Croygen
It was well past 1 a.m. by the time we rode into Enshi City, though people still strolled around the city, the pubs exploiting all the travelers. It was the last town before we went up into the mountains. A mix of modern and ancient, parts of the city dated back to around 750 BC, showcasing traditional style temples, dramatic curved roofs, and wooden tiered structures of the Tujia culture.
The town was set between dramatic mountainscapes, nestled by the Qing River, not too far from the deep fissures, waterfalls, skyscraping pillars, and the breathtaking Enshi Grand Canyon. The Tenglong Caves were only half a day’s ride away.
If it were me, I might have pushed on, but the guilt of even driving AB this much twisted my gut. Cooper had put her on his horse, holding her up when she could no longer stay awake, tying Churro’s halter to Chocolate.
Fuck, I’m actually referring to the damn horses by name now.
I scrubbed my head, fatigue giving me a slight headache. It had been a long day, but my thoughts wouldn’t shut down, cranking my brain into knots.
The groups following us weren’t what bothered me. Katrina was right. We could take them on. Cooper alone could wipe them out in seconds. Though, leaving them behind in the middle of the night gave us a slight edge on them. I’d love to see them wake up and realize we are long gone and that we tricked them, not the other way around.
It was more than that. Something kept nipping at me, though I couldn’t put a finger on what. A nagging feeling in my gut, like something was right in my face and I wasn’t seeing it.
The incident with Katrina unsettled me more than anything. When Cooper came back after finding Kaptain’s group, I went to locate Kat, retrieving her clothes by the river.
I sent Cooper to get our gear together and meet me a mile down the trail while I headed out to find Kat. I couldn’t even tell you how I found her. I just did. My feet moved to her, something pulling me to the exact place she was.
It reminded me of something both Ryker and Eli had said to me about Zoey and Ember—their connection to their mates. They could track them down wherever they were in the world without even thinking. Like an internal GPS set directly to them. Instinctual.
The thought terrified me. Nope, there was no fucking way. Just a coincidence.
First, I never wanted a mate. I enjoyed all women too much to have one for the rest of my life. That sounded horribly boring.
But does it? You haven’t had sex because you’re bored now. I shook my head, rejecting the thought.
All the mated pairs I knew seemed to feel the exact opposite of bored. They only wanted one. And shit, they were all horny as hell, fucking nonstop, and desiring that person even more after years together, the bond between them only strengthening.
Second, it seemed impossible for me to want only one forever. I was usually over someone after the first or second time we had sex. Amara was the one exception because I knew deep down she didn’t want me. She was a challenge. And at the time, I loved how fucked up she was, allowing me to be the worst of myself too. Wallowing in the ugliness of my life.
I stopped my horse in front of an old inn, the firebulb outside still lit, suggesting they still had room.
“I’ll go check.” I got off my horse, my attention falling on AB as even more tension built along my shoulders. Her lids barely parted, Cooper kept her tight in his arms, and she used his bicep as a pillow. Her body and mind had given up hours before, unable to keep up with our stamina.
No human could, but I knew this was more than that. The disease was sucking the life out of her more and more every day.
Cooper nodded, cradling her in his arms, unable to hide the adoration, love, and pain in his expression.
As much as I didn’t want a mate, I was also envious of them. To be so in love with someone. And have them feel the same about you.
Strolling inside, I spied an old man standing behind a counter, folding towels.
I greeted him in his native tongue, and he nodded at me.
“Do you have rooms left?” I asked in Mandarin.
“Yes. One.”
“One?” I sighed. “Can it fit four?”
“It can fit how many you pay for, but only one bed.”
Of course.
“Fine, we’ll take it.” I pulled out money, exchanged it for a key, and headed back outside. “Here.” I tossed the key to Cooper. “Get her in bed. I’ll take care of the horses.”
He didn’t hesitate to lift her into his arms, sliding off the horse and taking AB inside. Sprig was settled somewhere in the bag she had on.
Stroking Caramel’s nose, I watched Kat in my peripheral vision, overly aware of every move she made. Something had shifted between us. I could sense all the tiny connections between us.
“I’ll take them,” I said gruffly. “Go ahead inside. You girls can have the bed.”
Kat stood there, her head down, staring at her boots. A strange awkwardness threaded the air, reminding me it wasn’t just finding her that was notable; it was how every time I was around her, I couldn’t stop touching her. Craving the taste of her skin, craving the taste of her. My cock was so desperate to be inside her, I stopped breathing. I needed whatever this was to end. To go away and never return.
“Go.” I reached for her horse’s reins, stepping into her. Kat didn’t move when my boots hit hers, my body looming over her. Her nearness did something to my brain, keeping me from moving back. I stood over her, watching her chest move up and down. Her long, silky hair tempted my fingers to tangle through it, to take what was mine.
I sucked in at that thought, and her head tipped up, her gaze looking straight into me.
“How did you find me?” It was practically a whisper. She was begging me for a good explanation, something we could both chalk up to nothing. A reason I could track her down over a mile and pluck her almost invisible tiny black body from deep in the bushes.
My mouth opened, but no answer came out. I had nothing.
Her eyes went back and forth between mine, tearing at every barrier I was trying to keep up.
“Go inside,” I huffed out, looking away. “I’m gonna sleep in the barn tonight.” I clutched the leads and tugged the four horses toward the stalls out back, my gaze shooting away for a moment, making sure Kat did what I asked. My body knocked into something, and I whipped my head around to a thin, hooded figure stumbling to the side.
“Oh shit, sorry,” I said in Mandarin, reaching out to grab them.
“I’m fine,” a woman replied in the same language, holding up one hand, keeping her body and face turned away from me. “Wasn’t watching where I was going,” she muttered, moving away quickly.
I watched her hustle away, disappearing into the shadows, her cloak hiding her completely. Something triggered in me, her voice and her movements, but once again, I couldn’t say what had bothered me about them. Her accent was slightly off, as if she wasn’t from here, but neither was I. Many people here weren’t.
Turning back for the barn, I tried to shake off the odd feeling, knowing I was tired and over-stimulated. Everything was off, and I blamed that on Katrina.
Why the fuck couldn’t I stop thinking about her? I spent centuries without thinking of her…
That’s a lie. She was always there in everything you did. Especially the bad shit, like you needed to exorcise what you did to her from your soul.
Trudging the horses in, the nagging sensation still worming through me. My dick ached, my body hurt, and my mind wouldn’t shut down.
I needed a fucking drink.
The thought triggered something, my hand slapping over the pouch I kept the money in.
Empty.
“No. No. No.” I searched the bag. “Fuck!” I bellowed, my head tipping back. “That fucking thief.” Anger and embarrassment roared through me. I was the thief, not the other way around. That woman had meant to run into me, playing it off as if it was my fault, while she took my money.
“Dammit!” I barked, hating how easily she had stolen from me because my attention had been on Katrina. It was my fault, but it showed how weak Kat made me. How nothing else seemed to matter when she was around.
I was a chump.
Caramel huffed, rubbing his head into me like he was patting me on the back and saying, Yep, you’re a chump. What had happened to me? Once a legend of the sea, the infamous Silver-Tongue Devil, who could steal women’s hearts and panties along with their husband’s bank accounts, was now getting pickpocketed by a street urchin.
The barn door clicked softly behind me, and I heard people entering the barn.
The back of my neck prickled with alarm, and my muscles tightened along my shoulders, my hand going to the handle of my sword.
There was a moment, a single breath, before the calm serenity of the barn flipped. Swinging around and yanking my blade from the sheath, I took in the four men dressed in black, their faces covered, all holding huge Dadao swords, which were basically meat cleavers on the end.
Being robbed and attacked within minutes was no coincidence. They had come for more, possibly the horses.
“Look at you guys, all dressed like each other. So cute,” I mocked, silence rebounding back. “No introductions? It’s really hard to tell you guys apart.”
The men lunged for me.
“Guess not.” My blade clanked against one as I swung, kicking the stomach of another, flinging him back into a stall. “Fine, You’re Thing One, Two, Three, and Four.” I nodded at each one. “I know, not very creative, but somehow, it fits your cheery personalities.”
Advancing, deflecting, we moved through the small barn, startling the horses. They reared up, filling the barn with their frightened noises.
Thing Three let out a holler, swiping down for me. I darted out of the way as three more descended on me. I had no time to think, relying on my teachings. The hours and decades I had conditioned my body came back to me like breathing. Rotating, I countered a blow from Two while my elbow slammed into One, causing him to stumble back.
“Nǐ huì sǐ!” You will die. One hissed in Mandarin, leaping back for me, his sword swinging.
The Dadao sword was swiped over me, kissing my spine, nicking my jacket. Fuck. This is one of my favorites. Dropping to my knees, I swung my leg out, knocking One off his feet as I jumped up, rushing Thing Two.
“Uhhh,” I grunted, slamming his spine into a grain barrel with everything I had as a figure came at me. The blade skimmed over my head when I ducked, piercing Two through his chest, the blade slicing all the way through him and sticking in the wood cask. Leaping up, I twirled around as the other two men pounced.
The space was too tight to use my longsword, so I grabbed the dagger on my belt. Yanking it out, I darted in close. Rotty’s blade sliced along Three’s neck. Blood squirted out, his body hitching over for air before falling to the ground. Four hurtled at me with a cry. Dropping the small blade, I flipped the longsword in my hand, smashing the hilt into Four’s face. The sickening crunch of bone and cartilage reverberated down my limbs, his body falling at my feet.
My attention was off the last guy for a moment. That’s all it took. A sharp cleaver went to my throat from behind, the serrated edge cutting into my skin.
“You will die tonight,” one said in English.
I swallowed. A simple drag across my neck, and he could decapitate me.
“What do you want?” I gritted. “You already robbed me. You want the horses?”
“No,” the man replied. “We’re here to kill you.”
“Did I sleep with your wife?” I paused. “Girlfriend?” I lifted a brow, trying to nettle him. “Boyfriend?”
“No,” he huffed in disgust. “This is not personal.”
“People keep saying that, but because I’m the one dying, I’m taking it kind of personally.”
“She paid for you to die. You die.”
She.
It had to be the same she who tried to kill us in Shanghai.
His hand started to move the blade across my throat. My lids squeezed together as a trickle of blood dripped down my neck. This was how the great pirate would die? Beheaded in a barn, surrounded by horse manure.
Fucking figures.
A click of a gun being cocked echoed in the space.
“I don’t think so.”
My eyes burst open at Katrina’s voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her pressing her gun into my attacker’s temple, looking deadly and badass.
“Drop the sword,” she ordered the man. “Now.”
He hesitated, his throat bobbing. “She’ll kill me anyway.”
“She may kill you,”—Katrina moved in close to him— “but I will track down your family, everyone you care about, and kill and torture them while you watch. Then I’ll slowly cut out your lungs so you can see yourself take the last breaths.” Fuck. Am I turned on by that? Yes. Yes, I am. “Now drop the weapon.”
With a heavy sigh from the swordsman, the Dadao cluttered to the floor.
Picking it up, I circled around. My gaze locked with Kat’s. Desire coursed through my bones at the feral glow lighting her eyes. We both thrived in life-and-death situations, feeling the high of walking on the edge.
And she was here… like she knew I needed her.
Reaching over, I tugged down the cloth covering his mouth. I didn’t recognize him, giving me no more insight into who he was.
“Why are you trying to kill us?” Kat asked.
His expression hardened, not speaking.
“Who hired you?” I ordered.
His mouth clamped together, reminding so much of the guy we questioned in Shanghai. Whoever “she” was, they feared her.
“Tell us or you join your friends.” Kat threatened, her gun pressing harder into his head.
“I will die either way. But at least I will die with honor,” he stated, snatching a hidden blade at his side and lunging for me, the tip heading straight for my jugular.
Bang!
Blood sprayed over me, and the man stilled, his limbs going limp, his eyes wide with shock. Then his body fell to the ground.
I blinked in surprise, my gaze lifting to the person behind him. Kat still pointed her gun where the man was, covered in his blood as well, her jaw set, a ruthlessness in her eyes.
Holy. Fuck.
She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t question. She just killed him…
To save me.