Page 46 of Bitten & Burned
The voice, sullen and monotone, could not be anyone other than Quil. He grinned wickedly at Anton, his teeth sharp and his eyes dark, not an ounce of mirth or light bled from his face.
“Hush, she’s just hungry…” Anton said, his warm eyes searching mine once more. “Aren’t you, little love?”
“Isn’t that what I said?” Quil asked, movingover to lean against the wall. “A slight, sensitive, little human, bonding herself to a monster.”
“You speak of her as if she isn’t sitting right here.” Cassian’s voice was like molten metal being poured into a mold, his head tilted slightly, moving at once between me and Quil. Even his bulk, his height, his presence couldn’t shield me from that cold smile. From those sharp teeth.
Quil was a magnificent monster—all edges and shadows, the kind of beauty that cut if you looked too long.
“I never forgot where she was. We can’t do that, can we? None of us. Her…” he paused as if searching for the right word. “…Scentis everywhere. Bleeding into everything.” The word hit like a lash—sharp, deliberate. As if he meant to say ‘stench’ but couldn’t because Cassian or Anton wouldn’t let him get away with it unscathed. “Can’t get rid of her.” The last bit sounded wistful. As if he’d tried and couldn’t.
“Why would we want to?” Anton replied, looking down at me, still searching her eyes, looking for something there that I couldn’t name. Something I wished to give him.
“Because it’s a disease. An infestation.She’sthe curse, not that wound on her leg.” Quil’s voice was barely a hiss at this point, hitting every one of my weaknesses in one shot.I flinched because part of me knew he was right. The mark didn’t just mar my skin; it had blocked me from my goddess, keeping me cut off from my magic and corroding me from the inside out.
That was the crux of it, wasn’t it? The curse, the wound—it mademeinto the blight. The rot on Vael. On all of them, because they were coven-bound to him. I wanted to cry, but the moment felt far away, thin and unreal, like I was watching it happen to someone else through warped glass.
Heavy footsteps approached. I couldn’t see who because of Anton, bending in front of me.
I turned my head slightly, following the heaviness until I saw Dmitri. He moved behind Quil, his hand coming down to rest on his shoulder. Quil went rigid under the touch, a faint tremorrunning through him before his posture faltered. He shrank slightly, swallowed thickly when Dmitri’s fingers tightened on his shoulder.
“Is there a problem?”
The question rolled through the room before I even saw him—sharp and cold as a draft under a door. I felt the air shift, the subtle pull of eyes flicking toward the doorway. Vael had returned.
“Rowena, are you alright? Is he bothering you?”
“Not anymore,” Anton murmured.
“Not since herchampionarrived,” Quil muttered. He focused on the word “champion” as if it were a poison to be purged. Dmitri didn’t make a sound, but I saw Quil jolt again. He must have tightened his hold once more.
“Not another word,” Cassian said, each syllable slow and weighted, molten with threat. “Or I’ll feed you your tongue, Ashborne.”
Quil’s jaw worked slightly, as if he wanted to spit something else, but he didn’t; he allowed himself to be held back. Or he gave up. Whichever it was, it didn’t matter anymore. He was quiet.
The air felt thinner without his voice in it, but the sting of his words lingered like a bruise under the skin. I swallowed thickly, feeling a lump rising. I looked into Vael’s eyes. “I’m fine,” I said, my voice sounding faraway and tinny.
“You’re not a curse,” Anton murmured, rising to his feet beside me.
“She’s not,” Dmitri said, his voice breaking through as if all had been silent before.
“Of course not,” Vael murmured, his hand sliding along my cheek. He paused under my chin, tilting my head up to look at him. “You’re trembling. Look at me, Witchling. Only me.”
“She needs to eat something,” Cassian murmured.
“In a moment. This shouldn’t take long.”
“Vael—” Cassian’s tone carried a warning, low and edged, the kind he used when he thought I needed protecting from something I couldn’t yet name.
He looked sharply at Cassian. “Please. Let me do this.”
Cassian pressed his lips together reluctantly, nodding once and standing back, clasping his hands in front of him.
Anton’s hand ghosted along my arm before he, too, retreated to stand next to Cassian.
“There. Are you ready?” Vael asked.
I looked into his honey-gold eyes, feeling my heart swell as I beheld him.
