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"I'm convinced you are incapable of feeling anything," she said to the siren as she eased her clothes off and joined him.
I turned my back, trying to respect Tzidal's privacy, but my eyes kept pulling to her. She sat with the cold water up to her shoulders, shivering. Her long, dark hair draped over her back like a curtain as she splashed the very unamused siren.
"I swear, I will eat you right now," he said in a serious tone, his finger pointing at her and jerking as he spoke. "I'll do it. I'll kill you, eat you, then save Joon as a snack for later."
"If you killed me, you'd have no one to entertain you," she giggled.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take, you dirty mutt."
"So mean," she pouted, her bottom lip poking out. I stared at it. It looked so soft, so pink, so fucking —
"You okay?" Tzidal asked, looking right at me.
"Get out," I ordered, trying to hide my embarrassment at being caught staring at her. Again. "We need to go."
I quickly finished filling as many containers as possible with water before stuffing them in my satchel and stomping off back toward the camp. I needed to focus on Byna. I needed to kill her for Fennah, and that was my priority.
I only hoped the intense heat and severe dehydration we were about to endure would help relieve me of my infatuation with the little Omega, and fast. I had never longed for a harsh journey through a volatile desert more in my life.
The Barren Lands
Tzidal
The flat earthstretched out for what felt like forever. A few jagged plants decorated the lands with thorns and barbs as brutal and unforgiving as the desert around us. My feet sizzled against the hot, dry dirt. I had wrapped large palm leaves around them before leaving the forest, but the rough terrain wore them down quickly.
Joon regularly shifted, letting me and Lex take turns clinging to his back. I felt terrible for tiring the Alpha out so quickly, but we needed to press through to the city as fast as possible, and he was the most resilient.
The days were hot and dry, and the nights were freezing, the harsh ground giving no comfort or warmth as I shivered in my sleep. It felt like our destination was more of a distant dream and not a real place in the middle of this barren hell.
"Ugghhhh!" Lex groaned for the millionth time. "This is nowhere near as fun as you said it would be," he whined, pointing an accusing finger at me.
"I never once said this would be fun," I mumbled, too hot and tired to put up with his shit. Sweat rolled down my back and over my buttocks and thighs, making my clothes cling to my hot skin. I wanted nothing more than to remove all of them and run headfirst into a freezing river. Everything was sticky, and everything hurt.
"Revenge is always fun. This feels like...work," he gagged.
"Quiet," Joon demanded. My wolf trembled at his harsh tone.
He stepped forward carefully, his stance low and alert. I slipped behind him without prompting, knowing the safest place for an Omega in a dangerous situation. Joon's shoulders rolled as he prepared his body to shift, a dark figure in the distance slowly coming into focus. He paused and sniffed the air, narrowing his eyes.
"Dead body," he said, standing back up and pressing forward.
I relaxed and begrudgingly followed, my feet hating me with each step.
The sun was starting to set as we finally approached three corpses sprawled out in the sun. I could almost taste the thick, bitter scent that filled the air around them. The stench was horrid, sticking to the inside of my nose and throat, making me dizzy.
"They look elvish," Lex said, examining their faces. "What killed them?”
I leaned over a rotting body. The earth had sucked up all the spilled blood and dried all its exposed skin, but the parts wrapped in clothing cooked, hot and wet, all day in the sun. I covered my nose with my shirt, trying to block out the putrid air.
"Doesn't matter," Joon said, pressing on.
I moved my feet, my eyes catching sight of something gleaming brightly in the last rays of the sun. It was a sword. It was thinner and longer than the last one I had tried to wield, and this one wasn't coated in a sticky layer of blood. I leaned down and grabbed it, dragging the blade on the ground as I walked. I was too tired to hoist it up any higher.
"Are you seriously taking that with you?" Joon asked.
"Yes. The last time I passed up a sword, I ended up needing it. This is a gift, and I won't ignore it this time."
"You aren't strong enough to use a sword," he said flatly. "You're barely strong enough to carry it. One good swing and you'd topple over."
