The monster's claw had barely pulled back when my sword came down in a hard arc.

Steel bit deep into its right shoulder, crunching through bone and muscle.

Black blood sprayed across my forearm.

At the exact same second its jaws clamped onto my left shoulder.

Teeth punched straight through leather and skin, grinding against bone.

Pain exploded white-hot behind my eyes.

I grunted, twisted the blade, and yanked it free.

The creature let out a wet, choking whimper, blood bubbling from the gash I'd opened.

It staggered backward a couple steps, then turned and lurched into the dark trees the way it had come, tail dragging, leaving a thick trail of dark red on the dirt.

My legs gave out.

I dropped to one knee, sword planted tip-first in the ground to keep from face-planting.

Breath came in short, ragged pulls.

I could feel hot blood soaking the front of my shirt.

For a few seconds the whole world was just the throb in my shoulder and the taste of copper in my mouth.

Then the tent flap ripped open.

Kalia was first out, eyes wide.

"Shit. !"

Maria and Aria came right behind her.

They froze for half a second, staring at the mess of me kneeling there.

Kalia didn't hesitate.

She sprinted over, grabbed me under the good arm, and half-dragged, half-carried me toward the tent.

"Inside, now. Move."

I didn't argue.

My boots scraped the ground as she hauled me through the opening.

Maria was already ripping the canvas wider so we wouldn't snag.

Once we were in, Kalia shoved me down onto the pile of blankets we used for bedding.

Maria dropped to her knees beside me.

Without a word she grabbed the collar of my shirt and tore it open from neck to waist.

The fabric gave with a loud rip.

Cool night air hit the torn skin.

Blood had already soaked down to my belt.

"Hold still," Maria muttered.

She pressed both palms flat against the bite.

Thin silver threads of light. her tether magic. snaked out from her fingertips and burrowed into the wound like living stitches.

The pain flared brighter for a heartbeat, then dulled fast.

I felt muscle knitting, skin crawling back together.

It itched like hell, but the bleeding stopped.

After maybe thirty seconds she pulled her hands away.

The bite was gone.

Just smooth skin and a faint pink line that would probably fade by morning.

I let out a long breath and pushed myself up on my good elbow.

"Where'd the bastard go?"

Aria was leaning against the center pole, arms crossed, watching everything with that calm, detached look she always wore after a fight.

"Tracked the blood trail with a quick glyph.

It doubled back toward the inn we passed yesterday.

Moving slow.

Won't be coming after us tonight, probably not tomorrow either.

Thing's hurt bad."

I nodded, trying to ignore the way my stomach still twisted.

That thing had been faster than it looked.

If I'd been half a second slower… whatever.

No point dwelling.

"We keep moving south," I said.

"Straight shot to Lebara.

No stops unless the horses drop."

Maria wiped her hands on a rag.

"You sure you can even hold reins?"

"I'll manage."

Aria snorted.

"No you won't.

Your left arm's still shaking like a wet dog.

I'll drive."

Kalia shot her a look.

"You hate driving."

"Better than watching him steer us into a ditch because he's too stubborn to admit he's fucked up."

I opened my mouth to argue, then shut it.

She wasn't wrong.

"Fine.

You drive."

We broke camp in under ten minutes.

Horses were already saddled from earlier.

Aria climbed up to the driver's bench of the lead carriage.

Maria took the second one.

Kalia helped me into the back of the first carriage, then climbed in after me.

The moment the wheels started rolling I slumped against the wooden wall, legs splayed out in front of me because every time I tried to bend the left arm the joint screamed.

Inside it was dark except for the faint moonlight coming through the narrow window slits.

Maria and Aria were both up front in their respective seats.

The only sounds were hoofbeats, creaking axles, and the occasional snort from the horses.

Everyone else fell asleep fast.

Maria's head lolled against the side panel within minutes.

Aria drove in silence, back straight, eyes on the road.

Kalia stayed awake.

She sat across from me at first, knees drawn up, watching my face in the dim light.

After maybe twenty minutes she scooted closer.

Then closer again.

Finally she just climbed right into my lap, straddling my thighs like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I raised an eyebrow.

"What're you doing?"

She gave me that crooked smirk she always used when she knew she was about to get her way.

"Giving you a good time.

You earned it."

"Kalia, my shoulder just got turned into ground meat."

"Maria fixed it.

You're fine."

Her fingers were already working the buckle on my belt.

"And you're tense as hell.

Let me fix that part."

I caught her wrist.

"The others are literally right there."

"Maria sleeps like the dead and Aria's staring at the road.

They won't notice unless you start moaning like an idiot."

She leaned in, lips brushing my ear.

"Which you won't.

Right?"

I exhaled through my nose.

Part of me wanted to shove her off.

The bigger part. the part that still had adrenaline burning in the veins and every nerve lit up from almost dying. didn't.

I let go of her wrist.

"Ok, suck it please"

Kalia grinned, quick and sharp, then tugged my belt open.

Pants came down just enough.

My cock was already half-hard from the fight-high and from the way she'd been looking at me since we got in the carriage.

She wrapped her fingers around the base and gave one slow, firm stroke.

"See?

Told you you'd like it."

"Shut up," I muttered.

She laughed under her breath, then bent forward.

First thing I felt was heat.

her mouth closing over the head, wet and soft.

She didn't tease.

No kitten licks, no playing around.

She took me in deep right away, lips sliding down until I hit the back of her throat.

I sucked in a sharp breath and my good hand automatically went to the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair.

Kalia hummed around me.

low vibration that made my hips twitch up without permission.

She pulled back slow, tongue dragging flat along the underside the whole way, then sank down again, faster this time.

Wet, sucking sounds filled the carriage, quiet but unmistakable if anyone woke up.

I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached, trying not to make noise.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

Every time I started getting close she'd ease off.

pull back until just the head was between her lips, swirl her tongue in lazy circles, then plunge down again before I could complain.

After the third time she did it I growled low in my throat.

"Stop fucking around."

She popped off long enough to look up at me, lips shiny, eyes gleaming.

"Make me."

I tightened my grip in her hair and pushed her head back down.

Not rough.

just enough to let her know I wasn't in the mood for games anymore.

She moaned around me, the sound muffled, and went to work for real.

Head bobbing steady now.

One hand braced on my thigh, the other wrapped around what she couldn't fit.

She hollowed her cheeks on every upstroke, sucking hard, then relaxed her throat so I could slide deeper.

Spit dripped down my shaft, slicking her fingers.

The carriage rocked with the motion of the wheels and it matched her rhythm perfectly.

every bump pushing me a little further into her mouth.

My breathing turned rough.

I could feel the heat coiling low in my gut, tightening fast.

"Kalia. "

She didn't pull off.

Just sped up.

Tongue flicking against the slit every time she reached the top, then swallowing me down again.

One of her hands slid lower, cupping my balls, rolling them gently while she worked.

That did it.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep quiet and came hard.

Pulse after pulse shot down her throat.

She didn't flinch.

kept sucking through it, milking every last drop until I was twitching and oversensitive.

When she finally pulled off there was a thin string of spit and cum connecting her bottom lip to the head of my cock.

She licked it away, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and sat back on her heels looking way too pleased with herself.

"Better?" she asked, voice hoarse.

I let my head thunk back against the wall.

"You're a menace."

"Yeah, but I'm your menace."

She crawled up, kissed me quick.

tasted like salt and herself.

then settled against my good side, head on my chest.

"Now sleep.

We've got hours till Lebara."

I wrapped my arm around her without thinking.

The carriage kept rolling south.

Aria never turned around.

Maria never stirred.

And for the first time since the monster's teeth went in, the knot in my chest finally loosened.

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