As Cora climbs onto my coils and wraps her slight hands around my torso, I can’t help but feel cherished with the touch. She does so gently, carefully, as if she worries she’ll hurt my scales. Reaching back, I squeeze her thigh gently and turn. Our eyes meet, and I see everything reflected there, all the worry, before she quickly pushes it away.
“Parum anguis,” I murmur, soothing her. “We’re all here with you. You’re safe.”
Pain flickers in her eyes again before she can hide it. “I know,” she says, but there isn’t a ring of truth to her words, and that has my own tension rising.
What exactly did she see in her dreams?
I twist until I can meet her eyes, briefly forcing her back on my coils. I cup her face between my hands and make her look at me. “Cora,parum anguis, I love you.” She sucks in a heavy breath at the words that I haven’t said before. “I will not let anything happen to you or those you care about.”
Her hands come up to cover mine, holding my fingers to her flesh. “You promise?”
I lean down and press my forehead against hers. “I promise with every fiber of my being.”
Something inside her seems to relax, even if it’s just a little. “I love you too, Nero,” she whispers, and something within me breaks and soars high, until I nearly grab her and wind through the trees in excitement. I hadn’t expected anything back when I said the words, but here she is, speaking them as if they are common knowledge.
She is giving me such a gift. I am a monster. I do not deserve such a bright, shining being, yet I cannot…
I will not let her go.
“We need to go,” Bracken says, and there’s a lack of mirth in his voice that has me pausing.
When I turn to look at the fey, his eyes are on the trees behind us. “What is it?” I ask.
“Arachne fey.”
Cora’s eyes widen. “What are arachne fey?”
Bracken meets her gaze. “Let us hope you don’t have to find out, Goldie. They are not the most pleasant of my kind.”
“Time to move,” Zetros says, reaching up to adjust Cora on my back, making sure she’s seated properly. “I’ll take up the rear.”
Despite the situation, I can’t help but joke, “Only because you want to stare at my ass.”
Zetros quirks a smile and pats Cora on the ass. “He’s discovered my secrets.”
Cora laughs nervously, and it makes us both relax. We don’t want her to worry or fear whatever is coming, but the truth is there. With her magic growing every day, there’s no longer a way to hide her. Monsters from far and wide will be drawn to us, and we’ll have no choice but to fight those brave enough to tackle our group, especially if they get a hold of Cora…
I can’t even think of that possibility.
We begin to move, pushing through the trees at a rate far faster than we’ve traveled before. Cora hangs onto me, making sure she doesn’t slide off as we push through. My coils dig through the undergrowth, pushing it aside as I wind around and between trees. The others keep up easily, making short work of the distance.
While we could reach the castle within a day at this pace, we’re held back.
The first creatures who dare to attack are a horde of screamers. They are grotesque creatures twisted by dark magic, and there’s nothing about them even remotely human. They crawl on all fours, their bodies misshapen and sporting wounds that are caused by dark magic that oozes out. There’s nothing pleasant about them, but at least their smell is the first warning. They are relatively weak as far as monsters go, their strength in their numbers more than anything, but we make quick work of them before we continue on.
With each attack, we’re slowed down, until I know we won’t reach the castle within the day. Cora’s power is too strong, too tempting, and every creature is coming for us. There’s no way to hide her magic other than to get her to the castle, but it seems the closer we get, the more we must face.
“Flesh beetles on the right,” Grim calls just before the things attack.
I’ve never been a fan of the creatures. Though their shells shine with morphing colors, their faces and bodies are as twisted and ugly as the screamers. They are stronger than the monsters before, but still no match for our group. Cora seems especially squeamish about the insect-like creatures.
“Oh, ew,” she grumbles, tucking her legs up so they don’t drag too closely to the ground.
“Don’t fret,parum anguis,” I purr as my coils crush the beetles who dare to get too close. “As long as they don’t touch you, they are harmless.”
“What happens if they touch you?” she asks hesitantly, as if she’s afraid to know.
“They feast on your flesh while you’re still alive,” I answer matter-of-factly. I won’t lie to her, even if it makes her face turn a frightening shade of green.
