“I did nothing wrong,” she begged.
She’d only been curious about the voice on the other side. The allure of it, and the memory—its deep and melodic threads that had writhed its way into her ears—was replaced with the Laslite’s sour breath hitting her nose, filling her with dreadful reality.
Chapter Two
***
“...why not breach thebarrier and test the limits of your courage?” Vedikus taunted, lowering his voice.
“I won’t be tricked by you.”
Oh, female, but you already have.
Tricked. Lured. Brought forth to the flame, theunknown.Ahuman. He had not expected a human, let alone a female to hear him say his rites. But now that it had happened and that the fortune of the gray moon looked down upon him, he knew what all his training had been for.
Only the strongest prowled the labyrinth barrier. Only the best hunted for the sacrifices that the humans made. His muscles rippled as sacred blood coursed through his veins.
Vedikus gripped his battle axe and drew it from its sheath. The goblin corpse at his feet, broken from where he wrung its neck and shattered its back, stared up at him with watchful, dead eyes. It had been a scout, or a desperate male looking to start his own pack. It wasn’t part of a tribe.
Otherwise, he’d still be locked in battle, fighting off a swarm of them.
Vedikus shook his head and grasped the thick, impenetrable hedge where the human female’s voice emanated from. If he wasn’t careful, another barrier lurker like himself would get the jump on him and would hear her voice as well.
A call would go out.
He could not let that happen.
She is mine to hunt.His nostrils flared.
No one spoke to the humans on the other side unless it was a witch or a warlock, and those who knew of one guarded their secrets to their grave. Was the female on the other side one? Was she toying with him as if he were a calf? He snorted, and steam released from his nostrils.
The female knows nothing about me.Without looking down, he stepped onto the goblin’s head and crushed it beneath his hoof.
He licked his lips, tasting the salt of his sweat bloom on his tongue, and pressed closer to the wall. The mist that surrounded him stung his hand where he touched the barrier, repelling him. Vedikus crushed the vines in his fist and groaned as the pain flowed through him. He...liked pain, almost enjoyed it. It reminded him that he was still alive.
It helped stop his body from overreacting.
