smelled of goodness and innocence, too, but also of power and passion. Hunger ate at him, consumed him, this need holding an undercurrent of sexuality and making it all the more intense.
That quickly, he almost attacked her. Almost leapt on her and sank his teeth into her neck, filling his senses with her essence. Sweat poured from him as he purposefully locked his muscles in place, holding himself in check.
His wounds were responsible for this craving. Yesterday he'd lost a lot of blood, therefore his body wanted to replenish. That's all there was to it. Still...
Get the fuck out of here, his mind screamed.
"I'll be right over there," he said, the words a mere croak. "Scream if you need me." He slammed several drachmas on the tabletop and stalked away.
Confused, Jewel stared over at him. He stood a good distance from her, but remained within sight, keeping guard over her as always. His silver gaze now churned a stormy gray, fierce and hard. Taut lines formed around his eyes, and his body vibrated with some kind of pent-up energy.
Had she angered him?
"Your man - tell him I cannot accept so much money," the seller said.
Jewel tore her attention from Gray and met the woman's warm, worried gaze. Unbidden, she smiled. Hearing Gray referred to as her man was... heady. "I've never seen such beautiful work as these. You deserve every bit of money he gave you. Please - what is your name?"
"Erwin."
"Please, Erwin, take it with a happy heart."
Her thin lips grew into a smile as she placed the drachmas in her pocket. "Take as many rocks as you'd like."
Jewel nodded. She studied the rocks. Some had waterfalls, some had forests. Some had creatures painted on the surface. Each scene appeared to be alive, as if it were actually happening, as if the creatures were truly moving.
One had two sapphires painted in the center, and they caught Jewel's eye. She lifted the stone and gasped, realizing it was her face she was seeing. In the portrait, her eyes held sadness and her mouth dipped in a wistful frown. She looked sad and alone and vulnerable.
"Do you like it?" Erwin asked hesitantly.
"Why - why did you paint this woman?" She held up the rock, showing the minotaur the features decorating the surface.
"Look at her. She represents the suffering of all of us, desperate to escape the life she was born to."
How true. Except for these last few days with Gray, Jewel couldn't recall a time when she'd been happy with her life. She'd always prayed for a day, a single day, where she could be as normal and unaware as everyone else.
"Maybe one day the woman and I will find our escape," the minotaur added. She reached out and drew a finger over the surface, and as she did, her fingertip brushed Jewel's palm.
Jewel jerked as a vision raked her mind.
A little boy, a minotaur, was ripped from a woman's arms. This woman's arms. The seller's. Night had fallen and shadows danced all around a small hut that had been built under a tree. Both mother and child were crying and screaming, but the demon army carted them both away, seeing them merely as a food source.
Jewel blinked her eyes and shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Her heart was slamming inside her chest, and a cold sweat had broken out all over her body.
"You live nearby," she said.
Erwin paled, her furry bull-face becoming pallid. "That is none of your concern." "You have built a shelter under a tree for you and your son."
She gasped and stumbled backward, her hand fluttering over her heart. "How did you - "
"Very soon, the demon queen will march her army past your home. They will take you and your son and both of you will die."
"What? How can you - "
Jewel knew the woman would never believe her, not without proof. Not knowing what else to do, she reached up and pushed back her hood, letting the light shove away the shadows and reveal her features. Erwin gasped again, this time shock and horror dripping from the sound.
"You!" she breathed, both hands cupping her mouth.
"Please," Jewel said, replacing her hood. "You wish to escape your life, as did I. I have done so. Do not take it away from me by yelling out now."
The woman nodded, her eyes wide.
"You know now that I'm telling the truth. You know that if you do not move out of the forest, you will lose your life and