Page 22 of Ravenous

Ven said, “You fear a turned Lykae?”

Rosewyn’s bravado faltered. “The hell I do.”

Ven smiled, feeling as feral as Eyrun now was. “Nachtmerrie don’t lie. You’re scared of Lykae, of their beasts. I’m embarrassed—I’m frankly embarrassed for you,” she said, though Eyrun’s new look gave even Ven pause. And she was a Valkyrie, the personification of courage!

While Chiyo’s gaze was studiously blank, the rest of the witches shifted uneasily, magic at the ready.

Rosewyn’s hands glowed brighter. “She’s the nightmare Valkyrie.”

Ven said, “Her in the flesh. She and I once faced an opponent who was afraid of his own erections. Her transformation into his fear did a number on us all. Lessons were learned. We all grew as people. Some even grew erect.” She hiked her thumb at Eyrun, whose new Lykae eyes flared blue.Okay, playtime is over.Though this was exactly their sort of theater, they had shit to do—

Eyrun leapt for Rosewyn, shaking off a flurry of defensive beams to reach her target.

Frenzied bite. Blood spurted from the witch’s torso as Eyrun’s fangs found flesh.

Rosewyn’s arm was gone from the shoulder, the severed limb crunching like kindling in Eyrun’s maw.

Crunch. Crunch.The limp palm flickered magic with each bite.

“Ahhh!” Rosewyn screamed. She used her remaining hand to hurl a cannonball of a beam at Eyrun. Ven sprang in front of her sister, batting it to the heavens with her sword. The metal vibrated from the hit, and auroras shimmered overhead.

The other witches unleashed a torrent of hexbeams and ungodsly fury. “Save Rose!” they screamed.

Ven batted shots back; each rebound scalded her sword until it hissed steam in the fog. “Give me a challenge!” she taunted from a cloud of mist. “Somebody?”

Spitting out the arm, Eyrun hurdled Ven and attacked Rosewyn again. The witch dropped back onto her ass as she fired. Direct hit to Eyrun. The odor of singed skin filled the clearing.

Eyrun’s body absorbed it—adrenaline and something older?—then she pounced onto the back-crawling witch. Rosewyn’s leg went with a wet, obscene sound. Blood painted the grass.

Crunch, crunch.

Terror and fury melded in the young witch’s eyes, and she realized she was about to die. After one misstep, her nights would be done forever.

Chiyo—as if deciding between honor and survival—slid forward to brandish her narrow sword. “Call off your sister,” she told Ven, voice flat and controlled. The fox’s glowing eyes were dangerous in a different register.

Something inside Ven moved her to speak instead of swing. “You really want to take on me: a Valkyrie who wields a longsword?” Though Eyrun seemed happy with her leg chew toy, Ven was less so with her clean blade. “Shifter, this is where you and your hexhacks run.”

Discretion, valor…Chiyo must have agreed. With a cool nod, she signaled the others to retreat. Two carried Rosewyn, their glowing hands ready to repel another attack. A junior witch brought their horses, and the Riders mounted up and galloped away.

Slowly Eyrun shrank back, muscles receding, fangs sliding home. Her transformations always took her a while to fully shrug off. She spat out Rosewyn’s limb, then wiped her tongue. “Ugh.” Voice still raspy, she said, “And now I know how it feels to be a moonatic. Wicked.” Blood had already dried black across her chest and side; her hair clung to her temples in damp ropes.

Ven let her sword cool before she sheathed it. “I thought you were about to kill her.”

“I totally was.”

They laughed.

Then Eyrun tilted her head, hints of Lykae mischief in her grin. “You spared Chiyo? When I know you’re aching to break that sword of hers? I can’t decide if you want to fuck her or fight her.”

“Maybe both—at the same time.” Staring in Chiyo’s direction, Ven said, “I could saddle her on my face and let her spur me until I buck her. Typical Saturday night.”

More laughter.

Sobering, Ven said, “Chiyo probably has a mate. A fox shifter male who makes her swish her tail and bark beneath the stars.”

“Could be.” Eyrun spat again. “I don’t envy Rosewyn’s regeneration. At her tender age, she’ll need weeks to regrow those limbs.” Speaking of which…Eyrun grabbed the severed leg, a trophy of her victory.

“They wouldn’t have attacked unless they had something they didn’t wantus to see,” Ven said. “So now we have to see it.” She offered her jacket to cover Eyrun’s nudity.