Chapter 23 – Krampus
Chapter
Twenty-Three
KRAMPUS
Krampus cradles the small human against his chest. Her face is slack, her swollen lips slightly parted, her body entirely limp. She’s utterly exhausted. Spent in more ways than one.
“You took your punishment so well,” he murmurs, brushing sweaty hair out of her face. She looks so peaceful in sleep. Krampus had hoped to take care of her in the aftermath, but she needs rest after all she’s been through. He’ll have to do it without waking her.
He leans in, nuzzling into her hair, and sniffs. She smells of sweat and dried blood and plenty of his own musky scent. But beneath all of that…
He sniffs again, and sighs in satisfaction. Her smell is clean and pure. Gone is the mouthwateringly sweet sin that tempted and tortured him all night.
He was not sure if it would be possible to cleanse it without killing her. With any other human, he would never have tried. He was so used to dealing out justice in blood and pain. But this one was… inspiring.
Enough so that he was willing to bend his own rules.
According to the game, those who evade him until sunrise receive a reward.
Those who are caught receive only punishment.
Diana did not escape from him. But… nor did he have to hunt her down.
She came to him willingly. That was different than being caught.
He would have to see if the ancient magic agreed enough to follow his will. But for now, the sky is beginning to lighten. The barrier between worlds is beginning to harden again. As much as he wishes to keep this precious woman in his realm, he knows she wouldn’t survive it.
So he carries her out of the cave. Past the bloody snow and the bodies, into the warm safety of the cabin.
He runs the shower for her, and washes her slowly and carefully, running his fingers through her hair as the tangles soften.
She murmurs and shifts in her sleep, but she does not awaken, both from her fatigue and a heady dose of magic with sunrise’s approach.
When she is clean, Krampus follows her scent to find fresh clothes for her, dresses her and wraps her in a blanket, and sets her in front of the fireplace.
Once he starts the fire, he’s satisfied she will wake warm and rested.
For a minute he watches her, reassuring himself that she is safe and whole, even after everything that the Kohlers—and Krampus himself—put her through.
Then he forces himself to his feet and leaves her behind to tie up the final loose end.