Page 56 of Solivagant

I groaned. “What if I promise to come back and visit you regularly?”

He hissed again. No.

“I could sleep in my own house and come back to be with you during the day.” It was a lie, but if he would just let me get over the wall, I could deal with whatever came after that.

Again, he hissed.

“Why?”

He stared.

“I saw the body at the wall. I’ve seen the sign on the other side. ‘Trespassers will be eaten,’ it said. Now I assume that means eaten by you.”

He stared.

“Am I wrong?”

Again, he just stared.

“So why eat them and not me? Why do you want to keep me? I’m not special.”

He hissed.

“I’m not. I’m just… me. Just some fucked-up guy who stumbled in here.”

Tusks growled, and then he was on me, his large body jumping straight over the fire and colliding with mine as my back met the grass.

He’s going to eat me.

I braced myself for it, hoping it would be over quickly.

But the bite never came.

I opened my eyes one at a time to see him above me, a strong arm on either side of me as he stared down with those piercing red eyes.

My chest rose and fell quickly as he lifted one hand, and so gently placed it over my chest.

The beast inside me responded to it, bursting out of its invisible cage as it rose up to meet him beneath my skin. Warmth rippled over me. Emotion from so deep within. Grief. Longing. Relief.

My eyes burned, each blink blurring with tears I didn’t understand. Couldn’t.

But I wanted to.

Whatever had been happening to me, the dreams, the sleepwalking, the waiting, all of it had brought me here. I kept coming back to this place like it was my purpose. But it wasn’t the house I was here for. The strength of my reaction to him proved that to me as much as I wanted to deny it. It was him.

His hand lifted, the tips of his claws sending shivers rippling over my body as his fingers rose up to my face to gently cup my cheek.

Those piercing red eyes were so inhuman. They should have terrified me. But how could they when he looked at me so softly?

My lips parted, and so many questions circled in my mind. Ones that I’d lived with my entire life and for the first time might actually be able to find answers to.

“I know you… don’t I?”

The red of his eyes glowed brighter, then they were rimmed with gold.

He nodded.

“And you know me?”