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“What monsters can you dream up?” Raiden jokes before I cut him a look.
“We will deal with it.”
“Oh, like you did then?” she snaps angrily. “Without me, you’d have been consumed or dead or whatever.”
That is the fucking truth, even if I hate it.
“We wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t pulled that stunt.”
“Hey, peeing is a natural bodily function,” she retorts. “Don’t be an ass next time and I won’t.”
“We should put as much distance between us and them as possible before something worse comes,” Raiden remarks happily, and she looks at me with a groan.
“What could be worse?”
“A lot,” I mutter, making her groan and slump back. “We’ll take turns driving. Keep heading towards the location.”
“Don’t you mean my home?” Her voice is angry. “And just think, you thought the worst monsters were out here.”
“Before we stopped, I heard your name being screamed.” Torrin’s dark face has me turning around. The fact that he chose to speak out loud lets me know exactly why he’s mad—her.
“Did you? You must have been dreaming of me.” She shrugs but she looks uncomfortable for a moment.
“It seems we aren’t the only ones with enemies,” I mutter, something she chooses to ignore.
The van settles into a strained silence that I refuse to break.
“So I know Emrys is a ghoul, and Raiden is some sort of fox thing,” she begins after a while.
“Raju,” he supplies snottily. “A lightning fox, if you will.”
“Raju.” She looks at us. “What about you?” When none of us answer, she carries on. “I’m betting you are a golem, right?” Her guess surprises me. After all, we are quite rare and extremely hard to create. Nodding like my look confirmed it, she glances at Bram and Torrin. Maybe she’s forgotten we told her what Torrin is, or maybe she is just playing with us.
“The horns, the size, so . . . dragon?” When Torrin just stares blankly back, she sighs. “Goat shifter? Bull?” His eye twitches, and she grins. “Ah, a minotaur. Interesting. I’ve never met one of your kind.” She looks at Bram, whose eyes widen. He seems to have that problem every time she looks at him, and I feel him reaching for me to help.
“From what I accidentally saw . . . a scorpion? I’ve never heard of one though.” I let it be his choice. It has nothing to do with us if he wants to disclose what he is. She could be asking to know how to kill us or just due to boredom. Either way, I won’t take that from them.
“Scorpion.” He swallows nervously. “We are very rare. In fact, we were extinct until I was brought back.”
“Brought back?” She tilts her head curiously, and he glances at me again for help, but once more, I let him decide.
“From the past. We were extinct until . . . they found a way,” Bram says, but I am surprised by how much he shares.
“The past? Like time travel? Cool.” She glances back at me. “What do I get for guessing correctly?”
“Another day of breathing,” I retort. “Now shut up, you’re annoying.”
“Aren’t golems supposed to be extremely loyal to their maker?” When I don’t answer, she turns in her seat, props her head in her hand, and watches me as I gaze forward. “Is the person after us your maker? I’ve heard golems are more loyal than any soldier or mate unless you betray them, and then they turn and make you wish you never made them. Is that the case, golem?”
“Stop.” One word, but she ignores it.
“Oh, come on, what did they do? They created you from mud and stone, infused you with life, and gave you part of their soul, so they must have done something terrible for you to betray your master.”
She smashes into the side of the door as I attack, my hand tightening on her throat, yet she smiles. “If you know my lore, then you know better than to push me. I will do whatever it takes to complete the job, which means your death.”
“But not yet,” she replies sweetly, grinning as she taps my hand on her throat. “I only enjoy rough stuff during sex. Without pleasure, it’s just boring, especially when we know you cannot follow through.”
“Is that an offer?” Raiden asks, trying to lower the tension. When it doesn’t work, he sighs. “I’m still driving here. Let’s not break the car.”
