Page 31 of The Manticore's Fire

“It will come soon enough. Besides, as delicious as chocolate, coffee, and tea are, nothing is as great of a delicacy or gives me more joy than you.”

The confession was whispered lightly, quiet enough that she might have missed it if she were not pressed up against him.

“You make me happy too,” she admitted. “All I thought I ever wanted was to be a respected hunter like my parents and myfamily… but being with you I guess just slowed me down and made me really take into consideration what makes me happy.”

“And I do that?” he rasped, a note of wonder in his voice.

“Between all of your insults, prodding, and reluctant if genuine praises… yes,” she agreed with a chuckle. “I’ve enjoyed having coffee and tea with you as we read and taking little strolls around the pools deep within the caves. Even the trip outside to the oasis to fetch supplies. I’ve enjoyed living day to day with you without worrying about when or how I’m going to make my reputation but just enjoying every moment in your company.”

“Would you… consider staying after all is done?”

She blinked in surprise and straightened. “You are asking me?”

His ear flicked and a disgruntled look crossed his face. “I know I said that we would not speak on this, but I admit that I offered to free you mostly because I had already decided that I do not fancy having a female with me any longer if you are just my prisoner. It lessens the moments I enjoy with you knowing that you are there only because I captured you. I intend to release you after we concluded our bargain but now, I wonder if you would stay?”

Her lips parted to blurt out the answer rising readily to her lips, but he shook his head. “Do not answer now. Just consider it for when the moment comes. If you stay… it will mean forever. You will never be able to return to the life you once had. I am aware that this is a tremendous sacrifice.”

Abby’s lips twisted faintly in private amusement. He did not understand. He had freed her in so many ways; she was ready for this last opportunity to experience true freedom… with him. But if he wanted her to wait and “think about it,” so be it.

“You are saying that you want me?” she whispered teasingly.

“More than anything,” he growled. A faint smile curled his mouth, and he inclined his head. “Of course. If you are slow todecide and are not eager to flee from me when all is said and done, then I would be pleased if you would remain with me as my guest while you think it over.”

She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and hugged him, loving his warmth and hating the brutal collar pressed between them simultaneously. She couldn’t wait to free him once more and toss the damned collar into the sand. It was wrong to her on so many levels that they were going to be entering the city with Samir tethered to her like a beast.

“Do not fret, Abby,” he rumbled soothingly as he scooped her up and tucked her against his chest. “Rest. I will wake you when it is time.”

Sighing softly, she nodded and snuggled against him, the tempo of his heart thumping beneath her ear slowly working its magic as she drifted to sleep.

In her dream her two choices before her danced within her mind, showing the alternate futures that lay before her. One where she was a huntress, alone except for her crew and hunting dangerous things within the depths of the woods as she always imagined that she would do, and the other where she was nestled within him in their comfortable cave. Perhaps they would have a brood of offspring, but in her dreams, she saw her hunting by his side, protecting the people who depended on them when not spending their days comfortably together. It was that future that gave her a sense of contentment and warmth deep within her heart.

She wasn’t sure if what she felt for him was the sort of love to base one’s future on, but she loved him nonetheless and wanted to spend the years figuring it out with him. It sounded like the start of a new adventure to her. Yes, Samir was a monster—and he made no pretense of being particularly human-friendly and he was, in fact, in possession of very violent tendencies—but never once did he use them against her. At least, not beyondchasing her in pinning her in place which was more foreplay between them than anything. And gods how she wanted to be with him in every way.

Abby smiled in her sleep and rubbed her cheek against a soft pelt of fur, a rattling purr carrying her deeper into her dreams where he waited to take her on new adventures.

Chapter

Twenty-One

The city was busy and alive with foreign sights and sounds that were typical of most large cities, but Veldala’s activity was fraught with a different kind of energy. The populace shied away from them as Abby walked with her leashed manticore down the main street that ran through the city to the palace rising above the public buildings on the other side of the market. Despite the distance the people kept from them, they watched fearfully as if they expected at that moment that Samir would break from Abby’s control. This was despite the precautions that they took to render him harmless in appearance.

Smaller manacles bound his arms and legs as he prowled on all fours to keep his stride checked. There were short chains running between his bound wrists and another between the manacles on his legs and both chains were connected in turn by a longer chain so that he had no hope of successfully running or leaping. There was also an enchanted golden band that ran across his mouth, held in place with a leather strap, stifling his fiery breath and blocking his ability to bite. Even his tail was bound to his back where it couldn’t inflict damage.

He was rendered as helpless as possible and still people stared at him as if he were about to strip their flesh from their bones. It annoyed her more than it ought to have. She knew that people were afraid of monsters and had every reason to be—elsewise her family and many other hunters wouldn’t be necessary—but her hand tightened on his chain, and she gritted her teeth tightly together as they made their way down the street.

She noted that word appeared to spread rapidly of her arrival. Not surprising all things considered. The moment she stepped out of the market, an armed escort surrounded her, blocking off the crowd. They made a show of forming a barrier to protect the populace from “the beast.” This much she knew from the bits of language she was able to decipher shouted from the guards. They were warning people to remain back for their protection, that they had arrived to secure the beast and bring it before the king for the reckoning of the gods. It was not the first time Abby heard of a king being referred to as a vessel or even a half-divine descendant of a deity, even if it was utilized to justify their absolute authority no matter how deplorable they were as a ruler, so she kept her expression flat as she followed the men who took position in front of her.

Samir did not appear to even react to the guards, not even when Zayman finally joined them at the palace gates, a look of shock flitting across his face. His gaze briefly shifted away from them and appeared to search someone out before returning to her. Abby’s eyes drifted away from his displeased expression, noting the considerable height of the palace walls and the luxurious greenery and gardens just inside them. Only the palace was walled and possessed greenery. It was a stark contrast to the rougher buildings of the city itself, signs of suffering among the populace, and open vulnerability of the city beyond the palace. It seemed that the king was well fortifiedagainst anything that the desert could throw at him, including his own people.

Zayman edged in closer to her side, keeping her in between him and the manticore, drawing her attention back to him—and Samir’s sharp glare as well, though he didn’t notice—as he leaned in with an unwelcome familiarity. “This is not what we agreed upon. You were not paid to fetch a monster but to do what your people do—hunt it.”

“I saw an opportunity and took it. A generous king will reward someone well who can bring him fabulous sights,” she murmured.

Zayman scowled but sighed, his eyes rolling upward. “As it happens, you are correct, and the king is beside himself with a chance to include a fabled manticore to his menagerie.”

Abby made a non-committal sound, choosing to ignore the part about the menagerie. She had said she would show the king sights to draw him out to negotiation, not with any attention in allowing him to keep Samir. But that seemed like a detail that she would be wise to keep to herself for the time being. Instead, she watched avidly as he waved away the guards and gestured for her to follow him as they proceeded beyond the gates. The path beneath their feet was paved with literal gold that wound through the blooming courtyard garden to the ornate palace rising at the center of the royal complex.

The elegance of the courtyard gardens was breathtaking. She didn’t recognize most of them and yet was surprised to see that there were a number of flowers included among them that she recognized from the northern lands where the weather tended to be temperate and wet. Fat roses bloomed forming long, graceful hedges and she wondered in passing just how much water was needed to keep the heat from killing them. The lush scent of the roses mingled with other fragrances from the numerous flowering plants that were displayed in fine urns androde up trellises. It was a fantasy garden of delights that she was certain likely hid away more than one courtier absconding with their lover. She was suddenly glad for Zayman’s company as her escort. She certainly had no interest in coming across any trysts. Although she considered herself far from a prude, it was just one other thing that added to the carefree decadence of her surroundings in ways that made her distinctly uncomfortable. It was as if no one within the walls had a care for anything happening beyond them and she found that highly concerning.

---