Page 21 of Hunt Me

“No,” Matilda snapped.

“No?” he repeated, surprised she would deny his request.

“It appears that superior hearing is working for you.”

Luka narrowed his eyes, unappreciative of her sharp, unyielding tongue. “You jest when you are seconds away from meeting the great beyond?”

“These might be my last words. I should make them count. What better way than to irritate and discomfort you? Maybe it will buy me a quick death.”

“Irritation? Yes. Discomfort? Never.”

“Are you sure about that, King of Bloodsuckers? I can hear the tightness in your tone.”

Luka sighed. “Have you said your Lord’s Prayer yet?” he asked, already tired of her antics.

“No need.”

“And why is that, pray tell?”

“Because it’s not my time to die yet,” Matilda declared.

“I am the one who holds your life in his hands, and I’ve very much decided it is your time to go.”

“I don’t believe it. If that were your intention, then you would’ve killed me by now.”

“I’m patient. I enjoy taking my time.”

“Didn’t your mother tell you not to play with your food?”

“Playing with my food? Never. It’s more like enjoying a robust wine—taking my time and relishing it until the very last drop.”

“I apologize, Mr. Blood Wine Connoisseur, but you will not be delighting in Matilda Beaumont this eve.”

“Matilda Beaumont is your name, is it?”

“Do not be so informal with me, vamp. That is Mistress Matilda Beaumont to you!”

“I tire of you, woman. You talk too much. I can’t imagine how your husband deals with you.” Matilda giggled as she prepared the poison arrow in her hand. She hoped he’d keep talking long enough for her to finish. “What is amusing?”

“You are fishing.”

“Fishing?”

“You’re wondering if I am available for the taking. I’ll let you down easy, King Alesi. I am currently unattached to a man, but I am unavailable to you.”

“I can have any woman I desire,” he proclaimed.

“Funny. I don’t see a queen by your side.”

Luka’s vision reddened at the mention of his queen. In one swift motion, he stood before the hollow and dropped to his knees to peer into the dark hole.

“Ah! You fucking wench!” he screamed when she gouged his eye with the arrowhead.

Matilda crawled out of the hollow, ignoring the enraged vampire king, who rolled around on the snowy ground. She sprinted through the forest, cursing herself for not stabbing the other eye out. But she didn’t have time to chastise herself for her careless mistake. She had to get as far away from King Alesi as possible.

Thirty minutes later, Luka could see out of his eye again after the tissues and muscles had reformed. “How ironic,” he said, chuckling to himself. “It is I who is laying on his back, looking at the sky as the snowflakes fall.” He wiped the snow from his lashes and climbed to his feet. “Playtime is over,” he declared before his wings erupted from his back. “You will die, Matilda Beaumont,” he said before shooting off into the sky.

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