I grinned.Oh, my little witch, you have no idea how much of a psycho I really am.
“I haven’t killed you, that’s why. Snapping your pretty little neck would be effortless, yet here you stand, very much alive. Instead of bloodshed, I am offering you help. Doesn’t that count for something?”
I tilted my head, watching her expression shift. “Or have you not noticed the lack of vampire soldiers kicking down your door?”
That captured her attention, along with her dragons.
“You’re killing them?” she asks, suspicion lacing her voice. Her lizard nudges her hand, standing tall again, his eyes locked onto me as if I’m his next meal.
It probably was, and I think I would taste pretty damn good.
I met her gaze with a playful look, “Oh, absolutely. It’s been quite the entertainment. Shame they keep coming in such small numbers—hardly a challenge.”
I rolled my shoulders. “But as much as I’d love to stick around and keep playing exterminatory, I have other businesses to attend to.”
Truthfully, I didn’t want to leave her. Not one bit, but duty called.
Ignoring the low growl from her lizard, I stepped closer—so close I could feel the heat of her breath against my skin, hear the quickened pulse at her throat. Her fingers twitched, like she was torn between pushing me away or letting me get closer. My eyes traced the vampire bite on her shoulder, the old claw mark slashed across her chest. Slowly, deliberately, I reached out, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger just long enough to watch the shiver ripple through her body.
“I will see you soon, little witch, and don’t worry, I will find a way to get your magic back,” I murmur. “Try not to get yourself killed by those hunters before I get back. I would hate to miss all the fun.”
The lizard let out a deep, rumbling snarl, his presence radiating a threatening heat, but before he could scorch me—again—I was already gone, vanishing into the trees with a grin on my lips and the lingering scent of cherries on my skin.
Chapter 5
RAVENA
My skin still tingled where his fingers had brushed against me, an irritating reminder of how much he unsettled and intrigued me. One second, he was there, his presence suffocating and intoxicating all at once, and the next, he was gone. Vanishing at lightning speed, leaving behind a whirlwind of emotions I didn’t have the patience to untangle.
Confused, mad and frustrated.
How the hell had I been so oblivious to someone stalking me for God knows how long? I should’ve noticed the signs or sensed him watching. The realisation made my blood boil, my fingers twitching with the urge to rip his head clean off his shoulders.
And yet… a treacherous part of me—the part I wanted to strangle—wondered what it would feel like to kiss him.
Nope. Absolutely not. I was not going there.
“Definitely don’t go there,”Xarothar's deep voice rumbled through my mind, his tone laced with a warning.
I fixed him with a glare, arching a brow. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
The sharp flick of his tail and the way he huffed told me he didn’t believe me, and part of me didn’t believe myself. I couldn’t afford to get close to anyone, not when I had no guarantee of how much time I had left. Letting someone in meant risking them experiencing the same loss and devastation I had endured. I wouldn’t do that to anyone.
“Stop thinking like that, Raven. You will live. We will destroy your enemies.”
Xarothar was so sure of my survival, rather than the acceptance of my fate.
I exhaled sharply, pressing my palm against the side of his massive snout as he leaned in. His scales were warm beneath my fingertips, solid and unyielding, a reminder that I wasn’t alone anymore, no matter how much it felt that way.
“You sound so sure of yourself,” I whispered against his scales, my voice barely more than a breath.
“Because I am.”
I wanted to believe him, but I rolled my eyes and playfully tapped him on his snout.
“Anyway, I guess I’ll need to figure out how to build some sort of nest or whatever it is that you dragons sleep in. You keep growing at this rate, and you won’t fit in the cottage at all. I have already lost far too many books and furniture thanks to your antics.” Stepping back, I took a moment to survey my surroundings.
The crisp winter air kissed my skin, invigorating me even as a chill settled in. I had always loved the cold and how it felt; it never really bothered me.
