"Biting is easier to see," he pointed out. "And not really how I wanted my first kiss, demon."
"Valkyrie," she corrected. "Stop believing the lies, you fool."
And then she grabbed his jaw, pulling the man's shoulder to her mouth forcefully. Her grip kept his head out of her way, and when she bit, she wasn't kind about it. Her teeth broke skin, but right where his neck met his body. A visible place, yet one with very little that would cause permanent damage. There were no major veins or arteries down here. He'd bleed. He'd hurt. He would not die.
"Tell your brother you owe him your life," she said as she pushed him away.
Laird landed on his ass, but tried to push back to his feet. The pride was there, but his lifestyle didn't allow him to build the strength Thane had. She had a feeling that if he tried, he could be just as terrifying. She really hoped he didn't ever do that, because one was already enough of a pain in her ass.
"Laird?" she asked, making him pause. "I told Mei to run west. Do you understand?"
"Yeah," he breathed.
Then she punched him right in the temple. His eyes rolled up with the force of the hit, and the man's body collapsed into the dirt. Dahlia paused to kneel down beside him, taking the chance to actually look at this man's face. She wanted to remember it if she ever saw him again.
He was clearly Thane's brother. He wasn't the more handsome of the two, but he was pretty in his own way. He would've made an elegant man, if he'd tried. Instead, the only sign that he was a priest was the pin on the collar of his shirt. The one with the symbol for the Church of the Holy Inquisition.
"Sorry about the kiss," she whispered, and then found her feet and ran.
The death toll should be enough to keep the Church busy for a day or two, and that was all they needed. Mei had headed for the river - not west. From there, they could cut across to another highway. They'd both be exhausted by the time they were done, but it wouldn't matter if they were truly dead. Better starving than that.
But when Dahlia finally found the "river," it was a let-down. The stream wasn't even four feet wide and barely three feet deep. Then again, it hadn't rained in a while, but this did not look like any river she'd ever heard of. The flat ground around it, however, made it clear that at times it was much more impressive.
Mei knelt at the water's edge, the backpack with all of their belongings hooked around her arms while she rinsed her hands and face. The stuff was putrid, but it would work. A few hundred years ago, they wouldn't have thought anything of it. Without a word, Dahlia joined her, cupping handfuls to remove as much proof of what they'd just lived through as possible.
"They'll come after us," she warned.
Mei nodded. "Carrollton. We're going to go right up the street to one of those hotels, order an Uber, and pay to get a ride to Carrollton. Tomorrow night, my date will get a room at a hotel in Dallas, put it in his name - whatever name he wants to use - and once he pays me, we're gone."
"Utah," Dahlia said softly.
"Mountains," Mei agreed.
Then Dahlia looked over. "Thank you for not killing him."
"Just remind him of that when we need help," she said. "I love you, Dahlia, and I want nothing but to make you happy. That man does. I'm jealous, but I'm also happy for you."
"I..."
"Shh," Mei breathed. "I'm sure you were jealous when I fell in love. I'm sure you'll be jealous when it happens again. This is our life, Dahl. If I try to keep you away from him, you'll learn to resent me for it. I speak from experience," she said. "If you'd tried to keep me away from Jin, I would've hated you. Instead, you loved me enough to want to see me happy. I'm trying to do the same, but I'm used to being the center of your world."
"You still are!" Dahlia insisted.
"But I have to share, and it's not as easy as I thought. I should've known you'd fall for an inquisitor, though. Anything else would be too easy, and my golden goddess only knows how to fight. Fight hard, my love. Fight with all you have, because that's why I love you. Just ignore it when I try too hard, because I do want you to be happy."
"I love you, Li Xiu," Dahlia breathed.
Mei leaned over to kiss her quickly. "And I love you just as much, Valka. Enough to be more happy than jealous." Then she sighed. "And on the upside, we don't need to swim to get across."
They stood in unison, and then just trudged across the river. The water didn't even reach their hips. On the other side, the tall grass worked like a towel to wipe away the excess water. Mei's shoes squeaked for a bit, but when they reached the industrial area on the other side, they had been wrung out with the walking.
And still they kept going. It was only a few miles, so nothing too bad, but by the time they reached the chain hotel on the other side, both of them looked like they'd seen better days. Mei slid the backpack to the ground, then knelt to find her phone. Tapping at the screen, she pulled up an app, and then ordered a ride to get them the hell out of here.
"How long?" Dahlia asked.
"Not as long as it'll take the inquisitors to find us," Mei promised. "Seems the digital age has a few benefits after all."
"So which was your favorite?" Dahlia asked as she dropped down on a bench that was supposed to be used for the smoking area.