Page 68 of The First Trial
‘So what, we pile them over there and hope for the best?’
‘I think she’s blind, or close to it. She seems to mostly use her sense of smell, which means we need to create a scent trail for her to follow.’
He nodded once. ‘Got it.’
I levelled him with my most serious and sincere stare. ‘You don’t have to come with me, you know. It’s dangerous. You could die.’
His answering grin was wide and manic, but I didn’t sense anything other than determination from him. ‘Good. All the more fun.’
I scoffed a laugh. ‘Wow. You’re something else.’
His grin widened even further. ‘Thank you, beautiful.’
I tried not to blush at the compliment, I really did, but it was a losing battle.
‘Uh, right.’ I cleared my throat. ‘We should probably…’
‘Rakshasa.’
I hesitated at his voice. ‘What?’
‘My name. It’s Rakshasa. But you can call me Shaz.’
‘Oh, uh. Okay. I’m Juniper, but most people call me June.’
‘Well, then, June. Let’s go lure away a monster.’
Chapter 27
Rakshasa
Juniper
My June.
She was smart as well as strong. I had misjudged her upon our first meeting, assuming she was weak, ignorant, and naïve simply because she was smiley and friendly. Oh, how wrong I’d been. Over and over, she had proven her worth, her strength, and I was proud that she was my mate.
She was everything I wanted, and everything I didn’t even know I needed.
I watched her now with a vigilance I knew Arcturus would make fun of me for, but I couldn’t help it. She was perfect.
It wasn’t until a stray fireball came way too close to comfort that I snapped out of it. I could ogle her all I liked when we were through that portal and finally home, safe. Until then, I had a job to do. And no, that job wasn’t scent-trailing with an egg, though that was a necessary task. My job was to protect her, to ensure she got out of here alive and in one piece. No mate of mine would ever have to suffer the indignity of being burned to ash by adragon, of all things. They were dangerous, sure, but they were dumb creatures. At least they were in the stories my mother told me as a child.
This one was protective of her clutch and territorial of her home. I could understand that, and I was pleased that June did, too, choosing to find a non-lethal way to defeat the beast that never asked to be a part of these trials.
Kind, compassionate, and yet strong enough to earn her place at my side. How did I ever get so lucky?
Add together the stories of valour and victory I would bring back from these trials, and my father was going to shit himself with envy. But first, I would have to create those stories, and with my mate by my side. It was a dream come true.
I watched June’s pert ass sway as she carefully picked her way over rocks and debris, slipping occasionally on a particularly dusty area, but I merely made sure I was close enough to catch her if she fell. It was an admittedly challenging terrain, but I was used to traversing such places. She was not. Her movements were also tense, likely from the sunburn covering every inch of visible skin. Blisters were seeping, and I winced, knowing how uncomfortable that must be.
But that wasn’t the only thing slowing her down. I eyed her shoes, wondering how the fuck she ever got anywhere wearing those death traps. How could she feel the earth beneath her feet to feel her way around? She was going to twist an ankle from constantly misplacing her steps.
It was a wonder Humans had survived this long. If it weren’t for their magic, I was sure they would have died out by now.
She held the eggs out in front of her, cradled protectively in her vines, and waved them around to get the best chance of the mother catching their scent. We were downwind, hoping to entice the dragon further away from the portal, but it hadn’t worked just yet. With the amount of smoke clogging up the air, not to mention the giant piles of shit and plumes of dust, I suspected it would take a while.
That was a good thing, though. It would give us the chance to make a run for it before the mama dragon could hunt us. We would have to time it carefully if we were to make it, though. And the others would need to be informed. I debated shifting to connect with the Clade’s mental link, but I didn’t want to distract them from their perilous task. Even the smallest distraction could prove deadly.
