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Thud thud. Thud thud. Thud thud.
What is that?
Thud thud. Thud thud.
It is not my tail but a heartbeat. The cavity between the broken ribs is empty. Blood oozes down my chin. If I ate it, then why can I hear it beat? I glance up, horrified.
Willow.
She sees me in all my monstrous glory. Here I am, the wretched thing she despises, and I have no excuse. My every last shameful inch is on display.
“F-fox,” she stammers. “What have you done?”
Sounds garble somewhere behind us... where are we? I didn’t mean to lose control.
What have I done?
There is panic. Pandemonium. But I dare not break eye contact with Willow lest I knock loose her final straw. While my hands are inside a desiccated husk, I wait for judgment.
“Fuck you, Fox.” Cait’s angry shout from somewhere.
But it’s Emrys who arrives to witness my destruction first. His boots stop at my side, and he sighs. “You left nothing for me.”
Willow gapes at him. Sways.
“Quickly, now,” Emrys warns me. “Put your shadows away. People come.”
I tug my hands from the body and call my wraith home. It brings vitality and power, gallons of it filling me to the brim until my eyes water. My two halves unite, and I once again see in color.Milford’s wicked soul is ours, rolling inside, a whole insect swarming against its temporary cage.
His screams of injustice rattle the bars, vibrating my spine.
“Shh,”I croon.“Hush.”
“Murderer!”
I lick blood from my fangs. Feasting upon a heart is unnecessary to extract sustenance from a soul, but there is no honorable death for cruel cowards. His mortal victims would agree if they remembered the depths his depravity forced them into. He deserves eternity in the Wild Hunt’s belly, tormented with endless expiation under the righteous will of our queen.
A fitting end for him, considering she was to be his next victim had I not come along.
I wait for her reaction of horror, for the inevitable disgust—that word I never want to hear again from her perfect lips. But what comes out is unexpected.
“Oh fuck,” she garbles, covering her mouth. “I’m going to puke.”
She launches into the shadows behind the tree, retching loudly.
“Emrys.” Cait’s husky voice is without reprimand, only exhaustion. “It’s been a long night. Be a darling and help the boys get the patrons out. Fox and I will take care of this... situation.”
He slides a withering glare her way, already plotting her destruction.
Cait is impervious to his moods. Always has been. Her emerald eyes flash, her tail lashes, and then she smirks.
“If you hurry,” she teases, “you’ll get there before they read the enchantment, and you know what that means.”
He stares. Chews over her words in his mind. Stares some more. “Fine.”
Dark circles shadow his eyes. Catering to Titania’s whims takes more of a toll than it should. He must feed properly.
