AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Stopping you from getting yourself killed," I answered back, just as abruptly.
Up close he looked even worse, deep scratches over both shoulders and across his chest. He reached out with shaking hands, his fingers and claws longer, and dragged me away from the fighting. He limped with every step, and his tail hung crookedly over the back of his torn trousers.
"Stay here—"
I slid my hands through his, grasping tightly to his thick forearms. Conall was all twisted in this form, shaggy red hair crawling in at his temples and over his elongated face.
"I stay here, with you," I said. There was an open wound underneath one of my hands, bleeding slowly, and Conall shuddered and glared down at me.
He shrank before my eyes, staggering in place, his shape shifting towards human once more. "Mo chroí," he rasped.
Without all the fur, it was easier to see the wounds, and I was relieved to find that most of the blood smeared and splattered over him probably wasn't his own. The ground shook beneath our feet and I spun, lifting the crossbow, staring up at the lurching face of the troll that had escaped the others and was making its way toward us, and then fired the shot.
The bolt plunged into the troll's throat, green-gray blood burbling from the wound, and a moment later Hywel had the troll's head in his jaws, dragging him backwards and down to the ground.
Conall gasped, hands clasping onto my waist, and he let out a huffing breath, sagging into me. "Fine, protect me."
"I knew you'd see sense," I said, feigning lightness even as surprise trembled through me. "There's alcohol and clean bandages in the bag on my hip."
"It looks worse than it is. I'll heal in an hour or so," Conall said, even as he started rummaging through the sack hanging over my shoulder.
"That's all well and good, darling, but we still don't know what'sinsidethe cave," I muttered, loading another bolt into my weapon.
I eyed the fighting ahead of us with what might've been a pout. I needed to train harder with blades. The men might prefer I stick with ranged fighting, but even now I noted opportunities where I might weave through the ankles of the trolls to do damage from the ground, like Asterion hacking at the backs of their legs.
"Mmm, darling, is it? Fighting's put you in a good mood," Conall mused, then hissed as he rinsed his chest with the flask of alcohol.
It had, actually. I'd never imagined myself as a fighter, as having any interest in violence at all. I wasn't sure if it was the relief of defending myself after so many years of feeling utterly helpless, or if…
I took a deep breath, and my eyes widened. It wasn't strong, not like sex with my monsters, but there was a sweet lick ofnéktaron the air, tanged with the metallic edge of blood. I flushed at the realization.
Conall stepped up to my side, slippery pink rivulets still dripping down his chest and legs, but much cleaner than minutes ago. Already, his wounds were starting to knit back together.
"It's all right to enjoy this," he murmured gently, his hand settling on the base of my back, drawing me into his side as we watched Asterion help Rolant finish off one troll, Hywel and Laszlo another. "Survivalisa strange thrill."
* * *
In the wakeof the battle, the eerie quiet that echoed out of the cave's entrance was more chilling than the violence had been.
Hywel had dragged the troll's bodies away from us, and I'd busied myself with Conall's and Asterion's injuries as the two dragons made a hearty meal of the rest of the dead. At least they weren't wasteful.
"Do you think there's something else waiting in there?" I whispered, staring into the warm glow of two torches burning on either wall just inside, making the blackness that continued ahead of them appear limitless.
"Undoubtedly," Rolant said.
He stood left of me, wrapping a bandage around his waist to cover a wound on his side. Asterion and Conall were both cleaned up, buttoning their shirts over their still-bleeding chests. Hywel, Laszlo, and I remained spotless, although Asterion had insisted on looking me over twice once the last of the trolls was dispatched.
"I want a sword," I said to Laszlo.
"No," Asterion answered first. "If we come upon another enemy, Conall and Laszlo will take you directly out of the cave."
"Don't be ridiculous. Birsha could just as easily send more men to be waiting outside," Hywel said. "She stays with all of us at all times, like we agreed waswisest."
Asterion huffed, and Rolant's eyes rolled.
"Gentlemen, I believe if there is a trap waiting ahead of us, it was laid by Our Lady herself," Rolant said.
There was a thoughtful pause, and then Laszlo spoke. "That's actually…more concerning."
