Page 18

Marinah

I refused to allow myself to dwell on King. His panties were in a tight twist, and the poor man was suffering. It couldn’t have been comfortable. I also knew there was nothing I could say or do that would make a difference. He needed time to stew over his own idiocy.

If he insisted on enforcing his edict about Cosway, we’d have another problem on our hands, and it wouldn’t be pretty. But deep down, I knew King wouldn’t kill the prisoner. Cosway was about as dangerous as a newborn foal. He needed care and proper food before we could even think about making decisions regarding his future.

The biggest problem we were going to face over the next few days wasn’t Cosway, it was boredom. Sitting still was not my strong suit. I’d spent too many years waiting for death, and I no longer thought of myself as expendable.

To kill time, I rummaged through my pack, reorganizing my treasures at the bottom so the essentials were easier to access. The task killed all of ten minutes even with claws. I wiped the sweat from my wide brow with the back of my hand. It was going to be warm today, and it was a sad state of affairs when I could smell myself and didn’t like the odor. A bath was no longer a want, it was a necessity.

Across the roof, King, Labyrinth, and Beck were deep in conversation. I ignored them, focusing instead on Cosway, who smiled at me with his too-wide grin. I moved closer.

“You wouldn’t happen to know a place to take a bath, would you?” I asked.

His green eyes lit up. “Pretty Butterfly,” he said in that same reverent tone as before.

“Stinky butterfly,” I corrected.

That made him laugh, a raspy, unhinged sound that still managed to make me smile.

“River, yep. Water good,” he said, nodding enthusiastically.

“There’s a river?” I asked, my excitement rising.

“Good water, yep,” he said again, bobbing his head up and down.

I already knew this would be a no-go for King, but the idea of clean water was too tempting to ignore. “Can you give me directions?”

Cosway’s head snapped around in quick, jerky movements as he scanned the area. For a moment, I thought I’d lost him to whatever flying grasshoppers lived in his mind. Then he looked back at me, his grin enormous. “Map, yep. Show map.”

I couldn’t help but smile in return. At least he was trying.

I pulled a map from my pack and handed it to Cosway. He unfolded it carefully, his grimy finger running across the surface as he studied it. Being this close to him for so long wasn’t easy. If I was ripe, then he was completely spoiled, and swimming in urine.

A shadow fell over me where I was squatting beside Cosway. I glanced up and saw King looming above us. “He says there’s a river with clean water,” I said, watching his jaw clench so tightly that his massive teeth crisscrossed. I crossed my arms and waited.

King dropped his gaze to the ground, and I almost smiled. I did the same thing when I was counting, and I understood the need. It helped. But when his eyes met mine, I knew he hadn’t counted long enough.

“This is not a resort,” he growled.

I stood up, putting us almost at eye level. “Is that really what you wanted to say?”

He dropped his gaze again, clearly counting a second time. When he looked up, his anger hadn’t faded; in fact, it seemed worse. “If the princess wants a bath, she’ll get a fucking bath,” he snapped.

I blinked once. Then twice. “Do you want a bloody nose?”

He threw up his hands in exasperation and stomped away.

I looked down at Cosway, my new best friend, the man who knew where I could take a bath. “You get to go too,” I said.

“Good, good. Feed the kiddies,” he muttered.

That caught my attention. “The what?”

“Feed the kiddies. Kiddies hungry,” he said, nodding enthusiastically.

Oh, hell no. “King!” I shouted, making Cosway jump.

King turned, his eyes narrowing as he marched back toward me.

“He has children,” I said urgently. “We need to go. Now.”

The “kiddies” were supposedly a short distance from the river, according to Cosway’s directions. We divided the men evenly, leaving Labyrinth behind with Axel for added protection. Beck, much like King, didn’t trust our prisoner at all. He grumbled as much as King did, and his irritation was obvious in every step he took.

Beck tied a rope around Cosway’s neck, and I held my tongue. For now. If it came down to it, I’d fight both Beck and King to protect Cosway’s life. They weren’t killing an innocent, no matter what they thought. I also stopped dreaming about water. If we found children, getting them to safety would be far more important than a bath.

As we moved through the metal and cement debris littering the main road, a coyote darted away from us in the distance. Besides the mice and rats, we’d seen scurrying about, it was the first animal we’d come across.

About thirty minutes in, Cosway led us onto a smaller side road, even more hazardous than the last. The thought that this might be a setup crept into my mind, but I kept it to myself. Cosway seemed to know his way and kept us moving, though I couldn’t help expecting the scenery to change. It didn’t. He kept us firmly within the city.

Two hours later, I was thoroughly lost, but Cosway pressed on. Occasionally, he reached up to rub the skin beneath the rope. It must have been chafing, but Beck ignored the action along with my killing glares.

King was brooding and remained silent. He must have found it incredibly difficult having me as one of his soldiers. The stress of our disagreement was starting to wear on me too, and Ms. Beast wasn’t helping. She’d decided everyone needed to die, which didn’t exactly make things easier.

“Kiddies, kiddies,” Cosway shouted suddenly, pulling against the rope in Beck’s hands.

We weren’t in a wooded neighborhood like I’d imagined. Instead, we were in what had once been a prime corporate center. Broken glass littered the ground, and gutted skyscrapers loomed over us, their windows dark and empty.

Then I heard it. A faint noise. Cosway tugged harder, his excitement growing.

“Hungry,” he said, pointing ahead.

I spotted a small area that had been converted into a makeshift shelter. A potted plant sat beside the swath of material being used as a door.

King stopped me with a firm hand on my arm. Without a word, he moved in front of me and threw back the swath of material covering the shelter’s entrance. He leaned in for a look, then quickly pulled his head out. The expression he gave me was confusing. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding again.

Then I heard it, a soft “meow,” followed by another.

“Kiddies, kiddies,” Cosway chimed from behind me.

I pulled back the blanket myself, and sure enough, his “kiddies” were kittens. Five of the most adorable little things I’d ever seen, no more than a few weeks old.

Inside the shelter, a can of powdered milk sat on the ground beside a tin plate holding a mixture of milk and water. The kittens mewled and pawed at each other, a tangle of tiny bodies.

I stepped inside, scanning quickly for weapons. All I found were books, small trinkets, and a picture frame. I picked it up and studied the photo. A man and a woman with a small girl standing between them. Probably something Cosway had found and kept.

“Send him in. It’s clear,” I called out.

A moment later, Cosway entered the small enclosure, dropping to his knees. The kittens immediately swarmed him, climbing up his arms and legs as he scooped them up, one by one, and cuddled them against his chest and neck.

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught King watching from the doorway. I couldn’t help myself and mouthed, You’re an idiot.

He knew exactly what I meant. Killing a man who rescued kittens? Really? King just shook his head when I shot him the same evil glare I’d given Beck earlier.

Cosway fed the kittens, carefully refilling their bowl even after they’d finished their meal. It didn’t take much to realize he’d been doing this for a while, likely leaving food behind in case he couldn’t return right away.

And the smell? The urine stench I’d pinned on Cosway. That was all kitten. They weren’t litterbox trained, and the entire hut reeked of them.

After tending to the kittens, Cosway led us to the river. It wasn’t far, and the sight stopped me in my tracks. The entire area was beautiful, an oasis in the middle of the city. It must have been stunning before the world fell apart.

Beck didn’t bother putting the rope back on Cosway, and I moved faster, heading straight for the water. No one stopped me as I carefully pulled my shirt over my head, my back to the others. It wasn’t until my pants came down that I heard King growl. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Cosway watching me. But then he turned around and lifted his upper clothing off, pulled down his pants, and walked into the water with me.

“Fuck,” King muttered under his breath.

I had no idea what he was complaining about until I took a good look at Cosway’s nakedness. Holy fuck. He was a she , and King had noticed the moment she removed her clothes. Beck stood slack-jawed at the sight while King moved further away, mumbling something I couldn’t make out. “Nice water,” I said cheerfully, deciding this was my mate’s just desserts.