Page 33 of Scales and Seduction (Monster Match #1)
T he sound of gravel crunching under my body helps stop the oppressive onslaught of my mind. The sprawling dairy farm is so close that the scent of hay and manure hangs in the air. A cluster of lazy cows roams the fencing, giving me an occasional noise of dissatisfaction when I grow too close.
My fist clenches around my phone as I steel myself for the call. I have to maintain some decorum, but I feel overwhelmed and furious that I have to beg the very person who did this to my mate in the first place for help.
The line rings once. The seconds between the rings stretch into eternity as my pulse hammers against my ribs frantically.
Ruby is dying.
A shuddering exhale leaves my lips as the seconds between the ringing linger until I hear a click.
My breathing stops as I hear her answer, “Gideon?” Her voice is smooth though clouded by exhaustion. There’s something cautious in her tone that picks at the thin strand of patience I have left. “Are you safe?”
I hate hearing her ask as if she cares about my safety. My grip tightens around my phone. My patience is razor-thin, and her fake empathy grinds down the last of it. “Shut up, I don’t have time for your games,” I snarl into the receiver. “I need the herb.”
“What are you talking about?” Avalon slowly inhales, sighing with exasperation at me, as if she’s still waking up. “Gideon, are you drunk?”
I almost crush my phone, a wave of rage washing over me. My hand trembles as I pace back and forth behind the cottage. “Don’t play dumb, Avalon,” I snarl through my clenched teeth. “Don’t play dumb with me!”
I squeeze my eyes shut as the image of Ruby flashes behind my eyelids. Her pale, clammy skin and the black streaks that snake along her back. “My mate was poisoned with a mushroom from the Underdark. It didn’t come from thin fucking air.”
There’s a beat of silence, then Avalon rustles around in the background as if she’s moving from her bed. “What mushroom?” Every word is laced with concern. “Gods, Gideon…” She pauses momentarily, the silence stretching long enough that my anxiety begins to bubble up. “Is she?—”
“Alive,” I cut in, grinding my teeth in frustration. “For now. But not for long if I waste any more time with your lies.”
“I—I don’t understand,” she says with a trembling voice. “Witches’ Kiss hasn’t been used in centuries. What happened?”
“The draugr,” I say tightly. “Avalon, I don’t have time to explain. Please say you have the antidote.”
“I’ll meet you in ten minutes on the bridge.” As the line goes dead, I slump over, clutching my heart as I feel the thread between Ruby and me slowly thin out. She doesn’t have much time.
The bridge to my cottage looms ahead, and a thick mist rolls over the edges of the worn wooden planks. It’s so late, I feel my body burning because every move feels like a lifetime. I hardly notice the figure standing just on the other side of the bridge until her voice cuts through the turmoil in my mind.
“Gideon.”
Avalon’s calm, brisk tone freezes me instantly. She stands in the center of the bridge now, her torso draped in a dark maroon cloak, hiding her face from view. Her pink hair is a curtain of silky strands hanging limply in her eyes. She meets my gaze with urgency and something else that reminds me of regret.
“Avalon, I don’t have time to argue,” I snap, forcing myself to stand just in front of her, arms crossed. My pulse pounds like a drum in my ears as urgency continues to claw at my insides. “Please, the herb.”
“Where is she?” Avalon asks, her voice tight with concern. “How bad is it already?”
My hands clench into fists as another wave of images of Ruby in pain flashes in my mind. “Bad.” The word barely makes it past my throat without breaking.
Avalon doesn’t argue with me. Instead, she steps closer. “I had nothing to do with what happened at the club or the attacks.” She calmly reaches into her cloak, pulling out a small leather satchel from against her chest. “This is Adamatheas. The poison is derived from the mushroom Misthalas Mique,” she continues. “It should work, but, Gideon, Witches’ Kiss is ancient. Who did this?”
I snatch the satchel from her hand, my fingers curling around the pouch like a lifeline. My jaw clenches tightly as I carefully choose my words. “If I knew, I’d be hunting them instead of talking to you.”
Avalon’s expression softens, and for a moment, she glances down at her feet. “I swear to you I had nothing to do with this,” she mutters. “I would never?—”
“I know.” The words slip out before I can think to stop them. Something in my guts says she’s telling me the truth. My instincts right now are all I have.
I watch her shoulders ease only slightly, but her head tilts back up to me, and the concern in her eyes makes me unsteady. “The draugr are after something, and it’s very likely whatever brought your pretty mate to the Vale.” She hesitates, glancing back up at me solemnly. “They are too stupid to directly suspect that it could be a dating app. Perhaps you should work with the council to ban it.”
As I study her, my anger gives away to weariness. I feel my shoulders soften, and the guard I have up fades away. “No. We won’t ban it, not yet. For all we know, Ruby is the only human who has access to the app, so there is no certainty that it will happen again. Who am I to keep people from finding their happiness?”
I haven’t discovered what it was my brother was working on. He must have known about this app prior to Avalon or even me finding it. If it’s to do with the curse that keeps our realms separated, I want to know more first.
“You love her, don’t you?”
A soft smile grows over my face. It’s a vulnerability I hadn’t wanted to share with her, but her words are true. I’ve grown to love Ruby. She brings out a side of me I’ve never shared with a partner before. The only people who have truly known me inside and out are my best friends and my brother. Even Avalon knew only the crafted personality I chose to show her. Ruby sees all sides of me, and I have never felt afraid to share it.
Avalon’s voice grows tense for a moment as she suppresses a sarcastic chuckle. “I want a place on the council.”
I freeze as my pulse slams against my skull. For a moment, all I manage is to stare at her. Then fury boils beneath my skin, and I step forward. A bitter, hollow laugh tumbles from my mouth. “I knew it,” I hiss. “I knew you’d want something in return for just being decent.”
Avalon flinches, taking a long step backward from me. “Gideon, that’s not?—”
“I don’t have time for this,” I snap at her. “You think I have that kind of sway? You think I can just hand you a seat at the fucking council like it’s a favor?” My hands shake at my sides. “Ruby is dying.”
“That’s not fair,” Avalon says sharply. “I gave you the herb, no strings attached, but I need this, Gideon. This is my only chance to ask for it.” Avalon’s jaw tightens. “I don’t want to be queen here, but my mother expects it. It will be enough for my mother to feel assured that our alliance is met. She wanted me to be queen here as well as at home. But, if I’m on the council, I’m still queen in Eryndil, and I have political sway here.”
My body vibrates with anger, and I know I should walk away. I should tell her to go to hell, but the truth is, she has helped me, and I can’t afford more enemies.
“Fine,” I grit out. “It’s yours, but if you’re lying to me…”
“I haven’t,” she says firmly. “And I’m sorry Ruby was hurt.”
Her sincerity feels unsettling, but I have wasted too much time already, and there’s no time to unpack it.
Without another word, I turn and rush across the bridge toward the cottage.
The moment I’m inside the cottage, the tension suffocates me. Silas is sitting next to the hearth in the living room with his eyes closed, caked with dried draugr blood. His eyes find mine, and I see the bone-deep exhaustion lingering there.
“Do you have the herb?” he asks, his voice tight and his brows furrowed with concern.
“Yes.” I rush down the hallway without saying another word.
Loran meets me in the bedroom doorway, dark purple circles underneath his eyes and a grim expression marring his face. I hand him the satchel, and his eyes light up. “I’ll get started.” He wastes no time, hurrying off into the kitchen, where he’ll draft up the antidote.
Ruby looks so fragile; the arrow is gone now, but the marred obsidian webbing has covered her entire back. Noodles is in his house cat form, curled against the bottom of her calf. He looks up at me, nodding sleepily and closing his eyes. She is weak.
I drop down to the bedside, holding her hand in mine so tightly, afraid that if I let her go, she might disappear. Her skin is clammy and cold, her breathing shallow. She’s losing the battle with the poison.
A fresh wave of fear swarms me, enveloping me like my heart’s in a vise.
“Ruby,” I whisper, brushing her damp hair back from her face. “I need you to come back to me. Please.” My voice cracks, my eyes growing wet. “I can’t lose you. Not now that I’ve found you..”
Her fingers twitch faintly in mine, a tiny flicker of hope that maybe I wasn’t too late. I lean down, pressing a soft kiss to her moist temple. “When you wake up, Ruby, I promise I will give myself to you. I am yours, in this life and the next. Everything I have will be yours. Nothing will ever harm you again. I promise you.”
“I love you.”