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Quilla sliced me with a deadly glare.
“Hey, whoa!” I lifted my hands, looking particularly harmless with them bound together with chains, I thought. “I would never mount you without your permission.”
She squinted her eyes harder, letting me know my input had only made things worse, and I felt the need to flash her an innocent smile.
“I’m harmless; I swear.” Uneasily clearing my throat, I hopped off Holly, thinking I needed to get out of here before she really did stab me. “How about I be useful and gather some kindling, then get a campfire going, huh?” Lifting my fingers and wiggling them, I added, “All with my hands tied, too. I mean, unless you want to unchain me.”
She sniffed dismissively.
Yeah, I didn’t figure she’d go for that.
Whistling to myself anyway, I left the road and started toward a small cluster of trees. Neither woman seemed to care that I was going off by myself, once again proving I wasn’t a prisoner to them. And yet neither had any interest in removing my restraints either. Very odd, that.
Sighing, I busied myself with collecting tinder with my hands bound and no ax around to help matters. After cracking apart already-fallen limbs with my boot, I returned to the side of the road—my arms loaded with a fairly pathetic excuse for firewood—only to find that Quilla was still arguing her case to get rid of me.
As if I’d just leave, even if she did convince her aunt to agree with her.
“Why won’t you just listen to me? He needs to go.”
“Why?” Melaina spat.
“Lord have mercy.” Scoffing out a disgusted breath, Quilla threw up her hands. “Because I don’t want him here. Do I need another reason?”
“Got some firewood,” I announced, alerting them to my presence as I dropped the wood heavily to the ground in case they hadn’t heard me already. “So I guess I’ll just start a campfire now.”
Neither responded to me nor let on to the fact that they’d even noticed my return. They continued to glare at each other until Melaina huffed out a disgusted breath and demanded, “What do you propose we do with him, then? We already decided murder was bad. Remember? And we can’t just let him run free to tell everyone where we are. It would put you—and thus me—in mortal danger.”
I didn’t interject to let them know I would never do anything to put Quilla in mortal danger; I was pretty sure neither would care what I had to say right now. So I knelt by the wood and began to arrange it into a mini pyre, humming “Singin’ in the Rain” under my breath as I worked.
Folding her arms tightly over her chest, Quilla muttered, “I don’t care what you say, you’re not going to prove to me that keeping him around is a good idea.”
“Oh, you want proof, is that it?” Melaina lifted her eyebrows, rising to the challenge. “Fine. I’ll show you why we should keep him around. Why you should keep him.” Then she lifted her voice. “Hey, High Clifter…”
Realizing they were addressing me now and bringing me into the conversation, I straightened. “My name’s actually—”
“Don’t care,” Melaina snarled, narrowing her eyes at Quilla as she produced her own dagger. “I’m trying to prove a point here. So just shut up and help me prove it, will you?”
I’d been through enough conflicts and battles to know when a person had every intention of using their weapon. And Quilla’s aunt was going to throw that blade.
I popped to my feet, ready to defend myself, for surely she wanted to prove that I was a superior warrior who could ward off an attack, even with my hands tied. But then she glanced my way and winked, making my stomach drop with cold dread as she wound her arm back and let the blade fly.
Directly at Quilla.
“No!” My life flashed before my eyes as I dove forward, trying to shield my true love with my own body.
But this wasn’t fair. I couldn’t lose her now. I’d just met her. I hadn’t even had time to get to know her. Hell, we’d never even kissed. I’d been waiting my entire life to meet her. We needed more than one awkwardly, uncomfortable day together.
Meeting with success, I blocked the dagger, keeping it from getting anywhere near my mate as it embedded itself deep…
In my own neck.
Ah shit. This was going to suck. Gurgling out my shock and pain, I groped at my throat, feeling the wet slick gush of blood spill over my fingers as I grappled for the hilt of the knife.
Blinking as the world grayed around me, I gasped for breath and tipped over backward to the ground.
But seriously, what the fuck was it about these women and stabbing people?
Chapter 10
