Page 147 of Cold-Blooded Creatures

I laid my head on our vehicle’s metal frame and drifted away, lulled by their joyous chatter and Greyn’s complaints about Nara’s driving skills.

“Kali? We’re here.”A voice, as delicate as her fleeting caress on my shoulder, flowed into my ears.

Prying my eyelids apart, I swallowed the dryness in my mouth. Night had fallen. We had to have been driving for hours.

I clambered out of the car, half-falling in the process, and clutched the door for support. “Fuck,” I croaked out, both at the sight before me and at my muscles so stiff they had frozen into icicles, my cheeks numb from the brutal lashes of wind we’d been subjected to during the ride in their roofless car.

“So beautiful,” Malaya murmured.

Before us, an endless grassy field full of haphazardly scattered bonfires stretched out. Oranges and reds flickered in the darkness as the flames melted into the sky, leaping one over the other, chasing the stars. Damia’s people lounged around the sources of burning light, some swaying to the beats of music I couldn’t hear, some lying on blankets, perhaps deep in sleep, and some simply conversing and sharing late night snacks.

The first line of buildings behind us signaled that we were at the edge of their compound.

“What is this?” I asked.

Jayla stared ahead, speechless for the first time since I’d met her. I wasn’t sure she could be quiet. Anywhere. Anytime. Part of why I enjoyed spending time with her.

“It’s the last stand against the winter gods,” Nara piped up.

Shivering, Malaya hugged herself. “Winter gods?”

Nara rummaged in the trunk and threw a thick, sun-yellow but faded blanket over Malaya’s shoulders, tucking the hem and the corners in the neckline of her long wool coat.

“It comes from an old tale. Once upon a time, gods ruled everything in the world. They controlled the yearly seasons too, but if you were smart enough, you could fight them. Fire melts ice, and so you could defeat the winter-bringing gods by lighting fires around you. Supposedly, it would deter them, and they’d leave your land untouched. Growing up, I loved the tale, and my mom has organized this every year since then. Being the leader’s daughter has its perks,” Nara explained, leading us across the field to the furthest bonfire, a lonely blaze glimmering in the dark, far from all others. “This spot is my favorite.” She plopped down on a scorched log, and Jayla and Malaya situated themselves on her sides.

“So what did my daughter do now?” a tall woman in combat boots asked Greyn as they neared us. He gave a quiet reply I couldn’t make out, and she shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets, not sure what to do. Malaya, Nara, and Jayla chatted excitedly on the other side of the bonfire, and I didn’t want to disturb them. Malaya’s genuine smile had rooted me in place. I had no intention of wiping it off by accident.

“I’m Damia. I believe you have already met my daughter,” the woman said as they approached me. “And thank you, Greyn. I’ll take it from here.”

He nodded in goodbye and strolled off toward the mass of fires fighting the winter gods.

“Yes, we met in the car.” A moment of confusion, and I shook her left hand. Right. Not everyone was right-handed. “I’m Kali.”

The movement tugged on the sleeve of her dark, knee-length coat, and a swirl of ink peeked out. The leader’s tattoo. Blacker than the deepest night, as if imbued with the evil ravaging the cities.

“I know who you are.” She gestured for us to sit down on the blanket covering the damp log, the blaze blocking our view of her daughter. “Gedeon tried to keep you a secret, but Zion wouldn’t shut up.”

I snorted. Not a revelation there. Zion liked to boast about his conquests loud and clear for all to hear. Because, evidently, I was a delicious piece of meat he’d won. A thing he liked to emphasize by smacking my ass and grinning at my yelps.

But he’d tied me to that fucking chair in Gedeon’s bedroom. He could find another butt to torture. Mine was off-limits. He could slap his own, for all I cared. Or maybe Gedeon’s. He’d certainly freak out. And probably punish Zion for it.

I rolled my lips to suppress my imagination from running loose. That was not where it was supposed to be headed. Hate and fury, that was the direction it should aim for.

But the visual of them tog?—

“What’s on your mind?” Damia gave me a quizzical look.

Scrambling for an answer, I fixated on the tight braids weaved along her scalp and ending at her nape. I’d never seen anything so intricate.

She tapped one above her ear. “They’re called cornrows.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. They’re beautiful.” And so were Gedeon and Zion, their naked bodies slick with sweat and?—

“Don’t worry about it. And thank you.” She extended her arms toward the bonfire. “Now tell me, what did those two do for you to make a visit?”

I followed her example and savored the heat on my palms, praying it would incinerate my traitorous feelings. “They went to stop the Matching in Ilasall without me. So I came here. I’m not going to take shit like this from them. They can choke on it for all I care.”