Page 84 of Hell Fae Captive

Horns of a bull.

I gulped. It was a spitting image of the creature from the dungeon.

Except this time, there were no barriers between us. Just a lot of land.

The creature’s red eyes opened, and the girls screamed.

“Centaurs!” a feminine voice shouted over the horizon as the other supply points transformed into groups of monsters.

They stayed still as if waiting for something.

Then a gunshot sounded, cracking through the air, sending the Centaurs into action.

They charged.

Scratching my nails against the cracked landscape, I watched the scene unfold, waiting for my moment to make a break for it, although I didn’t want to leave my position without having a destination in mind.

Did I trust the illuminated path?

Did I try one of the supply points for a weapon and hope that not all of them were mirages?

Or did I turn around and go back the way we’d come? A glance over my shoulder revealed more of the cracked red landscape with no evidence of escape or supplies.

None of my options seemed very good. I didn’t have enough information to make a decision.

Still, I couldn’t just sit here and wait to be picked off by Centaurs.

Fortunately, the girls appeared ready for a fight, their training evident. So maybe our parents had cared about us a bit after all, helping to prepare us in their own ways for this fate.

Or maybe it had to do with pride. I imagined it looked good to have a daughter who proved herself to the Hell Fae Source. At least to some of fae kind.

Knowing my father, he’d try to take all the credit for my success.

Asshole.

A beast-like snort from behind me made my heart skip a beat and reminded me that I still had a decision to make.

Coiling every muscle in my body, I slowly twisted to see what had made that sound.

Two red eyes stared at me through a veil of darkness lingering around its face, obscuring the Centaur’s features and making it seem even more mysterious and terrifying than it already was.

A hoof from his lower body pawed at the ground, daring me to run.

“Easy, big guy,” I said in the most soothing voice I could manage as I gently backed away. I kept my front to him, treating the being like I would a wild dog.

Don’t run.

Don’t show fear.

My heart pounded in my chest and my vision wavered. Not from heat, but from adrenaline.

My father had never prepared me to face creatures like this. Sure, I’d come across a few ambitious Hellhounds, but they weren’tscaryin any sense of the word. I actually found them entertaining.

Hellbeasts, on the other hand, were downright horrifying.

The Centaur’s red eyes homed in on me and locked me in its sights, seemingly waiting for me to make my move.

It occurred to me that the Centaurs hadn’t attacked until the gunshot. Maybe they only charged if provoked.