Page 7 of A Trial By Blood

I broke off another piece of pastry. “He called me a dirty blood sucker, and a few other things as well.” The hound had also said some things about Rose after learning about the time I spent here. I didn’t know why it mattered to him. But he’d said I was here fucking a walking corpse. He was being derogatory about her physical condition. His words had caused a physical reaction; I’d felt hot, and my head had a throbbing sensation. I tried to explain this to Relic, who had been visibly angry, and that’s when he suggested the fighting pit. I knew better now than to tell Rose that part of the story, though.

“What an asshole. You won?”

“Yes.” I held the pastry to her mouth, and she accepted it. My nerve endings sparked again.

“Were you hurt?”

“I was injured, but I barely register pain and I heal fast.”

Rose blinked at me again, and she seemed to shiver. “And what about the hound? How injured was he?”

“Very. But they heal fast as well. He’ll be fine in a few days.”

“A few days? W-what did you do?”

“I beat him, then tore out his tongue.” The blood in my veins had felt thick, and that rock in my gut had become a boulder. One moment I’d been hitting him, and the next, I’d wrenched his mouth open and taken hold of his tongue. Relic had been pleased. He’d said the other male had “deserved it for talking shit about my female.” Rose wasn’t mine and I’d tried to tell him that many times but had given up. Hounds were territorial, and it was the only way he could understand why I spent so much time here. I certainly couldn’t explain it.

I had enjoyed the sensations I’d felt afterward though, after I’d hurt the hound, when I’d looked down at him on the ground soaked in his own blood. My nerve endings had sparked and fired like they did when Rose touched me.

I broke off more of the danish and held it out to her. She was staring at me, her mouth slightly open. I tried to slide the pastry between her lips, but she brushed my hand away.

“You tore his tongue out?”

“Yes.”

“Holy shit. Which hound?” Her heart was beating faster; I could see the pulse in her throat fluttering wildly.

My mouth went dry, and I quickly looked away. “Tyson.”

Her eyes grew rounder. “Oh my god, Ronan. That male is huge.”

“He is also slow.”

She laughed softly. “Okay, well, your night tops mine by a mile.” Her smile was back, but she was breathing faster.

“Are you okay? You’re breathing heavily.” I pressed my hand to her chest. I could feel her heart pounding hard. “Rose?”

“I’m fine. Your story, it’s exciting. My heart’s pounding because I’m imagining you fighting in that pit,” she said. Her voice had grown husky.

“And that affects you physically?”

“Yes,” she said. “Do you think yours would pound if I told you I’d fought someone?”

I shook my head. “My heart no longer beats, remember?”

“I’d forgotten.” The look on her face changed, then she whimpered. “I’m going to be sick.”

I snatched up the bowl by the bed. They kept one there for this purpose, and I helped her to sit forward, holding it below her chin. She shuddered, her entire body quaking as she threw up the tiny amount of food I’d managed to get her to eat. Then she continued to dry heave, but there was nothing left in her stomach to come up.

The rock in my gut grew again, becoming a boulder like it had last night. Then it kept on growing, and the center of my chest became hot and achy. I held her to me, supporting her slight weight until she was done, then eased her back to the pillows.

“I’ll be right back.” I took the bowl to the bathroom to empty and clean and rinsed a washcloth in warm water. When I walked back out, I thought she was asleep. I moved to her side and gently wiped around her mouth.

“R-Ronan?”

“Do you need the bowl again?”

“No.” Her eyes opened, but they were heavy. She’d be asleep again soon. “Can you…can you come back after your visit with Luna? I have something to ask you.”