Chapter 31
ONE WEEK LATER
Amos glared at the white cotton covering his hands like mitts. Between Clover and Alice, he might never see his hands again.
“You don’t need to scratch,” Clover whispered. “Stop it.”
He slitted his eyes at her. “Are you the one whose skin is peeling off?” Who knew flaking skin felt like fleas were attacking you?
Clover pursed her lips. If she laughed, he was shoving this cotton in her mouth and spanking her. “We need to unlock your hands before we speak, but if you can’t go without scratching, you’ll have to deal with a nickname, like King Bunny Tail Hands.”
“You’re a twenty-five-year-old queen and the best you could come up with was Bunny Tail Hands?” he asked, trying to keep a straight face. The more annoyed she was now, the better their sex would be tonight.
“Just give me your hands,” she muttered and started unwrapping the bandages imprisoning his fingers.
“Are you two ready?” Sariah asked. “Everyone is waiting.”
Amos dug his fingers into the back of Clover’s hair and brought her in for a quick kiss. “Are you ready, little viper?”
“I should be asking you that. She was your best friend.”
“Sasha is my best friend,” he corrected, even though he hadn’t seen the dragon since the day she’d saved him. “I’d kill Jennifer myself if I hadn’t promised that honor to someone else.”
They filed into the cave at the den’s entrance, and Amos tried not to look affected by the amount of women filling the space.
With new rulers and laws changing, the sacrifices don’t have to stay hidden.
They can leave and live a life wherever they want.
Some have elected to leave, but many have chosen to live in the den.
Amos hoped they at least ventured into the village more.
Knowing how many women were in the den and physically seeing it are incomparable. The Hydra was made up of warriors all over the kingdom, but it started with these women, even the ones who couldn’t fight back, like Marjorie.
That’s why all the women are here: they want justice for Marjorie Rose.
Clover and Amos went to every woman to pay their respects. Some shied away from Amos, still not trusting men, and he couldn’t blame them.
They took their places at the head of the room, nearest the cliff. “Bring her in,” Clover demanded.
Jennifer begged and pleaded for them to spare her as Ruth frogmarched her into the center of the large room. She could cry until she’s blue in the face and it wouldn’t do it any good.
“It’s sad that a woman so beautiful on the outside could have such a wicked heart,” Clover observed, eyes flicking over Jennifer’s dirty, tear-streaked face.
“Please, Clover,” Jennifer begged. “What was I supposed to do? Amos tossed me aside. I couldn’t go back to my father’s house!”
Clover looked disgusted. “Just because I have empathy doesn’t mean I’ll forgo justice.”
“Amos, please!” Jennifer pleaded, struggling against Ruth’s hold.
Amos stared her down, infuriated with himself for not seeing through her sooner.
“I’m putting your head on a spike in front of the palace.
” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stone, the paint worn from years of handling.
“You took something precious from this world despite never putting anything good into it.”
“I didn’t kill her,” she cried. “I wasn’t even here!”
“You told Paul to send the rebels here,” Clover snapped. “You happily told Amos our village had burned to ashes. You might as well have hit her in the head yourself.”
Everyone moved away from Jennifer, and she looked around, begging someone to help her. A low thunderous beat vibrated the cavern walls, and a gust of air blew against them. A large dragon with scales black as night landed on the cliff and waited.
“This is one of the many people responsible for Marjorie’s death,” Clover told the dragon. “We have promised you her death. She is yours.”
Jennifer screamed and tried to run, but the sacrifices caught her and tossed her back to the middle of the room. The dragon prowled toward her, a low growl shaking the ground.
Dragons are maternal creatures, and Marjorie had lived in the den from the time she was born until the day she died. In the dragons’ eyes, they killed one of their young.
The dragon snatched her around the waist with its mouth, nodded to Clover, and disappeared into the abyss.