Page 58 of The Path of Blood and Betrayals
My body tenses as I realize who he is. What he is.
Sliding off my hands, he smirks, halting their descent. “Hold on to me, little kitten. You don’t want me to drop you, do you?”
“I find it hard to believe you would drop me.”
His hands loosen, and I grip tight as he chuckles.Prick. “Anything can happen in these woods, Max. Best to learn it now.”
Tiredly, my magic seethes at being restrained as I tighten my control. My eyes flutter, sleep trying to claim me when another scream echoes into the forest, alerting us both to another battle.
“The volunteers?” I guess, looking up. Kaden’s brows furrow and he tilts his head, point ears turned to listen better.
“More Skrull, back at camp.” He shifts me again, protectively curling around me as I press against to his chest. His heart beats in tune to mine and I itch to trace it through the shirt. “Hold tight. I’ll need to move quickly to get back and help my siblings.”
I do as he commands and he runs back through the path, quicker than even I.
That’s when the scent of blood slaps me in the face.
The camp is saturated, three more Skrull in the clearing. One is feasting on a man, his head ripped from the open cavity of his torso, as blood soaks the ground floor. Two more are circling the group of volunteers like ours did by the creek.
The group is small, smaller than this morning. There are corpses everywhere, tents destroyed or covered red. We’ve been gone such a short time and yet three Skrull decimated the volunteers.
“Where are your guards?” I ask, turning my head, seeking the Dark Fae. I see neither and I don’t see Taylay.
My heart constricts.Please don’t let him be one of the bodies.
“Waiting,” he murmurs, lowering me to a fallen stump by a few mangled tents. Placing fingers to his lips, he whispers, “Be quiet.”
The Skrull closest to us stops, snout pressed into the air. A mixture between a panther and a wolf, it howls as if to alert the others to something being here.
“They sense you,” Kaden explains.
“What are your forces waiting for?” My eyes rise, trying to find a peck of silver in the shadows. “Shouldn’t they be down there, fighting?”
Amber eyes gaze at me, cool and emotionless. My mouth parts, fury rising in my gut as my magic swirls. “You’re letting the volunteers take the brunt of the attack.”
“My guards know to wait for my command.” He shrugs. “You can’t think I’ll risk my people for the Humans. They would do the same to mine.”
I hate how much I agree with him. Humans would let others die first.
“They’re innocents,” I argue. “Your men could dispatch them easily.”
“So could you,” he says, glancing to me. “If you had better control.”
“Fuck you,” I curse. “Stop hiding and do something. Or aren’t you supposed to be some important warrior in your land?”
He chuckles. “Kitten, I’m theonlywarrior strong enough to fight these beasts.” At my frown, he rolls his eyes. “Fine. To appease your sensibilities, I’ll interfere. On one condition.”
“And that is?”
“You stay here,” he says, pointing. The Skrull purrs, a loud noise that hums along my nerves. “Those beasts know you’re here and they would love nothing more than to kill you. I don’t have to remind you of how weak, drained and injured you are.”
My shoulder throbs at the reminder, blood dripping down my forearm.
“ButTaylay?—”
“No,” he cuts off, eyes hard. “You stay here. Don’t worry about the Witch. Your survival is more important.”
Another growl, this one closer and my body freezes.
