By the Horns Page 20

  “Alright!” I shouted. “Alright! I’ll do whatever you ask of me! Okay? Happy now?”

  “No,” he snarled. “You forget. I know you.”

  But did I really know him?

  With an angry low I was lifted off my feet, dragged a few feet farther, red eyes scanning the area around us, promptly swung around to be pressed up against the bent trunk of a u shaped, willowy tree, and then his mouth was on mine.

  This wasn’t like the queen and her peacock, this wasn’t the careful attempts of two similar yet different beings trying to make a go of it like we’ve tried plenty of times. This was hard and fierce, and, yes, weird, but I welcomed it. I could feel it, the fear, desperation behind it, he was terrified.

  Careful yet frantic, his thick tongue probed my lips to gently sweep inside my mouth, in search of my own pink appendage, tangling his with mine.

  The bull mouth thing was a bit off-putting for me, even now, but I was game to try. His mouth wide and oddly shaped, unlearned in the art of smooching, his lips moved well enough in a mimic of a human’s. Hands reaching up to cup his face, gently guide him, I readily thanked him in advance for his forethought.

  As fast as it started it stopped. His hands were in my shirt, kneading my breasts a little too roughly, his thigh pressing against my most intimate place, grinding into me. Then, everything just fell away.

  With a few whispered words in my ear he left me staring after him, gaping, heart pounding in stunned shock as he stood back. He took it all with him, his warmth, affection, tenderness, a very large piece of me I’d carved out just for him, squishing it beneath his booted foot while I stared after his retreating back. I felt it then more than ever, the ties slowly slipping, deep in my soul. It was as if he’d erected a physical wall between us. We shared some connection, an invisible string that tethered us. He’d just gripped it and bit it in half with those wide, flat teeth of his.

  “We- I- Addie-” His breath caught when he dared to spare me a glance.

  Dumbstruck. Gobsmacked. Mentally punched in the gut, that’s what it felt like.

  Licking his lips as if they’d suddenly gone dry, he cleared his throat. “Just… just remember what I said.” Bright red eyes met mine. He watched as my expression slowly closed off, his chin jerking in a short nod as if that’s exactly what he’d expected to see, what he needed.

  A part of me was slowly dying and he approved.

  “You don’t mean that,” I blurted, his whispered words playing over and over in my head.

  Instead of taking it back, taking it all back and apologizing, running away with me, he grumbled out a harsh, “We have to go,” and stormed off.

  As he took off over a hill, but for the warm buzzing filling my head, the heat in my belly, I felt empty, bereft. I was feeling the loss of him in a way I hadn’t expected to feel for a long time yet, if ever. It felt like someone had just died.

  “I need a moment,” I called after him.

  “I’ll wait at the top,” he barked out curtly. He didn’t bother looking back.

  Disappointment filled me on the deepest level. I was a fool. A stupid, naïve fool.

  Straightening my clothes, walking over to the pond and splashing my face a little, those whispered words warred with the new Kvigor.

  Hate me. It’s easier. I should never have brought you here. Keep quiet and do as I say, wingless. I can’t say that enough. I’m... I’m sorry.

  ˜˙˜*˜˙˜

  “Why did the peacock want you to take me here?” I asked without preamble. I was a dog with a bone. Did they have dogs here? Or some sorry looking fire breathing beast with wings and spikes they substituted for the position. Everything could kill you around here, it was beginning to feel like. Staring at Kvigor’s back, he wasn’t exempt from this observation.

  “The peacock didn’t.”

  We started walking at a swift pace. I hung back a bit, letting him lead. He seemed satisfied with this arrangement and let me trail him.

  “The queen?”

  “No.” Snorting, he scoffed.

  “Then... then who?”

  “The All-father,” he said simply, like I should know who that was. Then, as if in way of explanation, “You can’t go against the All-father.”

  “And yet you’d thought to try?”

  “Not now,” he hissed between clenched teeth, slipping my pack off his shoulder to hand it to me. Taurans were fast approaching, spotting the tall, bone white Minotaur amongst a sea of browns, blonds, black and whites, and mixtures of all three.

  With a huff I shut my trap, settling for fuming behind him silently.

  There was a group up ahead, and it was fast growing, as if waiting for our- No, his arrival.

  “Ah! There he is!” a cheerful voice called. The male standing in the middle, string after string of shell necklaces wound around his thick, saggy-skinned neck, stood out, the long white wisps of stringy hair sprouting from either side of his face blending into the belly button length beard hanging from his chin. He was white, all white, just like Kvigor, but much shorter, similar in characteristics as my Minotaur but on a smaller scale, his body softened with age and obvious lack of exercise. He was Kvigor in his dotage, with amber-gold eyes, and a heck of a lot shorter. “The prodigal son has returned!” he announced with a grand gesture, riling up the quickly gathering crowd.

  Prodigal what? My mind raced.

  Bully beasts parted as Kvigor, chest puffing up, chin lifting, strutted, literally strutted, towards the bone white chairs set on a raised platform, sitting side by side by a smaller one. It was the same platform the older Tauran was quickly waddling up the walk to, settling his old, rickety frame down on it.

  A woman came to stand at the older male’s side, younger though still up there in years, as evidenced by the thick white streaks and sagging skin she proudly exposed.

  Expose, the female did. She, like I was noticing amongst the other women, didn’t wear chest coverings, apparently, and much like their bovine halves, had their own version of, well, udders.

  Six sets, this one had, all hanging out in their aged but still perky glory. It didn’t bother me, not necessarily, though the rings going through each nipple, joined by loops of seashell necklaces hooked through black and gold loops piercing each thick bud, had me trying my damnedest not to stare.

  What if she tripped and accidently ripped- Gah. Wasn’t even going to think about it.

  “Ekodar,” Kvigor greeted once he stood before the dais.

  “Son,” Ekodar, the village chief, if I’m to understand it, called out loud enough for the crowd to hear.

  Off to the left of the dais were the three warriors from the forest, all standing neatly in a row. More males stood off behind them, two perfect rows of the chief’s men, his soldiers. This Ekodar had his own small army to command.

  Kvigor pressed his hand to his chest, dipping to bow. Through the corner of his eye he looked to me, then the ground. “I bring you news, father. I come from the other realm.” He gestured at me, head still bowed. “A being from the other side.”

  “A gift.” Ekodar’s fluffy white, long brows lifted, wild caterpillars on his face, hovering over his beady, small by Minotaur standards, eyes.

  Yeah, like hell. This... future chief princeness, big fat fibber, son of a goat bull, could suck my crooked left toe. A gift? Oh, I’d give Kvigor a gift, alright!

  A sense of betrayal ripped through me. I wasn’t stupid. He’d mated me knowing his traditional chief father wouldn’t approve, and now, as per the deal he’d made, I was to be left hanging in the breeze, strung out to dry. And he expected me to just docilely go along with all of this? At his behest?! What kind of fool did he take me for?!

  A big one, you idiot.

  Not if I could help it.

  A deep, dark, something, something ugly, filled me. This kind of hurt, I didn’t understand this type of pain, this burning, cramping, lung pressing sense of loss without death. I had no clue how to process it. This was a different kind of h
elplessness than watching those assholes back in the labyrinth taunt Vetra, its own kind of monster within me, my own personal misery. I could in all honesty admit I’d never had my heart broken before. Before today.

  Kvigor gave a grunt in answer and, sending me a killing glare, ordered me without words to follow his lead. Seeing as he hadn’t actually told me to do anything, I chose to ignore it. Kneel? Kiss a toad.

  Playing stupid, I glanced around. “Kvigor, I know you told me your village was quaint but...”

  Kvigor’s eyes bugged and he made a gurgling sound. The barely perceptible shake of his head had me widening my eyes innocently.

  “It’s so much nicer,” I complimented, a huge, sugary sweet smile plastering my face. Placing my hands behind my back, my pack slung over my shoulder, I offered anyone who dared make eye contact a smile and a nod in greeting.

  From the sounds his father was making, he was trying desperately not to choke on his own tongue. “What be this, Kvigor? What blasphemy is this creature babbling?”

  “Wingless,” the woman I assumed was Suzaela gasped out happily.

  “Abomination,” someone from the crowd called.

  “Pestilence,” hissed another.

  “Mad Queen’s pet!” spat another.

  Well, shit.

  “Wingless?” the chief queried. “You think to mingle the children of Puck, the Abandoned, with the likes of the Queen’s pets? Why is she so familiar with you? A gift for whom?” Beady eyes narrowed. “You?”

  “No,” Kvigor was quick to deny.

  He wasn’t lying, as he’d initially had no intention of fulfilling his bargain with this All-father he spoke of, supposedly, thinking to hide me away in some cozy love nest for however long that lasted—a perfectly kept pet of his own. How long would it last? Not very long, I guessed. All-father? Puck? Puck! The Peacock? Mad Queen is Titania, so then... The king? All-father? Beron the fae king, could it be him? But then why, after what he’d done for me, would he have Kvigor... I didn’t... Arghhhh. None of this would ever make a lick of sense.

  My reaction, though, feeling shunned by my own ma- No, I couldn’t even call him that anymore, could I? Well, my reaction was genuine.

  Others continued to mutter things, loudly, appalled by their chief’s son’s audacity. How dare he bring me here, the general uproar intoned. I couldn’t argue with them there. In fact, at this point I readily agreed.

  Kvigor began talking, his words drowned out by the blood rushing to my head, throbbing in my ears.

  I couldn’t say I hadn’t suspected something was going bunk back there around the pond area, and before that, or that he didn’t have his odd moments before—I wasn’t a complete idiot—I’d simply been hoping, praying this would be different. This is what I get for turning a blind eye.

  Kvigor was, in the face of his people, unwilling to fight for us.

  The pale Minotaur prattled on to his father, bits catching, clicking minutes after he’d spoken. Was he- My eyes bugged. Did he just imply I could be given to someone?! The fool wasn’t just denouncing me, he was trying to pawn me off to some Adelric person!

  “No,” I whispered in horror, but my voice was unheard, lost in the melee.

  My mate mimicked that pompous fool sitting atop a thrown of... wow, yes, those were human looking bones—fae, maybe?—acting all-knowing and important. What made them any better than anyone else?

  If I’d a kingdom, I know the first thing I’d do, make sure everyone was treated fairly, none of this favorites and favors bullshite. Wings, horns, none, what did it matter?! It didn’t!

  Sickness washed over me, my hands suddenly growing clammy. Dizziness swept through my body, bile filling my cheeks.

  Kvigor was Ekodar’s successor, their precious prodigal prince, I never stood a chance of keeping him, did I? Of that far reaching happily ever after I’d whipped up on a whim, all in my head, all bull.

  There are no more knights, Riadne, you sent the last one off with your sister, and he didn’t really want you in the end, not truly, anyway.

  What had I been thinking? My eyes traveled across the space, examining faces, all bulls but such a similar situation, with similar results, like history was on repeat, different day, different beings, but same outcome. What the hell had I been thinking’d be diff’rent? What would, it was more like. Not a damn blasted thing.

  Kvigor was watching me, head still bent in supplication, though he now stood.

  “You wish to shove me off on some other.” I couldn’t help the hurt in my voice, my words thick with tears I’d yet to shed. “You lied to me. Lied to me about everything.” When he made to step towards me I threw my hands up to ward him off. “YOU are a lie, a liar. And I’m a fool.”

  “Addie,” he whispered urgently. “Don’t- I- Adelric is a eunuch. He doesn’t- Wouldn’t- You’ll be safe with him until I can- Listen, just-”

  “No. NO! Don’t touch me!”

  Too late.

  “I renounce you,” I whispered, watching his face drain of what little color it had to begin with.

  “You don’t mean that,” he murmured through barely moving lips.

  Afraid others will notice, is he?

  “I renounce you, husband,” I called out louder, competing with the crowd. With a deep breath I retrieved the King’s dagger from my boot and lifted it up, bringing it level with my chest. I couldn’t rightly say what had come over me in that moment, but the tingles up my arm could only be construed as encouraging. Good. Fuck him.

  Hah. Already have, I thought darkly. Won’t be making that mistake again.

  Do it, do it, the little voice in the back of my head chanted encouragingly. He needed to see, to have the choice taken from him.

  “I renounce you,” I shouted, bringing my free hand up, palm out, ignoring the startled gasps of unsuspecting villagers.

  They were talking, everyone at once, shouting and calling out wildly, but I didn’t give a single fig. My blade glinted in the torch light.

  “I renounce you, Kvigor, son of Ekodar. I renounce you as my pair bond, my husband, my mate.” Tears welled in my eyes, emotions clogging my throat.

  Kvigor’s eyes were blood red and wide as he mouthed the one thing that gave me the tiniest bit of faith he was still in there somewhere, my Kvigor from the cavern, the bully I’d stupidly thought I’d come to love.

  “You should be sorry. I would have loved you forever, come whatever, you know,” I choked out, murmuring the words so low others wouldn’t overhear. Then louder, “I renounce you!” The black bladed dagger came down, slicing right into the mark branded into my flesh, gliding right across my palm.

  Kvigor shouted something, making to lunge at me at the last moment. We made contact, the knife yanked from my hand, but I fought, biting, spitting, kicking. He wasn’t giving it his all, ignoring the shouts to, “Kill it, it’s crazed, like the Mad Queen.”

  “Adelric!” A feminine voice bellowed, command in her tone.

  “Enforcer,” Ekodar’s deeper voice echoed. “Handle this nonsense at once! You know your job, boy!”

  A dark blur came rushing at us, beating Kvigor out, sending the white bull stumbling to his side with a hard shove, my knife lost to the madness. Lunging, I searched for it, my hand grasping the handle right as a solid force pounded me into the ground, his full weight squashing me. I fell face first in the dirt as I flew to the left, rolling. My hand slammed the ground, the dagger flying, skidding through the dirt some ways over my head.

  “No!” I screamed, howling, tears streaming down my cheeks, “I won’t be tied to that bastard liar another moment! I won’t! I’ll kill myself before being cursed to such a life!” The heavy weight pressing down on me, heat and fur and flesh, wouldn’t allow me any leave. My legs thrashed, hands pinned by thick, inhuman fingers. “Leave me be!” I carried on. “Leave me beeee!!!”

  “Kvigor,” a voice snarled above me. “I’ve a handle on this. Your... assistance,” he paused, spitting the words out through gritted teeth, “is
no longer needed.”

  It was some time before I calmed, my screaming, shrieking fading out to incoherent sobs, long after the villagers’ voices died out and lights faded. The sound of some kind of celebration sounded in the distance, a party for Kvigor’s return? Or perhaps at the thought of the chief’s Enforcer slowly crushing me to death. What a painful way to go. Bugs chirped their songs in the distance. I was hyper focused on those chirruping songs.

  I may or may not have cursed a few unknown curious creatures walking by daring to stare for far too long, their blurry faces on my nasty list. I wasn’t their evening entertainment. I wasn’t anyone’s. Hell, I wasn’t anyone’s anything.

  By the time I was done, nothing more than sniffling, muffled sobs racking my overtaxed frame, the suns had completely vanished, the torches smoking lazily, their fires out, the stars high up above us, carrying on with the moons. The air was chilly, my skin prickling, face mashed into the hard, unforgiving ground. It was so dark out here it was eerie.

  “Adelric,” a soft, sweet, feminine voice entreated, “think you, you might let her up now?”

  “Leave us,” the deep, gruff voice ordered.

  “But, Adel, she- Mother thinks maybe she-”

  “Vachel,” he snapped.

  “Fine.” The youthful voice wasn’t pleased. “I have collected her things. Where shall I set them?”

  “My quarters. Now take your leave. And, vacha?”

  “Hmm?” She didn’t sound pleased.

  “Thank you.” The beast sweating atop me heavily waited a moment until this Vachel of his’ footsteps had receded. “We are alone now.” He spoke quietly, his deep voice resonating with me in a way that made me want to run screaming for my life. Not again. Never again. “You will tell me of this bonding with Kvigor and refrain from any further threats and-”

  “Threats? Threats?! I’ll show that mangy corpse bull threats! Is that what he’s claiming?!”

  “No,” he said slowly, knowing I wasn’t done growling out my displeasure or finished with my outbursts yet.

  “Adelric... You are the one he wanted to pass me on to, then? I don’t think so!”

  “As I have said, you will tell me all, and I will plead your case to the chief in the morning. I cannot claim to any such pull, but I will try. As for now, we’ll-”