Being all-important and the sense of purpose and stuff should have given me a thrill, but instead it sent a shiver of icy foreboding through me. What if I failed? What if I just wasn’t good enough? Like I hadn’t been good enough for my adopted parents, or Dunstan, or the farm? What if this was another dead end, another dead hope?
We walked in silence for the next few minutes, and then something changed. It happened with a crackle in the air followed by an electric sense of expectation. Dante slowed down and then stopped walking altogether. He held out his arm to stall me too.
“What is it?”
“Hush.”
My temper sparked at his curt tone, and a sharp response was ready to trip off my tongue, but I bit it back, my hackles rising in warning. There was something out there, something near and ready to—
A figure burst into being in front of us, unfolding from the very air. Three feet tall, rotund with sharp facial features, the naked male held up his hands to halt us.
“Lord General,” he said in a nasal voice. “My liege has sensed your presence. Your journey is protected, but your companion is fair game. The Rednaps and the hounds have been alerted to fresh meat and a fresh soul. They are hungry. It has been too long since a wanderer ventured onto our lands.” His beady eyes slid my way, and damn, was that a sliver of drool trekking down his chin?
Dante stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body. “This Skin is under my protection.”
The little man cocked his head. “She is not blood bound, and therefore, she is fair game.”
Dante tensed. “Then tell your liege his hounds and his Rednaps will have me to contend with.”
The tiny man licked his lips. “If you hurt one of the fair folk, you shatter the protection granted to you by my liege. The contract will be null and void.” He said it eagerly as if he wanted this to be the case, which he probably did. More flesh for the taking.
“And if you attack me, then you violate the contract,” Dante retorted.
The tiny man grinned, showcasing razor-sharp teeth. “Oh, we will not strike the first blow. We simply take what is ours to hunt. That is the law of the wild.”
My skin pricked in warning and then they emerged from behind the trees—tiny, naked men, with heads slightly too large, mouths slightly too wide, and crimson, hairless scalps that gleamed wetly in the errant shafts of sunlight that made it through the thick canopy overhead. So, these were Rednaps. The fuckers had already tried to take down Helgi and me once. Bring it.
It looked like they were up for the challenge. They fell from the branches and rose up from piles of bracken and brush as if they’d been there all along, tracking us, waiting for the go-ahead to attack.
Jezebel was already in my hand, ready to slice and dice, because no way were those wicked needle teeth getting anywhere near my skin.
Dante drew his sword, slow and deliberate. “Are you sure this is what your liege would want? Our agreement has been beneficial for decades. It comes with many benefits for both our people. Are you sure he would want it broken for the sake of one soul?”
Doubt flickered across the little man’s face, and then a gust of wind hit my back and his neck whiplashed, eyes closing, nostrils flaring. Shit, my scent. My reeking, fleshy scent had just hit him full force and the sliver of drool was now a fucking waterfall.
“Oh, fuck.” Dante backed up a step then stopped because there was nowhere to run. We were surrounded by the critters.
The little man opened his eyes. “Hungry.” The word was a wet gurgle fighting its way up out of the drool spilling down his chin. The sheen across his eyes, the twitch in his limbs all said there’d be no reasoning with him now.
The Rednaps attacked.
Chapter Twelve
Adrenaline coursed through me as I prepared to swing my axe, when suddenly the canopy above us shattered and a torpedo of inky black scales and ivory claws landed on the ground before us. It was Vesper, smaller but still in dragon form.
The Rednaps were not pausing, though. They landed on him, tearing at his scales, eager to get to the flesh beneath. And the tiny man let out a scream of rage.
“Stop. Stop, fools. He is blood bound. Blood bound!” His scream bounced off the trees but didn’t penetrate the Rednaps’ bloodthirst.
Something landed on my back and needles of fire sank into the side of my neck. The pain was an icy inferno, sudden and overwhelming. The Rednap was latched on, sending fresh waves of agony shooting through my shoulder with each chomp. Off. I needed it off. My hand slipped and slid, slick with my own blood, trying to gain a grip on the creature to dislodge it, but its mouth was a vise on the juncture of my neck. The world dimmed at the edges, and with a sudden flash of agony, the critter was torn off. My knees hit the dirt, head spinning, nausea pooling in my belly. The thud of Dante’s sword cut a scream short. Dead, was it dead? My neck ... needed to stop the bleeding. Vesper still thrashed beneath a pile of hungry Rednaps.
Dante’s hand cupped my good shoulder.
“Help Vesper.” I shoved him away from me. Shit, I was losing blood fast.
Dante swiped his blade across Vesper’s back, dislodging several Rednaps in one swipe. Crap. Rednaps at three o’clock. Come on, Jezebel. We’ve got some hacking to do. Standing on unsteady feet, I swung with all my might, catching the two Rednaps in a sweep that knocked them off their feet and sent them flying into a tree three meters away. The world swayed, forcing me to lock my knees to brace myself.
“Bring it on, fuckers.”
A fresh wave of Rednaps leapt at me, drawn by the blood, by the fact that I was injured prey, and then they just froze midair, eyes wide, mouths ready to take a chunk. The world went silent and still. But my body still swayed and darkness threatened to claim me. I was hallucinating. The blood loss ... it was making me see things.
A voice so beautiful it made my heart ache filled the clearing with melody.
“It pains me to see my word so easily disregarded,” it said. “It angers me that you would defy your liege.”
There was a lethal edge to these latter words that even the musical quality of the voice couldn’t disguise.
I turned my head, afraid that the movement would upset my precarious grip on gravity, that it would desert me completely and I’d go floating off into the ether. My eyes stung, and my lids closed reflexively against the assault of the glowing figure standing in the center of the mangled clearing. It took a moment, but finally my eyes adjusted enough to take a peek. The man stood tall and lithe, his shoulders broad and strong. His face, framed by long, golden hair, was etched in calm, but his eyes betrayed him—blazing with fury. He pinned them on the tiny man who’d delivered his warning and flicked his wrist. The man exploded, spattering the clearing in flesh and gore.
Yes, the Rednaps were frightened now. Immobile but somehow still shaking with fear. The glowing man looked to Dante.
“My people have assaulted your blood. The contract has been broken. What boon will you ask? What punishment will you mete out?” He sounded resigned, weary even.
Dante sheathed his sword. “Nothing, old friend, except to ask that we re-establish our agreement. Times are hard. I understand that you must feed your people. I appreciate the circle of life, but this Skin is important to the cause. Will you grant her your protection?”
The man inclined his head. “I grant it.”
Vesper shook himself and then his body morphed, shrinking until he was man-size, the shadows around him seeping away, leaving him in human form and dressed in inky black clothes. My vision blurred, and I fell forward, bracing myself on my hands. My fingers slipped into the moist earth, clawing to maintain my balance.
“Something wrong ...” That wasn’t my voice. It was too weak and reedy.
“Anya!” Dante was at my side, his scent sharp and invigorating, but not strong enough to keep the impending unconsciousness at bay.
“Rednap venom,” the serene voice said. “You’ll have to ....”
But his words wer
e drowned out by the rush of blood in my ears, and then my tenuous grip on consciousness slipped.
* * *
Heat smothered me and layers held me trapped and immobile. My lids were too heavy to lift, but my hearing snapped on, clear and sharp.
“You could speed this up by drawing the poison out,” Dante said tightly.
“Yes. I could,” Vesper said, without intent.
“Fucking hell, Vesper. Do you want me to beg?”
“No. I want to know why you’re getting your nuts in a tangle over this Skin female?”
“Seriously? Were you not just in the arena with her?”
“So she can fight, and she can somehow tap into our psych link. She’s a fucking mutant, and mutants have abilities. It just so happens we haven’t come across this particular one yet.”
“You don’t believe that’s all it is.”
“I know what I believe, but what I’d like to know is what you believe.”
There was a pregnant silence.
“She has an uncanny ability with technology. She could be useful to our cause. I believe she’s ... special.”
A gagging sound. “You want to fuck her, then fuck her and get it out of the way. Don’t make this about the cause.”
“Fuck you, Vesper. I promised to get her home, and I promised to escort her and her family back to the Furtherlands.”
A low chuckle. “You need to learn not to make promises you can’t keep.”
An exasperated sigh. “You’ve had your fun. Now will you please help her?”
“A please? Well, in that case, fine, I’ll do it ... Once you agree to leave.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
“You’re a fool, you know that? She’s not the one you want, she’s merely a pretty reflection.”
“She’s special. You know she is. You can feel it too.”
“All I feel is nausea at your idiocy,” Vesper drawled. “Now listen to me, brother. We have bigger things to worry about. Orion needs to be informed what the Bloods are planning. The armies need to be mobilized, and we need time to prepare a counterattack to stop this super soldier factory they’ve set up. Setting a few Skins free isn’t going to stop the Dragon Bloods. What if they have what they need to begin work on the humans in sector eight?”
So, Dante had filled him in.
There was a long beat of silence and then Dante replied, “You could go.”
“And leave you alone with her?” He snorted in derision. “Dear brother, with your judgment all compromised and your heart all twisted? You cannot be trusted. You look at this Skin and you see her.”
“Yes. And so do you.”
“The difference is I wasn’t in love with her. I kept my distance.”
“Shut up.”
“You think you’ll get a different outcome with this one? That this time she might just love you back?” The words were delivered in a mocking tone.
There was a thud, a scuffle, and then Vesper laughed. “Just go home. Take the leylines and get there fast. I give you my word your Skin will be safe. I’ll keep her alive, not for any selfish reason, but because the cause could benefit from her skills.”
“And what about her other ability? The fact she can mindspeak.”
“The mageri will have an answer to that.” His tone was flippant.
“Will you draw out the poison?”
A huff. “Fine, if I must. But you owe me big time for this.”
“Do it now?”
“You want to watch?”
“Just do it.”
A low chuckle. “Didn’t take you for the voyeur, but whatever.”
Cool fingers gripped my arms, hauling me up. My head lolled, and my mind screamed that I was awake, Goddammit.
“I know you can hear me, Skin. Your heartbeat is like a crazy drum. So, a little warning. This is going to hurt like a bitch, and then ... it’s going to feel fucking amazing. Cos, yeah. I’m that good, but don’t get any ideas. Keep your hands to yourself.”
What was he talking about?
“Just get on with it, dammit,” Dante hissed.
“Fucking hell, she reeks,” Vesper said.
My chest heated in embarrassment. Fucking Dreki senses.
“Vesper ...” Dante said, exasperated.
Something cool and wet laved over my neck wound, and a tingle seeped into my skin. He’d just licked me. And then his mouth latched onto my neck, and he began to suck. Needles pricked my skin, icy and sharp, and then fire exploded in my veins. My blood burned, searing my arteries as it made for my heart. A scream resounded in my head, and my body bucked, but it wasn’t in my control. The pain had me, it had me and it would incinerate me. There was no fighting it, so I rode the wave. As soon as I let go, the fire began to ease until it was a gentle smolder. Every nerve, every synapse ached and throbbed from the after-effects. Vesper’s mouth became the focal point of all sensation—his lips on my skin, his tongue lapping at my wound, his fingers gripping my shoulder, and his arm wrapped around my waist. Every tug drew a line between his mouth and my core. Every tug was like a lap at my secret place. A moan climbed up my throat.
“It’s working.” Dante’s voice was tight. “Don’t stop.”
Yes, don’t stop. God, please don’t stop. My hips rolled with the sensation of his mouth on me. My hands slid up, into silken hair, fingers digging into his scalp to hold him in place. His grip tightened, and he pulled me onto his lap, cradling me while he sucked on my flesh.
Was that me gasping? Was that my body rubbing up against his? God, he felt good. Hard and hot, and shit ... he was hard. And suddenly that hardness was everything. The hardness and his mouth were everything. His lapping strokes were firmer now, the movement echoing deep inside me, at the place between my thighs that begged to be touched and invaded. The phantom attention was too much, the sensations too much. Tiny shocks of pleasure that built and built until ... I shattered with a cry, legs locked together.
“Enough!” Dante’s voice was a whiplash.
My eyes snapped open, and I was drowning in a sea of cobalt blue fringed by midnight lashes. Inky hair fell across a bronze forehead. The lush lashes swept down in a blink, breaking the spell, and Vesper’s clever mouth quirked in a wry smile. “Looks like someone enjoyed that a little too much.”
His tone was light, but his heaving chest and bright eyes told a different tale. He’d been affected by the intimate contact too.
“Anya, how are you feeling?” Dante crouched beside me, gently tugging me from Vesper’s grip.
Vesper released me easily and stood. “She’s fine. The poison has been purged. Hoorah for Vesper the Great.”
Was he mocking himself? I reached up to touch the spot where the Rednap had mangled me to find it smooth and unmarred.
“Anya? Say something.” Dante pinched my chin between thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look at him. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” My voice was a rasp that grated on my ears. I cleared my throat. “Who do I remind you of?”
The question popped from my lips unbidden, probably a reflex to cover the fact I’d just come while having my neck sucked on.
Dante’s expression shuttered. “Vesper is going to take you home. He’ll escort you back to our stronghold with your father and your friend.”
He hadn’t answered my question, but asking it had done the trick by shifting the uncomfortable focus from me to him. Clever me.
Vesper let out a breathy chuckle. “We should get moving. Oberon has ordered his people to leave us be, but with the climate as it is, there are many who will risk his wrath just to fill their stomachs.”
Dante pulled me to my feet. His huge frame dwarfed mine, which was a nice change considering it was usually the other way around. Standing beside him made me feel feminine. For a moment, his expression was unguarded and open, for a second there was longing in the liquid amber depths of his eyes, but the moment was brief, leaving me wondering if I’d imagined it.
“Be safe, Anya
.” He ran an index finger down my cheek, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. “Until we meet again.”
Heck, damsel in distress was totally not my modus operandi, but in that moment donning a dress and swooning sounded pretty appealing. He turned away and walked off into the trees without a backward glance, and then he took a left and winked out of existence.
What the heck? “Where did he go?”
Vesper reached down to grab his weapons belt. “Onto the leyroads. Our deal with Oberon allows us access to ley travel. It’s fast, effective, and gives us a distinct advantage over the Bloods.”
“Leyroads?”
He finished buckling his belt and caressed the handle of his sword. “Paths infused with arcane magic. They’ve been used by the ancient folk to move between this world and their own since the dawn of creation. Unfortunately for you, only Dreki have permission to use them, so we’re going to have to do this the old-fashioned way.” He set off west. “Come on, we need to find a river or stream. I need to wash the taste of you from my mouth, and you need to bathe.”
“Well, excuse me for being locked up and forced to fight.”
“You’re excused.”
“You’re an arrogant, rude arsehole, you know that?”
“Yes.”
Vesper made a sharp turn, leading us off course.
“Hey. Wrong way.”
He ignored me and picked up the pace. Damn him. But then the distinct sound of running water reached my ears. We stumbled into a clearing and a frothy, cheerful river.
Vesper knelt by the water’s edge and scooped some up. He washed his face and swilled some in his mouth. “It’s clean,” he said. And then he looked up at me with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Now strip and get in.”
Like hell. I crossed my arms under my breasts. “No.”
He stood slowly. “We aren’t going anywhere until you’ve bathed, Skin. So, I suggest you get on with it.”
“What are you going to do? Make me?”
He shrugged. “No. I’ll just leave you here, and without me by your side, without the protection of my contract with the fey folk, you won’t last an hour.”
Dragon Trial: Dragon Guard Series book 1 Page 13