No, my love.
I pause at the title but then ease. Love. We’d already said that to each other. I could grow used to such names.
Others are far worse off than I will ever be. So much slaughter. This morning…
His words trail off, and images pass through our bond. I see the smoke, the blackened bodies of women and men alike. I see the cleaved limbs and blood-soaked ground. A part of me wants to look away, but I can’t.
You’ve saved so many. I hope you think of that just as much as you think of those left behind. Perhaps death is a kinder place for them than life right now.
Ra’Sa’s disagreement is palpable through the bond.
Then he lets out a long breath. The warm air tickles my throat, and his hand tightens around my midsection.
We sink back into silence, but small flickers of what he’s seen continue to pass through our bond as he just sits there. I can feel that he doesn’t sleep.
The berserker’s fury displayed across the painted face of a giant slips through, as do the bodies that fall to the earth. Some of the visions are cloudy. I see women, theBrujas, I think, arriving at the pens. I see the dead rise from the ground, but the vision clouds and fades too fast.
The sight of dead men walking once more makes my skin prickle, but I let it all come through, not wanting Ra’Sa to hold back or protect me. He does that enough.
I can share some of the weight of his burden.
“You need to sleep,” I say.
He sighs.
“There is a tent in the forest. Take the girls. They didn’t nap today. I will finish my chores and join you.”
He smiles weakly. “Are you sure?”
“Rest now,” I reply firmly.
“Thea, Wren!” I beckon the girls. They bound over obediently. “Show Ra’Sa to the tent. I need to help get the meal started.”
They grin and do just that.
Chapter 41
RA’SA
RA’SALORE,Melisa’s voice fills my mind.Come!
Already shifted and mind hazy, I bolt up. The two girls nestled next to me, and I growl at the furry addition when I find the wolf has joined us.
Then I hear a scream.
Thea wakes up first and starts to cry.
Fuck,I think as I lunge forward and pull them close.
“Shh, it’s all right. I’m here,” I tell them, trying to quiet them as the wolf goes on high alert. She paws at each girl, nudging them with her nose. Red light shines outside the tent.
No. No, no, no.
Melisa. The women. The men.
I haul Thea and Wren out of the tent with me and immediately see burning torches and spears. The air smells of blood.
Melisa!I call out.