Page 51 of Bite The Terror That Feeds

“Guess you aren’t immune to everything.”

“You have to admit these conditions are the harshest possible.”

“They wouldn’t be harsh if you were one of us.” He stared.

I stared back.

Kingsnake held my gaze for another moment before he rose to his feet and walked into the darkness.

10

KINGSNAKE

“We’re approaching their territory.” Aurelias rode beside me on his horse, the snow less deep the farther we moved from the coast. We’d slowed to a walk, giving our steeds a break. The horses now had an easier time traveling, so we picked up our speed again.

“Will they recognize you?”

“If they have the same leader.”

I glanced over my shoulder behind me, making sure Larisa was doing okay on her own.

“She can handle herself.” His eyes were straight ahead, but he seemed to understand my concern. “Your constant worry is not only misplaced, but a waste of energy.”

“I didn’t want her to come. She insisted.”

“That’s the kind of loyalty that can’t be bought.”

“You’ve had a drastic change of heart…”

He kept his eyes ahead. “I admit I underestimated her.”

“I think it’s more than that.” I glanced behind me again, seeing her trailing far behind but in no danger. It was just snow and trees around her.

“My own men would have left me to my fate. Once the yeti was distracted ripping my head from my body, they would have used the opportunity to take him down. Her courage is so profound that it takes precedence over her own well-being—all for a man she despises. She cares deeply for you.”

I looked ahead, seeing the hills in the distance.

“And I know just how deeply you feel for her.” Now he was the one who stared at me.

I could feel it on the side of my face.

“She denied the offer of immortality once—but she won’t deny it again.”

“I don’t know about—”

“She won’t.”

* * *

The next day, their territory was in sight.

“Once we leave the tree line, they’ll spot us,” Aurelias said from the top of his horse. “As there are only three of us, we should pose no threat. I’m the only one who speaks. Is that understood?”

Neither Larisa nor I said anything.

“Let’s go.” He dug his heels into his horse and took off.

We rode across the landscape to their gate, out in the open, appearing as black dots against the white snow. Green grass became visible the closer we approached, the snow slowly dissipating as we neared civilization. The mountains behind their kingdom were covered with snow, but the ground beneath them seemed to have escaped the tundra.