Sonam shivers. “What about you?”
I appreciate that he sounds so concerned. Humans are such clever little liars.
“I’ll be fine,” I answer him truthfully. “I’m always fine.”
27Yue
Hunting Log #389:
Without her mask, she’s somehow more beautiful still.
Yue?”
Tentative fingers brush over the scars along the right side of my face, trailing back to settle just behind my ear. Someone gives my fur a light scratch, but I can’t say that I mind. It’s quite… comforting.
“Yue, wake up,” comes a deep voice.
My joints are stiff and creaky. I fear my eyelids are frozen shut. It takes an alarming amount of effort to pry them open.
Even more alarming is the angry growl of my stomach.
It grumbles with such ferocity that I can feel it reverberating in my chest. It’s as though someone’s reached inside, digging their nails into the empty cavern of my belly as they squeeze without remorse. My head is light, the room around us spinning uncontrollably.
“Hungry,” I rasp. Lick my lips. Saliva fills my mouth, turning cold against my teeth. I find Sonam crouched beside me, surprisingly alert despite our troubled sleep. He smells good. Too good.Where’s the harm in a little bite? “So hungry,” I say again, but this time, it comes out as a whimper. It hurts too damn much.
What am I thinking? I can’t eat him. Nor can I eat Wen or Sooah. They will execute me before I can even open my jaws wide enough.
The sharp twist of blood suddenly fills the air, catching me off guard. I look up at Sonam, alarmed to see that he’s dragged the tip of one of his daggers across the surface of his palm. Blood pools within the cup of his hand, the tips of his fingers blue from the cold.
“Here,” he says, teeth chattering. “Hurry up. I hear movement outside. I think Kelai’s coming back.”
“But I—”
“It is freely given, Fox. Just don’t overdo it.”
He holds his hand out to me and I can no longer help myself. I’m not allowed to raise a hand to him so long as our blood oath remains in effect, but that doesn’t mean he cannot offer himself to me. As long as I keep his heart beating, I think it should be fine.
Emphasis onI think.
I slowly dip my head down toward his palm, keeping my eyes on the humans—as bleary as my vision may be. With a hesitant final inhale, I swipe my tongue over his palm.
His blood tastes divine. I knew it would. From the moment I smelled him, I knew Sonam would be a feast like none I’ve ever had before. Sweeter than nectar, more refreshing than crisp water on a scorching summer’s day. I drink greedily, forgetting at times what it is to breathe. My mind grows more alert with each drop that finds its way past my lips.
I am so lost in the taste of Sonam’s blood that all my thoughts seem to tumble out of my head. For a moment, I forget where we are. Gone are my worries, my anxieties, my fears. There’s nothing but the satisfying weight filling my belly and the taste of iron onmy tongue. It doesn’t occur to me until I’ve licked his palm clean that I’ve forgotten precisely who it is I’m drinking from.
Pulling away, I ignore the nervous pounding of my heart.
The blood of my enemy. And fed by his very hand, no less. I don’t know whether I should feel grateful or ashamed. I have half a mind to keep going. To chew off his fingers, his hand, maybe even his whole arm, but I push the craving aside. My hunger has been assuaged, so there’s no need to push my luck. It’s enough for now.
Sonam watches me with a strange look in his eye. I have to assume that it’s disgust, but there’s something else, too. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s difficult to tell given his ever-present scowl.
“You’re…” He hesitates, clears his throat. Sonam’s eyes drift from my scars to my tails.
“I know, I know,” I grumble. “I’m wretched. Stop staring.”
The captain bristles. “No, I didn’t mean—”
Whatever Sonam has to say dies on his tongue with the sound of soft padding of footsteps and the hum of a gentle tune. Kelai. She sounds to be in particularly high spirits considering how she locked us in to freeze to death.
