but this is late even for me. Especially with all the traveling.”

A soft purr rattled from him, and he shifted to brush to his cheek against the top of her head as his big, paw-like hand gently squeezed her thigh. “Then rest a little. We can spare an hour or two.”

A yawn sneaked by her defenses and she slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle it. “Are you sure?”

“I am certain. I will keep watch and make sure nothing tries to sneak off with you—seeing how your human flesh is such a tasty treat,” he teased, “but it seems that your kind requires more rest, and we are in no hurry.”

Inching up a little higher, she buried her face in his soft mane. “I would’ve thought you would be eager to get this finished so you can be pampered with chocolate, coffee and tea.”

His chuckle rumbled through her, causing her teeth to rattle slightly but she smiled into his mane enjoying just being there with him as the desert sang to them.

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