I need her to cross.
She was mere feet away, and the only thing that separated them was the hedge and its magic. There was nothing in the labyrinth that could stop him from capturing her...butthis.
Another bout of steam released from his nose as he looked up the wall until it disappeared into the haze. The vines above danced around, in and out of his sight.
Vedikus sneered, wishing his brother, Astegur, was with him if only for his ingenuity. But as soon as he wished it, he burned the thought away.
Astegur would want her too; he’d fight me for the rights to her.He would not fight his bull brothers if that happened, but he would very much consider it.
They shared females like they shared battle opponents: with bloodthirsty competition, using everything in their arsenal. It mattered not because regardless of who the female was or how pretty her voice, his clan—his brothers—needed her. There were two reasons to scout the dangerous labyrinth walls—to capture the humans that entered and to test your strength against a myriad of opponents.
He was here for the latter with only thepossibilityof a capture but the likelihood was small, not with hundreds of other mist creatures all out for the same thing. At least that’s what he told himself.
His brothers, on the other hand, wouldn’t deny the fact that they sought human females. They fought for it, every day, honing their skills, driving their willpower hard and their muscles harder to build the stamina and endurance needed for the sacrificial zones. He tensed his body and felt the power he held ignite.
There was no greater prize than a pureblood human, but he was here to hone his skills and scout the lands, not to seek out and capture a female.I have not come prepared.
He would not let that stop him.
Delicious licks of cloudy heat poured from his body as he focused hard on the spot where the female was just beyond.
Vedikus lowered his axe back into its sheath and took a step back, looking for a means, or a small opening where he could lure her close enough to grab.I cannot deny the needs of my clan.Not with such an obscurely lucky opportunity.
One finger, one strand of hair on my side and I can pull her through the thick brush.
“Who’s there!?” A new voice filled the space.
Vedikus froze, his hand dropping back to his axe’s handle. The thick corded muscles of his arms rippled, ready for another bout of battle. He swiveled to locate the direction where the voice had come from but he did not sense another goblin or creature nearby, only the female’s presence and the sounds of crushed leaves and twigs breaking.
“I heard you, lass! Come out now or pay the price!”
It’s coming from the human world.He moved back toward the wall and pressed as close to her as possible. Sharp, excruciating waves of pain attacked him and the hedge sprouted thorns to stab through his exposed skin, filling him with viler poison.
I need to grab her. Now!He couldn’t lose her, not after the moon had handed him this opportunity. He would not go back to his brothers without her after she had been offered. It would be too cruel. The shame... consuming.
The female’s fear finally reached his nose and he realized he did not like the smell of it as much as he thought he would. Vedikus grimaced and strained his hand outward through the thick vines and even thicker magic.She’s right there!A little more and he could tear her through.
This new man could not have her.
Try as he might, he couldn’t pierce it. He drew his hand back, so filled with rage—resentment for the intruder—that he did the one thing he didn’t want to do.
“If you do not want to be caught, female, then I suggest you run,” he growled, warning her away. Vedikus fought his instincts. “Run!”
A series of noises filled his ears as his words took effect.
Vedikus dropped his hands onto his weapons, clenching their handles as he listened to her flee, listened to the man pursue her. His prick was hard and in the process of lubricating itself for an impossibility. A chase and catch he had no part of.
The female fled from him, from another, and was in danger in the one place he could not go after her. He slammed his fist into the hedge wall and was shot away. Burning magic filled his veins. Hatred coursed with it, spreading through his body, urging him to berserk, urging him to roar and give his location away. But he kept his mouth shut and listened to whatever he could on the other side until no sound came at all.
Minutes went by. Steam trailed out not only from his nose but also his mouth to release the buildup inside. When his body cooled, only determination remained.
His opportunity had passed but there would be another.
If she’s caught...Vedikus hated the idea of anyone other than himself giving chase, but if shewascaught, she’d become a sacrifice. Hope alighted his blood.
He waited another few minutes, keeping his ears to the barrier, but there was no sound other than the wilderness to be heard.
The shrouded moon was full overhead and her smell was gone before he left the small glen behind, heading in the direction of the nearest sacrificial juncture: Thetras.
