Page 13 of Ravenous
“My predecessor didn’t agree with me, so I ate her.” Ditch feigned a frown. “Or maybe I ate her, andthenshe didn’t agree with me. Order’s fuzzy.” She shrugged, her tail all but levitating from her mirth. “As gristly in death as she was in life.”
Meera swayed beside her.
Don’t faint now, mousy Meera. You suspected me of murder; surely you factored in lunch.
The king’s expression mixed disgust and fascination. “How old are you?”
Not very.
“And what kind of demon was your dam?”
Fiery.“My age and half my species are irrelevant. You’ll learn both, in time.”
“Your coven called for us to meet. Make your ask.”
“I’ve no ask. Only warning.” Ditch stepped closer, voice gone low. “In the past, the House of Witches tried to match you instrength, ignoring ourpower. We have other abilities besides fighting. Enchantresses. Seers. Conjurers. This Accession, we use them all. This is my final offer to surrender now.”
Wolves could be heeled—by violence or by mystical leash.Allthe coven could contribute. So why had Lazara depended so heavily on the Red Riders? Ditch had raised the subject to the leaders at Akelarre, and they’d seen the wisdom of putting Ditch in charge. Lazara, poor thing,hadn’t seen, said the coven wasn’t ready.
“Final offer?” Thane’s body tensed, the lines of his mouth thinning. A predator about to pounce. “Why should I no’ throw you over my shoulder and see how you like my dungeon?”
“I’ve no magic here. Am utterly helpless.” Her tail did itsah-ah-ahdance, as it sometimes did when she lied. “But be cautious, wolf. One of my gifts is divining deepest wishes. Off this mount, I’ll know all your secrets.”
His face stayed stony; his heartbeat did not.
She laughed under her breath. “I see.” Now shehadto meet him off this mountain. What was his secret?
The king’s stubborn jaw flexed even more. “I’ll be fucked before I surrender.”
“One fuck and you’ll surrender?” She held out her hand. “Efficient. I’ve a war to win, and I can endure anything for six seconds. Or will I not get off so easily?”
Hatred flashed in his gaze.Not a fan of word play?Though his body canted forward as if he would accept her hand, he remained where he stood.
“Very well,” she said lightly. “Anything else to air? I had hoped you’d wax on about flea dips and digging for bones in all yoursecret backyard places.” She enunciated each syllable. “Licking your testicles by the hearth on rainy afternoons…”
Meera gasped. Lowell’s lips parted.
“We’re done here,” Thane grated. “War it is.”
“As it always was.” Ditch lifted one shoulder. “Would you like to leave first? Or will we all stroll down together like we’re the best of friends?”
Lowell cleared his throat. “Given the direction of things, better we’re nottogether beyond the Mount’s protections. The sane fear a Lykae’s beast for a reason.”
Meera piped up in her quivering voice: “Good idea. Gentlemen first.”
The king stalked away with his second. Ditch let him feel the weight of her malevolent gaze until he vanished into fog.You already know I’m going to ruin you. And you’re right.
Chapter 7Lia
“Good dawn, Andrei,” Lia told her guard once she was ready for bed. “That will be all for the day. You can tell my father that I’m still exactly where he left me.”
Sword in hand, Andrei swept her room a last time.
Witch wards clung to the door seams, and his sentries manned the entrance to her chamber. Bloodreach’s best stood at the ready to make sure Lia remained the pawn of Neculain and no other.
Andrei had become her jailer without even blinking. The cook, the maids—blank faces. As ever, Lia’s mother and siblings had been less than helpful, most outright ignoring her plight. Only Nadje’s continual questions held any warmth.
“You used to stand between a royal and danger,” Lia remarked airily to the guard. “Now you’ll deliver one right to the other.”
