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I can’t help it—I laugh.
Akuji sits up, angry before he sees me, and then a smile tips up his lips as my giggles fill the air. I reach for my tiger and pat him. “He was protecting me,” I say between laughs.
“I guess he was,” he grumbles, but he’s still smiling as he gets to his feet.
Sighing, I flop to my back, the moment broken as reality crashes down.
Talia. She could be hurt or worse, and I’m lying here, laughing. I stroke my tiger once more before I get to my feet as well. “I guess we should get back to searching.”
“Not without you eating first, little human,” Akuji orders, making me roll my eyes. He moves away and comes back a moment later with some water and more random bits of food. “I will find some better food today—”
“This is fine, thank you,” I tell him sincerely as I sit down and nibble through it. He shares his own breakfast with the tiger again, and after, he takes my hand and leads me from his room. I duck my head at first before lifting it and meeting every prying eye of the waking monsters. Some snarl and some shout, but he ignores them until we reach the exit, and then he barks orders at them and pulls me out.
The fresh air fills my lungs, making me sigh before I realise I really need to pee. “One sec!” I call, darting away. I hear a snarl, and then he grabs me, slamming me into his chest.
“I wasn’t running again.” I sigh, patting his arm. “I need the toilet.”
“Oh,” he replies and slowly uncurls his arms, dropping me back to my feet and letting me go. “Stay where I can see you.”
“No, you perv.” I laugh as I move to the closest shop. He follows as I pass the counter and rails and find the toilet at the back. I partially shut the door, needing some light to see, and squat, doing my business and cringing when I realise there is nothing to wash my hands with.
“Are you okay?” he calls.
“Fine.” I almost squawk when I go to open the door and find him outside, protecting me. It makes me smile as I bound to his side. “Let’s get back to the hunt.”
He looks down at me and nods. “Of course, little human. Hopefully, we find your friend today.”
He’s such a liar.
I hear the displeasure in his voice, and for a moment, I feel the same.
Because when I find her, it means leaving him.
FIFTEEN
ARIA
It’s been two hours, and there is no sign of Talia. I’m starting to get really worried, and I take it out on Akuji. He watches me nervously, steering me around obstacles as I rage and stomp. It’s unlike me to be loud and obnoxious, but part of me feels like I can be this way with him and my tiger at my side.
“Where is she?” I spit.
I hear him sigh, and then there’s a rustle. I jerk my head up, and he grabs me, yanking me closer and placing his hand over my mouth to silence me as if I were that dumb, but I was—I was being loud.Fuck.He holds me there for what feels like hours but must be minutes before slowly releasing me.
“We should head bac—”
“Not without her,” I hiss.
“Aria.” Even the sexy way he says my name doesn’t calm me down, especially when I see him look away. I’m tired of this shifty shit. He knows something, and I want to know what it is.
“Tell me,” I demand, turning to him with my arms crossed.
“Tell you what?” he asks, frowning, but his eyes keep going back to our surroundings, searching for threats.
“Whatever you are hiding from me. I saw your face when we found the trail, when I mentioned Talia. You are hiding something from me, and I want to know what. Now,” I snap.
“Aria, shush,” he demands, but I step closer, poking him in his chest. I’m pretty sure it hurts my finger more than him, but it gets his attention.
“Everyone lies to me, but I never thought you would. Tell me what happened to my friend, or I will run and you will never find me,” I threaten.
