Page 45 of Of Rime and Ruin
I nod eagerly.Yes, please.
He snorts, bubbles flowing out of his mouth. His face presses into the bars, eyes growing large and hungry as he studies me. He parts his mouth, revealing a double row of sharp, white teeth. He stretches through the bars, and I eye his paw as fear flares in my gut.
Nahla is a friend, I remind him.Not food.
He blinks. Cocks his head. His claws curl in, leaving one to point at me. Crouching lower, his impossibly large frame sinks to my level. He holds my gaze as his voice rumbles through my mind:Nah-la.
Something inside me unhitches at the sound of my name in that rich bass tone. His thoughts surround me, circling, prodding, as if trying to enter my soul. I hold still as the dark clouds whisper past.
I’m flooded with a sense of amusement, then one word:Cute.
I frown.
He dips his head, tucking his nose into my cell. My skin tingles. And then the Beast sniffs me.
Cute, he repeats with satisfaction.
I’m not cute. My name is Nahla. I’m hungry, and I’m being serious.
He hums. His mind swirls, solidifying into a singular image. A small golden fish, with a wide sailfin. A sunfish. Then,Cute.
I roll my eyes. Sunfish are not cute. They’re unintelligent, herd-minded animals that are easily manipulated for a quick kill.
Sunfish hungry, he says with a note of determination.I fix.
Then, quiet as he came, he releases the cage and slips out of the tunnel. I squint into the darkness as the bubbles settle around the place his body occupied.
I uncurl my fists, noticing now how tightly I’ve clenched them.
It worked.
He’s not eating me—he’sfeedingme.
I smile, settling against the wall to wait. My fists press into my stomach to stifle its hungry protests.
I keep the connection open, maintaining my spell with a near-silent hum. His vision plays in his thoughts, and I watch him slither through the water, scent his prey, and track a swarm of silverfish. He pierces their formation, snatching one from the water. He eats his first catch, tearing into its flesh with ravenous teeth.
Sunfish hungry. Fix.He refocuses, targeting another fish.
Soon enough, he returns with it wriggling in his mouth. His teeth bite into the flesh, pinning the catch with a trickle of blood.
He crawls through the tunnel, careful to avoid Vaughn. On the floor, the guard moans, shifting in his sleep.
The silverfish thrashes in the jaws of death.
I sigh. That meat’s going to taste like fear. But beggars can’t be choosers. My stomach grumbles at the smell of its leaking blood.
The Beast slows his approach. He catches my gaze, then his teeth sink deep, blood clouds the water, and the fish ceases to move. The dead eye stares glassy at the ceiling and silver scales dim to dull gray. He drops his prize and passes the carcass through the bars of my cage.
I catch it, the meat heavy in my hands. My fingers trace the length of its body, slipping along the scales. Poor thing. I should teach the Beast to hunt with empathy.
Sunfish eat.His voice penetrates, rumbling with the note of an order.
I cock my eyebrow at him.Thank you.
He waits at the cage until I lift the fish to my mouth and tear into the flesh. It’s sweet but soured at the finish.
The Beast nods.Fixed?
