him.
I ran my hand down Rees’s ass cheek and thigh, the monster purred with delight, and Rees bucked in my arms, rubbing his hard shaft over my belly. Yet he didn’t open his eyes, and having seen him exhausted, fading away, I’d never allow myself to wake him.
Harvest was nearing, and we didn’t have enough workers. Many girls and boys from my villages were sent to schools in the Town, and I insisted on that not to change. However, we needed to hire help if we were to manage before the storms came. In the meantime, I had to leave for the fields together with four of my hunters. I asked Lillian to stay. I couldn’t bear leaving Rees alone when he might not feel well.
When we returned, it was almost twilight. My chest warmed when the iron gate to my estate emerged from the greenery. I’d hold him soon.
“Sir!”
Lillian was running from the direction of the greenhouse, her hair loosened, flowing in the wind. She never called me sir. I didn’t have to see her face to know something had happened.
Rees.
“Where is he?” The words came out harsher than I’d intended, and Sera threw her head up. I jumped off her and patted her side. She’d return to the stables by herself.
Lillian paused in front of me and panted. “I don’t know.” Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “I can’t find him.”
“How long?” The monster rattled the cage. My forehead prickled, horns threatening to break out. None of my hunters had ever seen me in that form.
“I…”
“How long has he been missing, Lillian?” The rumbling growls of the beast warped my words.
Lillian stared at me, mouth parted, and for the first time, fear flashed in her eyes.
“Jona saw him at the stables shortly after lunch. I began looking for him two hours ago.”
“Bedrooms, kitchen, library… Have you looked everywhere?”
“Yes. Jona and Tobias too.”
“Where’s Troll?”
“What?”
She doesn’t deserve your anger. I clenched my fists. My voice came out guttural. “Troll, the horse, where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Tears gathered in her eyes.
Snarling against my will, I sprinted toward the stables, Lillian after me.
“Jona!”
Jona stood by the entrance, holding Sera’s reins. Sweat covered her round face.
“Where is Troll?”
“The eastern pasture, by the creek. Do you think Rees is with him?”
I didn’t answer her. I took Sera’s reins from her and jumped back into the saddle. Sensing my urgency, Sera flew like the wind. We leaped over ditches and fences, startling the grazing animals, until we at last reached the eastern pasture. Troll and three other horses were wandering around. They grew distressed when Sera came galloping toward them. Trotting to the sides, they made room for us. Only Troll stood in place, tossing his head as we approached. He whinnied.
By his feet lay a body.
He can’t be dead. He can’t.
I clambered off my horse, stumbling in my haste, and raced to him. My mind only on Rees, I couldn’t control the way I morphed. The monster broke free, ripping my clothes and stealing my frame. I gathered Rees into my arms just as my thorns tore my skin and stuck out of my joints. Only when Rees’s heartbeat thumped against my chest, faint but steady, and his soft breath ghosted my face did the monster let me think again.
My wings spread over us as I held him in my lap, kissing his face. Rees was breathing calmly, and his lashes fluttered. Relief flooded me, but it didn’t last long. Rees’s shirt and thin pants were wet from the grass. His hands were ice-cold, and he was pallid like never before, his lips almost white.
“Rees, darling.”
“Cariad.” He didn’t open his eyes.
“What happened? Are you hurt?”
I had to lean closer to hear his soft answer. “No. I grew tired.”
Tired. I’d learned to despise that word. “You’re freezing. I’ll take you home.”
“My Cariad.”
“Yes, we’ll go home.”
Carrying him in my arms, I half ran, half flew over the pastures to the house. Lillian stood in the yard, pale and terrified. Her eyes sprang wide when she noticed my torn shirt and the black wings stretching above us. She said nothing.
“He’s not hurt. Bring tea and hot soup. Leave it by the door.”
She nodded and swiftly strode to the kitchen.
The fire in the bedroom was lit. I knelt in front of it, holding Rees to me. I stripped off his wet clothes and stroked his muscles, the smoldering fire in my veins warming him quickly. The cloying scent of his illness filled my nostrils.
He was fading