Page 31 of The First Trial
She smiled back in understanding, nodding her head to acknowledge me and tapped her own chest. ‘Qarinah.’
I tested the name on my tongue, liking the way it ended almost on a sigh. I had a feeling that was intentional on her parents’ part. Her name only added to her appeal. I mean, even though I was completely straight, I still found myself unable to tear my eyes away from the fullness of her breasts as they rose and fell with each breath. The woman exuded sex so much that my clit pulsed just from being near her. It was a wonder I could even still think straight.
I liked her.
I liked her even more when she tried to communicate with me with gestures rather than words, bypassing the nonsense as she waved in the direction the Angels had just left with a single, perfectly arched eyebrow in question.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed, then grunted like a neanderthal and beat my chest, ending my display by running my finger across my neck like it had been slit to indicate they were going to die.
She watched it all, vacillating between amusement at my admittedlyterribleacting skills and horror and what I was expressing to her. When she backed away from that particular tunnel, proving she’d understood, I was glad. My instincts were telling me she was someone I’d want to keep around.
Grunting from behind me drew her attention, and she pursed her lips at what she saw. I turned to look, finding that same Shifter with the glowing yellow eyes mocking the way I’d just communicated (successfully, I might add) with exaggerated movements and noises. He even went so far as to raise the pitch of his voice to mock how high mine was, and that was the moment I decided I’d had enough.
Now, it wasn’t normal for Witches or Warlocks with the ability to manipulate the elements to create something out of nothing, but I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky few who could. Vines snapped out of my fingertips, twisting and growing, thickening into sturdy ropes that I used to wrap around the asshole’s body and constrict like the snake I suspected him to be. I squeezed until he was barely able to wriggle, and his chest could no longer expand to take in a breath.
All humour fled as his Shifter friends watched on with wide-eyed surprise, and the Fae stumbled back, all of them stunned into silence.
I urged the vines to move so he was pinned in place against the stalagmite I’d previously used to hide behind, then prompted them to let up just enough for him to keep breathing.
I may have wanted to teach him a lesson, but that didn’t mean I wanted to kill him.
‘That’s quite enough from you and your half a braincell, asshole,’ I spat at him.
When his wide, panicked eyes met mine like he expected me to finish him off, my vines retreated into my body where they dispersed back into the magic they came from, humming delightfully inside my veins. He fell limply, hitting the hard ground like a rag doll, his thick dreadlocks hiding his face. I gave him my back, effectively dismissing him to refocus my attention on the only person in this gods-forsaken place that had shown me even an ounce of respect and kindness.
I extended my arm in the direction my mind-map of the tunnels showed me we needed to go. ‘Shall we?’ I asked Qarinah.
I knew she couldn’t understand my words, but she at least understood my intent. She nodded, a pleased smile tilting up her lips as she fell into step beside me. The other Daemons that had watched the interaction trailed behind us, smarter than the other three races combined.
When we reached the other tunnel, this one opening through the floor where it met the wall, I finally found the other Humans. They had congregated near the single lit sconce, which was why I hadn’t seen them before, since it rested on top of a large, rocky shelf. They were completely hidden in the shadows. Clever.
Thankfully, I recognised one particular face amid the crowd. George Morven was a friend, though we’d not be as close since he’d accused me of crushing on Oz. The curse had forced me to distance myself from him in case our secret was revealed after he began noticing too much, but I was pleased to see him now. I waved, and he returned the gesture, though anxiety had his eyes darting everywhere as the group huddled together.
I waved them over, and though it took a moment for them to pluck up enough courage to leave the false safety of the shadows, they eventually joined me and the Daemons.
‘Hey, June,’ George greeted me.
‘Hi, Georgie,’ I gave him a small smile I hoped helped soothe him a bit, but I didn’t think there was anything that really could.
‘What was that over there?’ he asked, pointing in the general direction of where I’d left the Shifters and the Fae, though I didn’t turn to look. Also, if they’d watched all of that go down, why hadn’t they tried to help me? Or at least let me know they were there.
I hid my annoyance with a pasted-on smile and a shrug. ‘There are bullies in every realm, apparently.’And fake friends, too, it seemed. These past few days had revealed a lot about the peopleI chose to surround myself with, and I didn’t like what I was seeing. ‘Just teaching them a lesson. We should go, though. The tunnel I was trying to go through would have led us out, but those idiotic Angels ruined any chance of stealth. This tunnel system belongs to some sort of predator, so we need to move before it finds us.’
‘Wait… hang on a sec. What predator?’ he all but squeaked. Georgie had never been a particularly courageous man, so I couldn’t imagine the fear he felt being thrust into the unknown like this. I tried not to take his previous inaction as a slight against me.
‘Can’t you smell the rotting meat?’ I asked.
His nostrils flared as he lifted his nose in the air and sniffed. ‘No. Just stale air from the cave.’
‘Well, there’s no time to get your nose checked right now, Georgie, but we’ve been dropped inside something’s home and we need to leave before it gets pissed at the intrusion.’
‘Gods above, June. What the fuck is even happening?’
I tried to hold back my sigh, but was only mildly successful. ‘I know as much as you do, George. I’ve only managed to scope out our immediate surroundings. The other tunnels either loop back around or have dead ends. There were only two that kept going when I stopped scanning. I just hope you’re not claustrophobic because this way is gonna be a tight squeeze…’
I nodded hello to the others, clasped hands with a few, and turned back to face those gathered around me. I pointed at the hole, speaking for the benefit of my people while hoping the Daemons would get the gist of it.
‘We need to crawl through there. There’s a steep incline on the other side, and I don’t know what trouble we’ll find along the way, but I do know this is the only other path.’
