Her touch raised the beast from its slumber. The last time it’d moved like this, I’d been preparing for war. While that made sense, to some degree, I didn’t understand why her touch did this to me. There was no need for the creature just yet.
It shouldn’t have stirred at a woman’s gentle touch. Cerridwen’s grasp around my waist shouldn’t have awakened it, but the beast laughed inside me all the same. The thunderous sound shook my bones and set my teeth on edge. The hunger turning into heat in my core only intensified, though.
I had to get the princess back to my trailer before the assassin caught up to us. There was a chance that if Cerri was in mortal danger, then the beast would make its first appearance in two decades.
A four way intersection appeared ahead. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief. It was a bit too soon for that, though. Another bolt split through my hair. I cursed the fae woman hunting us down. If I could have gotten her alone, then maybe I could strike a deal with her. I didn’t have much in the way of gold, but I had many skills to offer…
Not likethat.
Delphine and I went way back. I could help her on her next hunt for free. I could even offer her a position in Cerridwen’s future court. The elven assassin had been without a home for centuries, far longer than me.
Cerri yelped and flinched. A bolt flew past my ear, grazing it ever so slightly. Already, Delphine’s signature poison unfurled through my blood. If I hadn’t been sure that it was her hunting us, I was now. That bitch had poisoned me with this before. It took a special kind of antidote…
And Cerri had brewed it all by herself on instinct alone. I had a new appreciation for my future queen’s abilities. Even now, she clung to me with her sharp nails digging into my flesh as she turned to look back in Delphine’s direction.
A wall of foliage sprang out of nowhere between us and Delphine. I pulled on my fae magic as we hit the intersection. If I didn’t slow down between one transition and the other, we were going to go flying. However, I couldn’t risk letting up.
So, we raced from the four-way intersection into the driveway at my trailer. The bike’s tires skidded over the loose gravel drive. The handlebars wobbled in my grasp. I held them firm, but the bike was already out of control. It slid sideways and threatened to launch us into the gravel—that would surely grind us up like a blender.
11
CERRI
The world canted sideways. My heart leapt into my throat like that might protect it from getting splattered across the blue-gray gravel. A scream left my lips. Rhoan leapt and twisted, pulling me tight into his arms as he shoved us away from the speeding bike.
I reached out with my arcana. It answered with glee. Tiny tree seeds burst to life and reached high into the air. They bent and curved towards us like arms. The branches would hurt, so I asked the trees to create a soft bedding for us. It bloomed, moss puffing up like a cloud. We hit it and sank into the natural cushion while our hearts hammered in our chests.
At least, mine did. I couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of my own heartbeat, but I imagined Rhoan’s had to be pumping, too. He held me tight a moment longer. I felt his body relax against mine once he was sure the threat was over.
I sat up and looked back in the direction we’d come. The last I remembered, we’d hit a four-way intersection. When I looked, there was no intersection. There was only a narrow stretch of road butting up against the short driveway leading up to Rhoan’s trailer.
He’d done it again. First, Rhoan had somehow transported us from a highway on-ramp in the city to a road far outside the urban sprawl. Then, he’d done it again at the intersection. I turned to him and got on my hands and knees so I could look the fallen man in the eye.
“Tell me how you did that.”
His upper lip curled. He stood, brushed himself off, and grabbed me by the back of my shirt. I couldn’t help the sound of surprise that escaped me when he cradled me in his arms. I’d expected him to carry me like a dog by the scruff of the neck. Instead, Rhoan held me gently, almost reverently.
My heart skipped a beat. It was a traitorous little bastard that yearned for the fae warrior’s affection. I wouldn’t fall prey to the same desires. I would make sure of it.
Rhoan kicked the door closed behind us. He dropped me onto the couch and stalked back outside without another word.
Yeah, I guessed I deserved that.
Creeping towards the nearby window, I slowly peeled the curtain aside to peer out. Rhoan gingerly picked up his bike from the gravel. He ran a hand over the scratches along the side of the motorcycle. I could see the grief in his body. It gripped him like a cage made of guilt.
The tattoos on his arms writhed once more. Their slithering distracted me from the magic happening beneath his hands. Where there had been a black motorcycle now stood a towering mare. Her black mane fluttered softly in the wind. She tossed her head and nudged Rhoan affectionately.
The motorcycle had been...a horse this whole time?
What kind of fae fuckery was this? That did explain the whinny when the engine started. Rhoan checked the horse up and down for scratches, but as I watched, his movements slowed. He stopped and put his hands on his knees like he was out of breath.
That couldn’t be right. He was a fae warrior. There was no way that our little escapade had him tired out.
Then I saw it. There was a slight nick on his ear; one of the crossbow bolts had grazed him. Red trickled down his pointed ear, and purple spread out from the wound. I knew how the poison on those bolts felt. Though the dose was small, I doubted it was any less effective. I leapt to my feet and rushed out the door. The porch steps tripped me up, but only barely. Nothing would stop me from dragging that man inside.
His mare looked up and stepped between us. I glared at the massive beast.
“He’s sick,” I said, as if a horse could understand me.