Page 7 of The Manticore's Fire

“Now,” he purred, “for your bountiful consideration for my welfare, I can do no less but reward you. There is an ancient song that praises the beauty and charm of females, and I shall sing it for you now in demonstration of my thanks.”

He grinned at her, baring his sharp teeth briefly before launching into song. It was truly evil, but it amused him too to see her look of dismay when he rumbled the first verse. The poor little kitten. Though he knew the lyrics of many ancient poems and songs by heart, there was not a manticore alive who was capable of reasonably carrying a tune. He growled and moaned through the lyrics, growing increasingly satisfied as she shrank further into her chair. She did not put her hands over her ears, however. He had to give her credit for that. But the way her lips were twisted in a grimace and her eyes wide with a look of panic as if she was struggling to contain her distaste nearly made him ruin his performance with a snort of laughter.

She was adorable, entertaining,andpolite. How charming.

He ended the song on a long growl, and he hid a smile as she promptly clapped hands in a weak show of feigned enthusiasm. His eyes glinted at her as he leaned forward and grinned.

“Did you enjoy it, kitten?”

“It was marvelous,” she baldly lied. “I am truly impressed by your unexpected skill. I never knew feline species could sing so well. Truly, you’re a credit to your species.”

Samir grinned in response. “Ah, perhaps you would enjoy another song. I know a great many.”

Abby froze and warily looked up at him. “How many… exactly?”

“Hundreds,” he purred. “I would be delighted to entertain you with them to demonstrate my great appreciation.”

She shot to her feet, and he nearly lost control of himself as the look of panic on her face. “Not necessary!” she practicallyshouted before schooling her features in a faint smile. “That is to say… I intended to explore the cavern a bit more, if that’s okay?”

He inclined his head graciously and stood. “That sounds like an excellent idea. I would not mind a small stroll around the caves to accompany you.”

Her smile fled at his statement. “Oh. That’s really not?—”

“Do you really imagine that I will not know when you venture from my cave?” He blinked at her guilelessly. “Do you imagine that you will get far? Do you believe that you will do better than last time? Or any of the other times I cut off your escape route, though I saved you the embarrassment of making it appear as a coincidence?” His lips inched upward into a knowing smile. “Or did you truly delight in the hunt as much as I?”

Face going pale, Abby shook her head and took several steps back from him. “That’s okay. On second thought, I think I saw some paper and ink. I may just go amuse myself for a while.”

“Excellent idea,” he rumbled and chuckled when she fled deeper into the cavern toward his study.

He did not know what he was worrying about earlier. He was never going to tire of his little kitten. Purring softly, he followed behind her and took a seat at his desk as he pretended to busy himself with looking at his ledgers while she sprawled on the floor like a youngling and began to paint images. Ink was costly and hard to come by as not every caravan carried it, but he did not mind. Watching her slowly relax and forgetting her discomfort in his presence as she sank deeper into her own pleasure at that moment was worth its weight in treasure.

Treasures he had plenty of, but his coffers were empty of moments like these. So, he watched her contently, wrapping himself up in the moment. It granted him a surprising amount of peace and for a moment he imagined how she would look, her expression softened and entirely at ease as she lay at hisfeet playing with a cub or two or painting her little pictures with them.

He shook his head and laughed quietly.

Cubs? Since when did he ever desire such? Besides, it was far too soon to be caught in whimsical fantasies. Offspring meant mating. Mating was not some mere lark. Mating for a manticore, like many species, was forever. Abby was amusing and he hungered for her company in a multitude of ways as he was slowly discovering. But mating? And cubs?

No. He would not entertain such considerations. He did not hunt out a mate in the ancient way. She was a female who was sent to slay him, not a bride, and he was no young male to be caught in flights of fantasy. He would enjoy his huntress just as she was. It did not need to be anything more.

Chapter

Six

Although escape was foremost in Abby’s mind as she crept through the cavernous den of the manticore—because what rational person wouldn’t want that?—she wasn’t altogether able to ignore the fact that in doing so she would be abandoning her task. As things stood, however, she didn’t really give a fuck. Her job assignment was not how Zayman led her to believe. Not to mention that it was unlikely that she would be able to bring down the manticore when her lance was broken and all her weapons confiscated to some unknown part of the cavern. She could search for them but the chances of getting caught and suffering repercussions for it wasn’t something an intelligent person would risk.

There was another small issue, namely that she didn’t know if she could actually go through with killing Samir. She couldn’t identify the source of her reluctance as he was certainly a formidable predator who had killed many humans and was determined to keep her captive, but she just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t just because he was capable of thought. While trolls, orcs, goblins, and various creatures were considered very careful prior to the hunt, she had never felt guilty about doing what needed to be done to protect communities. But then, those samecreatures would have killed her in a heartbeat. But Samir had not. Was that the source of her discomfort the fact that he showed pity for her and made the decision to keep her, all the while treating her gently and with a measure of respect? Or was it because she was held down and fucked by him?

That whole incident should have made her feel violated and pissed off and yet she had been excited by the chase and some part of her wanted to be caught and fucked to satisfy the desire that had risen and burned within her. Had she formed an unhealthy attachment and become compromised because she had enthusiastically yielded to him and allowed a monster to rut her?

Whatever the case, she doubted that she could actually stomach harming him. She didn’twantto harm him. The truth was, she wanted to run far away from Samir. She certainly didn’t want to return to Veldala to resupply and carry out her assignment, even if that was the lie that was going to aid her escape. Presuming he bought it. But that was a worry for later. Right now she needed to actually get out and far enough away from the caves to light the flare and wait for Zayman to return for her.

To get to Veldala, she would tell him whatever he wanted to hear. She doubted that he would refuse if they were truly so anxious to remove Samir. For them to travel so far to recruit her parents they had to be pretty desperate, but she wasn’t so naïve to believe that she wouldn’t be threatened with imprisonment for her failure, which she could possibly talk her way out of with promises to go back and finish the job. She would lie, of course, to save her own skin but then she was booking passage on the nearest ship to take her back home. Fuck the desert and Vedala’s king. Even if she could manage to convince herself to be okay with the idea of someone hunting Samir, it couldn’t ever be her.Not only could she not do it but she would have to be suicidal to return after escaping Samir, much less try to kill him.

No, she decided as she crept along the wall, she just needed to lie and cheat her way back home, whatever it took. The need to run far, far away was thrumming a fast and steady tempo, whispering to her with every pound of her heart.

The hair rose on the back of her neck, and she paused at the edge of the common room. Her breath stilled and she strained to listen. The cavern was silent, but an icy dread worked its way up her spine and her breathing faltered. She felt like eyes were on her—watching her—but though she saw no tell-tale glow of Samir’s gaze, she couldn’t say for sure whether she was merely paranoid or not. But she couldn’t escape the feeling of eyes on her.

Abby shook her head to clear her thoughts. Drawing in a deep breath, she found her center and moved forward quickly, keeping her steps light and swift. All the while her heart was beating a whisper of warning. Faster. Faster. He was right behind her. Her breath was growing uneven as something uncomfortably like panic began to crawl through her belly. She caught sight of the exit leading out into the main passage.

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