Page 66 of Wolf of Ashes
Diavolo’s focus flies immediately to me and Vanguard, and he stops very still. Even the panthers have fallen silent.
Opposite me, droplets of blood slide down Vanguard’s clavicle from the puncture wounds created by the tips of my claws.
As for my own neck, I sense the warmth of blood from the cut of the blade pooling gently at the base of my throat.
With a single slice, Vanguard could kill me.
With a single push, I could killhim.
My eyes are suddenly wide open, but it doesn’t do me any good. I can’t see a way out of this.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Itry to still the heaving of my chest. Can’t do anything about the sweat dripping down my face. I’m struggling to ignore the pain in my eyes and the sharpness of the wound at my neck. But I defy the fury of battle that tempts me to throw caution to the wind and try to subdue Vanguard without getting myself killed.
Across from us, Jonah and Diavolo are keeping clear of each other, Jonah inching toward Vanguard while Diavolo veers toward me.
Neither of them comes too close. Which is wise. Any sudden moves could be a trigger for this situation to go very badly.
“It’s a rare day that I meet my match,” Vanguard says to me in a grudging tone.
“You’re the one who wanted to be enemies,” I snap, trying very hard not to move my neck when I speak. Also trying not to squint.
My eyes are watering and I’m sure Vanguard thinks it’s from the pain of the cut at my neck.
His response is slower, and it sounds as if there’s a shrug in his voice. “Well, there’s enemies and then there’senemies.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What kind of enemies are we?”
“The kind who could be of use to one another,” he says. “Now that I’ve tested your powers and abilities.”
I don’t trust him one bit. I try to assess his expression, but I can’t glean anything about his true thoughts.
Through gritted teeth, I say, “I’m still feeling the pain of those fucking snakes and the burn of your lackey’s hands. I’m not sure I feel like being a useful enemy to you.”
At the side, Jonah’s brow draws down at my reference to him as a ‘lackey’ and I can’t let the moment pass. After all, my shoulders are still smarting. I’m sure my skin is burned, although it’s the least of my worries right now.
“Oh, you’re offended?” I shoot at Jonah, again without moving anything other my mouth. “No more than I was insulted when you questioned my name. What sort of name is Jonah, anyway?”
“It’s a homophone,” he grumbles. The lines of lava crisscrossing his chest have all but died down now and there are dark rings forming under his eyes.
I wasn’t expecting him to give me a response, let alone such an analytical one. “A what?”
“A word that sounds like another word,” he says.
When I continue to stare at him blankly, he continues in the next breath. “It’s one of the closest modern names pronounced in the English language that sounds like my species.”
I narrow my eyes at him, wondering what species sounds like ‘Jonah.’ Certainly not ‘volcano man.’
I should probably be paying more attention to Vanguard and my current predicament, but identifying what Jonah is is important too. Seeing as he could burst into flames again at any point. “What is your species?”
“What’s yours?” he retorts. “No ordinary wolf shifter has claws like that.”
I allow myself to smile. “Claws that could have been working for you, not against you.” My gaze returns to Vanguard. “If only you’d taken us up on our offer.”
A gleam has grown in Vanguard’s eyes that contradicts the blood continuing to slip down his chest.
“Maybe I still will,” he says. “But for now, the choice is yours: Would you like to die or call a truce?”
