Page 17

Chapter

Seventeen

A bby’s gaze lifted from the page where she was practicing writing the simple sentences Samir had taught her. She frowned at the tea as he poured it into the cups, though she was grateful that the skin on her face no longer pulled with the tightness of sunburn when she did so. Lifting her own cup, she gave the oddly dark liquid a delicate sniff and grimaced. “I think there is something wrong with the tea.”

“That’s because it is not tea. It’s coffee. A very good quality coffee that is highly prized in this region,” he replied with a faint purr to his voice. “I just recently acquired a fresh batch while you were sleeping.”

Her brows dipped lower as her eyes lifted from the dark, steaming liquid to squint up at the manticore. “Recently acquired? How…?” She groaned and set the cup down before lowering her head into her hands. “Please tell me you didn’t raid a passing merchant caravan.”

“Do not be ridiculous.” He snorted mirthfully and lowered the ornate silver pot in his hands. Now that she was paying closer attention, she noticed that it wasn’t the usual smaller pot he used for tea but taller and more fluted in shape. “Of course I did.”

She peered up at him between her fingers and sighed, propping her chin on her fist instead. “You do realize that is why they sent me, right?”

He paused in the midst of placing a plate of some sort of sweet confection she knew for certain that he didn’t make. “Should I write them a thank you letter? I could stuff it into the wound of the next human I let flee.”

She glowered at him, drawing a chuffing chuckle from the male.

“Do not look so cross, Abby,” he purred, tapping her thigh gently with the side of his stinger. “I may wound those who are foolish enough not to get out of my way, but I seldom kill anyone who is not trying to kill me first. There are always some guards who are far more noble than what their pay warrants who try to make a stand, but a few strategic slashes change their minds easily enough.”

“And you don’t imagine that is the cause of people wanting to kill you?” she retorted.

“I do not,” he said primly despite his grin as he nudged the plate toward her. “They should be leaving me coffee, tea, and various treats as gifts for all the good that I do them. Speaking of which, I have acquired gifts for you,” he purred as he nodded toward a small stack of novels boasting adventurous titles penned to them that had her clutching them to her chest.

“I wanted to get you jewels and things of beauty, but it seems that coffee, snacks, and books was the best this particular caravan supplied.”

“You say that likes it a bad thing when I can’t think of anything else I would like better,” she hesitantly admitted.

Holding her books within her arms, she eyed the plate for a moment. They did look good. She knew she ought to protest eating ill-gotten treats and the lavish present of books, but on the other hand it didn’t do to let them go to waste. After a moment of indecision, she leaned forward and plucked up a puffed pastry dusted with large crystals of sugar. He certainly knew the way to a girl’s heart. If he hadn’t already captured it that was—not that he would be especially pleased to hear that either way considering his apparent determination to remain unyoked to a mate, so she kept it to herself. Wouldn’t he have said something by now, otherwise? It was a crushing thought but one that she was resolved to keep pushed back to the furthest recesses of her mind so as to not dwell on it and ruin her time with him.

Licking a bit of sugar off her thumb, she turned a skeptical look at him. “What do you mean by ‘all the good you do for them?’”

He peered back at her. “Did you not happen to notice how this part of the desert is shockingly free of monsters—aside from myself, naturally.”

Abby thoughtfully nibbled at the cookie as she considered it. He had a good point. Normally when traveling through the wilderness one could catch sight of any number of creatures—many of which preferred to scatter or hide when they were at a disadvantage but wouldn’t hesitate to attack if the opportunity struck. Even still there were always signs of larger, more dangerous predators that passed through. Although she knew nothing of deserts, now that he mentioned it, the fact that they encountered no signs that she was able to detect was unusual. No one had even so much as mentioned other creatures that lurked in the region.

“And I suppose you are saying that it’s due to you? What do you do, just eat everything in your territory?” she asked lightly, still uncertain of whether he was being facetious or not.

He snorted again as if she were a particularly silly child but inclined his head in agreement. “Yes and no. Yes, I’m responsible, yes, I eat most things, but no I don’t eat any sort of being that I consider a person.” His eyelids lowered sultrily. “As you know, I make an exception for you, little female,” he purred.

Abby’s thighs pressed together as heat flooded into her cheeks. Although he hadn’t mounted her again over the last couple of days, the reminder sent a tendril of heat stabbing through her. With promises like that, what was holding him back?

His nostrils flared and he smirked, letting her know that he was toying with her in at least one way. Coughing delicately, he picked up a twisted pastry sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and his expression shifted to a more sober one once more with a flick of his ears. “I do, however, kill plenty that would have raided the towns and villages, razed cities and crushed caravans throughout my territory. It is because of me that these caravans, who threaten me if I so much as dare approach, are even able to safely travel through this part of the desert. Trust me, there are things I would rather be doing. And as picking bits out of my teeth of things I refuse to eat and removing it from beneath my claws is a foul task, I try to use my stinger as much as possible, depleting my venom which requires me to consume a large quantity of food. So why should I not have some sort of tithe for my protection when I can go into the mountains to the southeast and leave the humans to their own devices.”

She mulled over his logic. There was brutality to it given that he took what he wanted whether it was offered or not, but it was also clear that Zayman’s description of the situation had a lot missing. Unless the people were that ignorant, she didn’t know how they could miss it. She doubted that Samir went through the trouble of hiding bodies. He clearly expected some measure of appreciation and reciprocation.

“Have you considered trying to discuss it and offering a trade of service?” The moment the words were out of her mouth, Abby cringed at just how stupid that sounded. Of course, that wouldn’t work if they were trying to kill him on sight. He was a manticore—a dangerous monster as far as most were concerned. The flat look that Samir gave her just compounded her embarrassment and she winced. “Sorry,” she muttered as she picked up her cup and brought the coffee up to her lips.

The hot, bitter liquid hit her tongue, and she nearly choked before catching the delicate hint of spices… the distinct hint of sweetness from cardamom stood out from it, giving it an appealing flavor despite her initial recoil. Experimentally, she took another sip, this time bracing for the expected bite and was pleasantly rewarded with another burst of mingled flavors. It was actually good.

“It would be infinitely easier if it could be that simple,” he muttered, his ears virtually disappearing into his mane as they flattened. “I cannot even approach a caravan or even a small contingent without weapons being hurled at me.”

“Considering that you are ambushing merchants, I can’t imagine why,” she replied drolly.

To her surprise, it drew a wry smile from the male, and he inclined his head faintly in acknowledgement.

“What you need is a representative,” she continued as she mulled it over. “Someone from the outside who can present your case to Zayman and bring the kingdom into negotiation.”

Samir’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully on her. His smile, when it came, was all sharp teeth and cunning as he regarded her.

“My dear Abby, what a fantastic idea.”

She smiled as she sipped her coffee. Of course it was. Although her family never really expressed any interest in her ideas, she believed that she was quite good at finding solutions. Humming in agreement she swallowed another mouthful of coffee before lowering her cup. “I’m glad you think so. Of course, it might be a little tricky unless you have friends hidden around here that you’ve captured over the years. You’re going to need someone brave enough to risk potentially being slaughtered just for being in your company.”

“That is no issue,” he purred. “I have you, after all.”

She sputtered on her next sip and coughed harshly, her eyes tearing up at the sting in her lungs. “Sorry? What?”

“You shall do it,” he said with a sharp finality in his voice. “We will go to the city, and you shall be my representative to negotiate for the safety of the desert.”

Abby stared at him for a long moment, not certain whether or not he was joking. “Surely you jest. No,” she laughed weakly. When he did not so much as crack a smile, her voice sharpened with denial. “No! Are you crazy? I was sent here to hunt you. I can’t be your representative. Hunters don’t represent on behalf of the monsters they were hired to kill, especially not to their employer. At minimum I could be fined with violating my contract… and then I would most certainly have to say goodbye to any chance of officially joining the guild. Worst case, I’m executed for assisting you.”

Samir sighed impatiently and sipped his own coffee. “You act as if I would truly allow that to happen. If they try to harm you, I will simply burn the city and all its inhabitants to the ground and reclaim my desert in its entirety. The villages and smaller towns may even thank me for ridding them of the ruler who has set his yoke around their throats.”

“We are not doing that either,” she replied flatly.

He blinked his bright green eyes guilelessly at her. “I am uncertain as to how you think I should proceed then. All I have is you. If you do not represent me, I will eventually be forced to level the city anyway. Here, with you by my side, they at least have a chance.”

She groaned, slumping in her chair. “You’re really going to make me do this, aren’t you?”

“It is your idea,” he purred.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t planning on it being me executing it,” she muttered. She rubbed her hand over her face. “You really don’t have a single friend who might be able to pass for human?”

He hesitated briefly. “There is a wind spirit that can make itself appear human- ish . So long as he keeps his magic under control… and does not become angry,” he amended. “Or get overly excited. He can be unpredictable when he is excited, and I fear that he is the excitable sort.”

“Perfect. I’ll just be blamed for a man-eating manticore and a deadly, ‘excitable’ wind spirit terrorizing the city then.”

“Again, I will remind you that I don’t eat men. That infers swallowing. At most I just chew as much as I absolutely must and spit them out.”

She snorted out a soft, somewhat hysterical, laugh. “Perhaps you should hang up the protector role and go around extolling the virtues of spitting over swallowing. Some men have a hard time following why anyone wouldn’t want to swallow.”

Samir gave her a puzzled look that she waved off.

“Never mind.”

She rubbed her brow and sighed heavily. She was most definitely not getting out of it, and he had a point. If Zayman was continuously sending hunters after Samir, sooner or later things would escalate when the manticore finally had enough and went on the offense. It was unconventional but this was her chance to save lives… and really wasn’t that a hunter’s purpose?

“Fine. Fine. But there are going to be ground rules,” she snapped, jabbing a finger in his direction, aimed straight at his nose. “Foremost of which will be no killing or destroying anything unless there is absolutely no choice. And absolutely no harming innocent people.”

His brow lowered, obviously not pleased with her tone, and his wickedly barbed tail swiped angrily but he nodded with a sharp tip of his head. “I would never harm an innocent, but I have conditions too if I must abide by yours. Such as allowing me to protect you even if it is all snarl and no bite. I will trust your judgment, but you will trust my control.”

“Well, we do all know that you are the king of control,” she muttered, thinking again of how long it had been since he had bothered to touch her.

How the hell did he simply turn all that passion off so easily? She was starting to feel a restless itch that was about to drive her mad and fueled her irritable mood. He gave her an arch look, but she again waved it off. She certainly wasn’t in the mood to explain the odd mechanics of her mind and libido when it didn’t even make sense to her.

“So, how are we going to get into the city?” she sighed.

The infuriating male met her question with one of his odd shrugs. “You are the hunter and accustomed to dealing with humans. How would you suggest that we gain entry without rousing immediate suspicion?”

An idea rose to the surface so unholy and so unlikely that it seemed both genius and supreme idiocy at the same time. She licked her lips nervously. What did she have to lose? Apparently, it wasn’t her life if Samir was to be believed, but if she failed, she wasn’t certain if she could face the repercussions.

“Well… do you have any chain?”

He blinked and then smiled. “Perhaps I should demonstrate the answer to that question.”