My mouth falls open in shock, but no sound emerges for several fraught heartbeats. “Are you sayingI’mhis mate?”
Trust your simurgh,Raz adds unhelpfully.
Two powerful gusts of wind nearly sweep me off my feet as they take to the skies.
On a conscious level, I know that Razulek would never leave me in danger. But every nerve ending in my body is on high alert as the wind settles and silence descends on the clearing.
Taking Raz’s advice, I reach for my simurgh... but she doesn’t budge from her slumber, as if she can’t be bothered to protect us. Or doesn’t need to... because we’re not in any true mortal danger, even if that thing thinks we’re his mate. Maybe I can use that to help me get out of here.
“Good kitty.” I ease out a breath, facing him but backing away ever so slowly.
I let out a squeak as the manticore crowds my space with three bounds. Huffing a strangled breath, I brace—for what, I don’t know—but as the creature pads around me with his leathery wings tight against his sides, his elegant leonine muzzle snuffling my torso, my hair, and my back, fear is not the first emotion I’m feeling.
It’swonder.
My fingers itch. Would that velvety red-gold fur feel as soft as it looks?
His scent of woodsy earth, petrichor, and smoldering hearths fills my nose. He makes a low, whining noise and bends his nose to my knee. That pink two-pronged tongue slicks over the dried blood on my shin from my earlier fall, and a shiver runs through me as he repeats the soft swipe on my other shin. It feels... affectionate.
You are delusional, Suraya.
Maybe I am.
But when his muzzle traces the outer curve of my thigh to land squarely between my legs, my thoughts scatter as he presses deeper and inhales, his big body rumbling with... pleasure.
What thefuck?
His scent deepens and sharpens, curling into my nostrils like a drug. To my horror, I feel myself respond. Oh, gods, no. What is that? Pheromones? Without thinking of the repercussions, I shove wildly at his big head, subconsciously noting that his sleek hide feels like the softest velvet, and clamp my legs together.
“Oh, no, you don’t, you furry pervert!”
But he lets out a noise that sounds bizarrely like an amused purr and rubs his giant lion’s head against my stomach. Intense, intelligent amber eyes meet and hold mine as if daring me to push him away again, but for some reason I don’t. Instead, I let my hands float to his mane to tangle in the soft golden mass.
As I sift my fingers through, I can feel the strength of the muscles beneath, the heat of his lion’s body like a furnace. That purring sound grows louder, rumbling through me like a soothing balm. My simurgh stretches lazily and undulates as though she, too, enjoys the strange connection. I almost laugh at the incongruity of a man-eating monster making us both feel calm.
Or the fact that I’m petting it like a giant cat.
“Where do you belong?” I whisper. “If you let me go, I promise to find someone who can help you get home.”
“No,” he growls viciously, making the air shrivel in my lungs.
“Fine, you win. We’ll both stay here forever.”
My eyes flutter shut, and I force myself to think. There has to be a way out of this. But before I can come up with a plan, there’s a new presence in the glade.
Nuadar stands there with a handful of guards, including Ani, and they’re all armed.
Sensing the threat, the manticore lets out a chilling howl that shakes the ground just as a river of flame blisters his hide. He jumps away from me, wings flaring with aggression when a spear of lightning comes at him, hitting his right side. The scorpion barb swells and fires a dart, but a wall of ice shields the guards as they move into a defensive formation.
“Ani,” I call out in relief.
“Stay calm, Sura,” she says in a low, monotone voice. “Don’t move.”
This time, I listen. Scanning their faces, I recognize the snake shapeshifter as well as the ice and flame wielders. Lightning dances over another guard’s hands. A flicker of worry spills through me. Do they mean to kill the manticore? I want to be safe, but I also don’t want him to be harmed because of me.
“Mine,”the creature growls.
Ani’s blue eyes fly wide in shock as if she hadn’t expected the monster to speak. “Ashes, that’s new,” she mutters. “Nuadar, I’ll blind him temporarily. Get the bow ready. The rest of you, in position. Remember, do not use lethal force. Incapacitate only.”
