And I didn’t even have the locket anymore.
My bottom lip wobbled, everything catching up to me. I backed up another step, my bare feet numb and legs like jelly. No, worse than that—jelly that hadn’t fully set, all liquidy and useless.
A strong arm locked around my waist from behind, and nothing could stop the terrified scream that erupted up my throat. I twisted in their grip, breaths scraping up my sore throat, shaking hands pushing at the velvety arm—wait. The fight went out of me all at once. It wasn’t an arm coiled around my waist; it was a tentacle.
"Don’t kill me," I said shakily. "I’m sorry for running."
"I’m not the one you need to worry about, firecracker," Mav replied, his low, sensual voice making my bottom lip wobble.
For a moment, it didn’t matter that these three monsters had stolen me, brought me through a portal, and chained me in their basement. For a little while, they’d taken care of me, and I desperately wanted them to do it again.
But I couldn’t forget that I’d overheard them planning to kill me. I’d definitely heard my name and the word kill in the same sentence.
"Void’s the one who’s mad at you," he added, and my breath stuttered.
"Please,pleasedon’t kill me, I’m really sorry, I won’t run away again, I promise. I actually really like you, I just heard you talking about killing me and I got spooked. I mean, it’s pretty normal to get spooked when you hear someone talking about murdering you right?”
I laughed nervously—and shrieked when Mav spun me to face him, the tip of his tentacle coiled around my arm.
"So that’s why you ran," he said, and for some reason his dark blue face creased with a smile.2"Silly firecracker, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re keeping you—and keeping yousafe. Would we have come to your rescue if we wanted you dead?"
"Um…" I swallowed, staring into his striking eyes, confused as hell. "No?"
"Exactly." He kissed the tip of my nose, making my adrenaline-filled body shudder, unsure how to react to the flash-flood of new emotions.
"You heard us talking…" Mav sighed, brushing my cheek with the tip of a tentacle and tightening his grip on me when someone else’s body crashed across the bar. "Look, I thought you’d killed my brother, and naturally, I wanted you to pay for it. And then we brought you to the void, and it became clear you couldn’t hurt a damn fly."
"I killed you," I pointed out, and then groaned at myself.Way to go, idiot, now he’s really going to murder you.
"And Void says youswearyou didn’t hurt my brother."
I swallowed at the intense way he watched me. "I-I can’t talk about it. I’vetriedto relive those moments but it—it hurts so much. It scares me, Mav."
"You were there," he said, as if he already knew the answer to the semi-question.
I managed to nod. "He—he helped me escape."
My throat closed up, black memories threatening the edge of my mind, and my breathing raced out of control, magic gathering in my hands—until Mav stroked up and down my back with a gentle tentacle.
"It’s okay, cutie. You don’t have to tell me if it’s too hard."
He kissed my temple and my heart skipped, my mind losing its grip on the dark memories until I could breathe again.
But the pub came rushing back into my awareness, and I yelped at the sight of Sang leaping around the room, parkouring off furniture like a cat during zoomies. He had a gleeful grin on his face as he slit throats with his claws, ripping off arms with his sharp teeth, goreing stomachs open on his horns. His sleeveless shirt was soaked with blood, the end of his shaggy hair even stained.
"Where’s … where’s Void?" I whispered, swallowing as Sang leapt off a lopsided table and landed on the back of a giant, growling monster with acid-green skin, slamming clawed hands into his shoulder blades.
Mav snorted, his breath fanning hair against my face. He jerked his chin up at the gaping hole on top of the pub and … and the house-sized grey monster.
"Uhh…" I laughed, a burst of nervous sound.
The house-sized monster had grey skin, no hair, intense black eyes, and severe cheekbones. All things Void also had. I gulped when I spotted the pale slash of a scar on his neck, ending on his jaw. Void’s scar.
"He’s—ah—big?"
Mav laughed, a low, sensual rumble. "He’s God of the Void, firecracker. Laws of physics don’t apply to him."
I swallowed again, staring through the open roof at giant Void.3He glared back at me, noticing my attention, and my heart skipped. Mav was right. He was mad. Really, really mad.