Chapter 23
Voss
Itook a deep drink from my glass, soothing my parched throat. I was in the attic, the hottest room in the house that also gave me the best vantage point to observe the estate. The attic was a single room in the central part of the house and it was accessed via a ladder. The walls were lined with windows, which, although grimy, gave me an unparallelled view of everything that happened around the house.
Ever since the attack last night, I was on edge. And even though Alina slept calmly in my arms, I couldn’t shake a suspicion that the harrsh’ak weren’t done with us. I was confident I could deal with them, but if they burst inside the house, cornering us? Alina could get hurt.
That was why I slipped out of bed and came up here to watch out for intruders. So far, I saw nothing, which made me think I might be paranoid. Heat didn’t help the matters. The room was like a furnace, even so late in the day.
I’d left Alina a note on the dresser in the bedroom, telling her where I was. Hopefully, she’d come up once she woke. I wouldn’t hear her from up here, so I had no way of knowing if she was still asleep. Being apart from her was uncomfortable, but then again, this was the best place for me if I wanted to protect her.
I straightened. Something moved close to the house, a large shadow cast by the setting sun. A moment later, the person casting it came into view. Alina.
What was she doing out there?
“Alina!” I called out, cursing myself because I knew she wouldn’t hear me. She must have missed my note.
I was on my feet, ready to go down to chase her, when I saw them. Harrsh’ak emerging from the pond, a few more appearing between the trees of the jungle. They must have hid in the pond when I was in bed with Alina, which was why I hadn’t seen them from my perch upstairs.
Fuck.
My vision tinted red, my body heaved, and then I flew down the ladder and stairs then out of the house, faster than I’d ever run before.
“Alina! Alina, where are you?”
There was a familiar screech down the path leading deep into the jungle, and my vision narrowed, a jolt going down my spine. I ran even faster, a snarl building in my chest. I’d kill them all for daring to touch my wife.
I ran faster, my mind and body focused on one goal only: to get there before it was too late. My muscles and chest burned, but now the scents and sounds grew stronger, and I smelled her, too.
I smelled her fear.
“Alina!”
This time, no sounds answered me, but it was fine. I followed the scents, running at breakneck speed through the jungle. The harrsh’ak had my wife and nothing mattered more than getting her back.
Once she was safe, I’d slaughter them all.
I ran. The scents veered off the path into the thick bush and I followed, not caring that the way was overgrown and difficult. Branches whipped my face and arms, vines slapped my chest and roots sprang out of the ground, but my focus was absolute. I tore through the wilderness, the scents getting stronger, the sounds of the harrsh’ak growing louder.
When I saw five of them, clearly left behind to stop me, I killed them on the spot with my eyes. I was already past them when the bodies fell. But it also made me aware how careful I had to be. If Alina got in the crossfire—if she so much as glimpsed my uncovered eyes—she’d die instantly.
A few more harrsh’ak tried to bar my way, their eyes red with an urge to kill, their claws and fangs bared. This time, I kept my eyes covered, terrified Alina might be nearby and see me. I tore into them with my claws and teeth, biting and scratching. They were smaller than me, but also faster, and they surrounded me quickly.
The claws on my right hand were filed down, but I made do with my left one, tearing and shredding. Finally, I grabbed the nearest one and broke his neck when two others bit into my thighs. I hissed in pain, even though their fangs barely penetrated my thick scales. I ripped them off me, one by one, and wrung their necks.
The last two I had fun with. At this point, fury and rage flooded my mind. One instinct, to kill, overshadowed all else, and so I didn’t give them quick, painless deaths. No, I ripped out their stomachs and left them to die in slow agony. They’d bleed out for long hours, watching as flies laid eggs in their warm, still pulsing innards.
Served them right for taking my mate.
I didn’t stay to watch. Barely noticing the blood on my body and clothes—some mine, some theirs—I raced through the jungle. There was no more resistance on the way, and soon, I made up all the advantage I lost by having to kill the second round of enemies without using my lethal sight.
I burst out into a clearing, and there they were. A group of harrsh’ak, twenty or more, carrying my precious Alina.
“Stop or you’ll die!” I roared, making animals squawk in the greenery.
The harrsh’ak sped up. They were almost to the other side of the clearing, probably hoping to lose me in the bush. I raced after them, swallowing the distance in long strides. Soon, I reached the tail of the group.
I gripped the first harrsh’ak that fell in my hands and snapped his neck. The others screeched and tried to go faster, but they ran in a tight group, colliding with each other in their panic. I picked them off as they tried to evade me, just catching them one by one and wringing their necks. The herd grew thinner, corpses littering the ground behind us.
Those in the lead who carried Alina realized what I was doing. They stopped to face me, red eyes blinking in the gloom under the trees. Two harrsh’ak sped off, but I paid them no mind. I only wanted my wife.
“Give her back and you’ll have an easy death,” I said, my fury so cold, it burned. “If not, I’ll tear you limb from limb and leave you to bleed out while animals come to feed on your dying bodies.”
The harrsh’ak hissed and snarled, spreading out as much as the dense trees allowed them. Those carrying Alina dropped her to the ground. She made a muffled sound of pain and crawled away on hands and knees.
I realized I was grinning. My face was twisted in a manic smile and my blood sang with the overwhelming need for vengeance.
“You will pay for this,” I promised, bending my knees to lower my gravity center.
“Death Eyes dead soon,” the biggest harrsh’ak spat, his tongue lashing out to polish his red eyes. “And then the land ours!”
Instead of answering, I lunged at him. The other harrsh’ak tried to stop me, but there were too many, and they got in each other’s way. Teeth lodged in my calf and claws tore my shirt, but I already had my hands around the leader’s throat. I brought him up to my face, squeezing his throat until his eyes bulged, and then uncovered my eyes.
I let him go as soon as he was dead, covering my eyes as I turned. I didn’t want to risk Alina getting an accidental blast, so I snarled and got to work slashing with my claws and hitting the roiling mass of scaly bodies that swarmed around me.
“Voss!” Alina cried out when my strength flagged, blood seeping from numerous small wounds on my body. “Use your eyes!”
I glanced her way. She stood by a tree and had both palms pressed to her eyes in a clear sign she wasn’t looking. She was safe, then.
The harrsh’ak were too slow to react. I unleashed my eyes, and instantly, over half of them dropped. The others shrieked and closed their eyes in time, but now they were blind. I snapped more necks, eviscerated a few, and then, finally, there was silence.
I stood among the corpses, breathing hard, and covered my eyes to make them safe for my wife to see.
My voice was tight with tension and fury, the thirst for blood raging like an inferno inside me. “Alina? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, her hands still pressed to her face. “Is it safe to look?”
“Yes. You’re safe.”
Her hands dropped to her sides and she looked at me. Even through the red mist in my mind, I was half-afraid I’d see fear or disgust in her face, but there was nothing of the kind. Only profound relief.
I stepped over the bodies and came to her side, looking her over from head to toes. There were scratches on her cheeks and arms, but otherwise, she seemed fine. She scanned me with the same scrutiny as I did her, and when she looked into my eyes, she seemed anxious.
“You’re bleeding! Oh gods, Voss, are you okay? How much are you hurt?”
I scoffed and pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her as she hid her face in my chest. “I’ll be fine, ssalamiya. All shallow scratches. We’ll get home and…”
I broke off, because harrsh’ak screeches came from afar, gradually moving closer. The two creatures who ran off must have brought in reinforcements. The jungle rustled, and soon, harrsh’ak heads, their eyes either red or yellow with curiosity, poked out of the greenery. I pressed Alina’s head to my chest to make sure she wouldn’t look up in case I had to use my eyes again.
“Should I just kill all of you?” I asked, my fury still strong, my voice cold with it.
Alina shivered and the harrsh’ak screeched, but they didn’t come closer. Finally, one of the biggest harrsh’ak I ever saw came forward, his body upright yet bent. He was old and almost as tall as me, his tail dragging behind him on the ground.
His eyes were a cool, dark blue, and they looked into mine without fear.
“I apologize for my son,” he said, his voice deep and hoarse. “He acted against my will. And you killed him.”
Alina jerked in my hold, but I hugged her firmly, not letting her look. Some of the harrsh’ak still had red eyes, though this lot seemed much less violent than the group that took her from me.
“As I will kill anyone who comes close to my home and threatens my family,” I said firmly, keeping my eyes covered by the secondary eyelids.
It was difficult. The rage that coursed through my blood called for ultimate revenge. I wanted to unleash my gaze and slaughter all the harrsh’ak that came here, or even worse. I craved to wipe the entire race off the face of Terra so I was certain, once and for all, that my wife was safe.
And yet, my conscience held me back. I was already the last of my kind. I knew the pain of an entire species disappearing, and I didn’t want to inflict it on anyone.
“It is your right.” The old harrsh’ak bowed his head, looking at the dead body of the one who took Alina. His eyes turned a deeper blue, and I realized it was sadness.
“Will you try to avenge him?” I asked, stroking Alina’s head when she trembled in my hold, her face still safely tucked into my chest.
The old harrsh’ak shook his head. “He went against my orders, just like those who followed him. If you hadn’t slain them, I would have. My tribe has no quarrel with yours, Death Eyes. We wish to live in peace, like we did for centuries.”
He was the best spoken harrsh’ak I ever heard. The others deferred to him and waited on his command, and I realized he had to be the leader.
“Why did your son take my wife?” I asked through gritted teeth, not ready to let it go. “And what guarantee do I have that it won’t happen again?”
“Arsha’ak was impatient,” the leader said wearily, shaking his head. “He coveted your home and the land around it and waited for your kind to be gone. When he understood you were mated and about to have heirs, he decided to act. He did a terrible wrong. To atone, I will give you my daughters, as is customary. You can pick the three you like best.”
Alina stirred against me, and I swallowed with difficulty, some of my rage abating. Fewer red eyes shone in the trees, and as dusk fell over the jungle, finally some of my adrenaline seeped out.
“Why would you give me your daughters?” I asked, unsure how to treat this offer.
The old harrsh’ak nodded slowly. “They can be your concubines.”