“To thank the Quadmos soldiers for their years of service to the kingdom and peace, the Thornian king bestowed each a pair of small horns on their foreheads. Making them honorary Thornians, and symbolically part of his family.”
Vivian remained silent, standing in a small pool of the water that had dripped from her freshly washed body. Her arms, partially concealed under the teardrop of her large breasts, loosened their hug on her ribs slightly. The story had done its job of distracting while the food cooked, and now it was dinner time.
“The end,” I said softly as I opened the steaming pot.
“Thank you,” she whispered through barely parted lips.
Hearing her voice was divine bliss.
Bellies full and my strength returning, I cradled Vivian across my lap in our bed. The cabin bathed in dim lantern light, I could almost pretend nothing had happened here. The streaks of red on the floorboards looked like normal shadows in the wood. The rug was back in place. Nurghle was curled up at the foot of the mattress, his side rising and falling with heavy breaths. I was so grateful for his little cries that led me to them. Could a cat smell me? Recognize my footsteps? Had he been calling out for me?
“You don’t have to stay here. I can protect my home myself,” Vivian whispered. Her voice was still small, but she’d slowly started speaking again after dinner. This was by far the most coherent thing she’d said yet, and I was sad it was the suggestion that I leave.
“I know you can protect you and yours, my brave Little Goddess. But as long as I’m alive, you’ll never have to again. I’m not leaving you. I swear my life to you as your guardian and your mate.”
“My mate?” Her lashes batted as she tilted her head back against my arm to meet my gaze. I’d been affectionately staring down at her, waiting for her to notice for some time. “Is that what you call husbands here?”
I knew the term of endearment, although it wasn’t commonly used on Trebianna. “Yes, yourhusband. I’d like you to be mywife. And as your husband, I’ll be whatever you need. Your shield, your sword, your faithful servant.”
I’d hoped we could have this conversation with more romance, but Vivian wasn’t capable of that right now. Strong feelings were being blocked by her mind, protecting her from them. She needed to hear this from me now. I wasn’t sure she would crawl out of this box she was hiding in until certain she was safe.
Her expression cracked. Her lips contorted into a strange combination frown-smile, her brows arched, her eyes grew shiny, and shelaughed.
I tried not to be hurt by her amusement in response to my proposal. “What’s funny, darling?”
“I was thinking about what I could bring to a marriage.” She sniffled and that expression of demented humor grew a toothy grin. “And I thought, you know, I’m a shitty lumberjack. But turns out, I amgreatwith an axe.” She burst out into tearful laughter.
“It’s never too late to find a new skill,” I offered. The joke was dark, but I was just relieved to see her processing.
She continued her unhinged, miserable cackling. “Your wife the axe murderer!”
I felt a pang in my heart. Sure, she knew how to defend herself. But that wasn’t a part of who she was as a person.
“No, darling, you aren’t a murderer,” I cooed with conviction. “But Iam. And I’ll make sure the only reason you ever have to pick up an axe again, is to become a better lumberjack. If there are more intruders—”There will be. “—I can kill enough for the both of us.”
Theo
I woke early; it was still dark outside. There was nothing I wanted more than to stay in bed with Vivian—holding her against me and breathing her in—but she needed a fresh start to wake to. A reset. I needed to undo all the carnage tainting her home while she was still unconscious.
I stood on her front porch, bucket of soapy water in hand, staring at the looming predators on the outside of her field border. Sure, a beast would occasionally pass by her field, but this was different. There was a gathering. Standing. Staring.
Most visible were the tall, bipedal, antlered, skull-headed grove inhabitants, but I could see some of the other species moving amongst the wheat at their hips. Or at least where Iassumedtheir hips were. A thick cloud of black mist floated around the wildlife; a diverse crowd of predators lining my goddess’s field.
Were they looking at me? Her house? What the fuck did they want?
The tall beasts made a chorus of odd noises when they opened their jaws, like wind blowing through something hard, hollow. The other wildlife made the occasional growl, hiss, oryip. Had Vivian been sleeping to these noises recently? How long had this been going on?
I ignored their watching voids of eyes as I scrubbed the bloody letters from the cabin. The whole time I was working, I fought that instinctual chill down the back of my neck saying, “danger, something is watching you.” Once the daytime stars rose, the nocturnal grove creatures wouldhaveto leave… hopefully the others would follow. If not, I’d deal with them.
When I’d finished vigorously cleaning, I stepped back and nodded at the scrubbed wall with approval. Now to clear the wooden stakes, then I could get to work inside.
Frankly, I didn’t have a plan for these disembodied heads. Not to mention their bodies around the corner of the cabin. Bury them? No. I couldn’t stand the thought of letting their evil decay into the sacred land of my goddess.
Tapping a knuckle on my chin as I contemplated a solution, my eyes flickered between the looming wildlife and the morbidly decorated stakes. Realization dawned over me.
Blood attracts the beasts.
“Is this what you want?” I asked, yanking a skull free, the bone cracking loudly.
