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The final guy is so unassuming, he is nearly on top of me before I really register what he looks like. His skin is a mix between seafoam green and bluish gray, but it's very pretty. His hair is a dark green that almost looks black and seems to move around his shoulders. It doesn’t hang in strands like normal either, it falls down in long blades. It almost looks like seaweed but darker in color and softer looking. His fingers and toes are webbed, but long. Almost like there is extra skin between his fingers, but he can still function as anybody else would. His lips are nearly nonexistent, but for some reason, I can‘t hold that against him. When he smiles, his teeth are all pointed and serrated. Clearly, he is a water shifter of some kind, but I can’t tell what kind, which is odd for me because my secondary study in school was Supernatural Being Studies.
Fowlynn ruffles on my shoulder again and I have to actively stop myself from reacting to the movement. His lazy drawl travels through my mind and his words make me regret not actually cutting his ass just a second ago.
Astrate, these are our mates. Play nice now!
The annoying bird flies off with a caw that sounds almost exactly like the laughter ringing in my mind.
“Stupid fucking worm breath!” I shout out, probably convincing the men around me that I am insane. All the better to be honest, because if they think I’m insane, they’ll leave me alone … Probably … Maybe …. Hopefully.
The Druid smirks, moving his hands around and petting the tree he is now leaning against. Glavior seems to have gotten his magic together because he is standing on two thick leather covered legs now instead of flying on a mini tornado. The twins share a glance before the red eyed one stares at the sky where Fowlynn just left and the one with black eyes goes back to staring at me. The sea creature simply rests back against the same tree with the druid, their arms brushing against one another as the ocean dweller pulls out a leer and starts to strum.
“What are you doing out here, Astrate?” Glavior’s deep voice seems to rumble the earth under our feet.
I suddenly don’t feel like dealing with any of this. Not Glavior, not figuring out what the others are, and certainly not mates. I glare at Glavior as I walk forward, intent on leaving them in the clearing and disappearing into the darkness. Before I get two inches out of the clearing a solid wall of vines sprout out in front of me. I smack right into the foliage and bounce back to land on my ass in a thicket bush. I jump up, howling in pain as the tiny thorns rip from my ass.
Behind me, I hear a few soft, lazy chuckles and one deep growl that has my blood rushing through my veins. Glavior storms towards me, crushing bushes and leaving thick footprints in the soft dirt. His huge arm wraps around my waist and he lifts me high in the air so our faces are practically touching. His large tusks cup my cheeks as his light green eyes peer into mine.
“Where are you going, Little Pixie?”
His sweet mint scent surrounds me and I have to grind my teeth down to keep from leaning into it more. Now, I’m a badass, I kill wicked men for a living and feel no remorse for it when I go to sleep at night. Even knowing all that, I’m practically shaking with nerves around these men. They are so beautiful, unique in their own ways. Their magic is strong, almost as strong as mine and Ahazu’s, which is impressive. I find myself more and more curious about them, their stories, and their magic. Which is not a good thing!
“Home.” I give him the simplest answer I can while still being honest.
Snatching my head back out of his tusks, I flip backwards and land on my feet, facing the vine wall again. With a flick of my wrist, I go through the wall and use my magic to teleport me home. Usually, I hate to use teleportation because it can leave a trace, but right now, I don’t particularly care. Anyone that would trace the portal would have no clue that I was connected to the murder, and a small part of me wants the men to follow me.
Yes, I know, I’m a twisted bitch.
I don’t want mates. Not at all, and certainly not one giant, sexy, Orc Genie Hybrid. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want them to want me. Just because I don’t want mates doesn’t mean I don’t want my mates to hunt me down and make me want them. That I don’t want to be pursued or persuaded. I want them to get me flowers, chase me around and beg for my attention. I want them to earn my love instead of assuming that they have it because the universe decided we were perfectly fit to be together.
Yeah, Astra, you’re insane.
You know, Fowlynn says, his voice echoing in my mind making my teeth grind hard enough to crack. If you would go claim them, you wouldn’t be struggling so hard right now.
The smug tone in his voice is grating on my already fragile nerves. It's been days, six fucking days, and I still can’t get that giant orc asshole and the other four men from the woods out of my head. I try to sleep, only to be plagued with thoughts of the guys iin my dreams. And they are not dreams of torture and death like I wanted. No, these dreams are the kind that make you wake up in the middle of the night to grab a vibrator.
I’ve tried literally everything; reading, staying up for two days straight, running myself until I’m so exhausted I can’t breathe … and nothing works. The men stay on my mind, they haunt my thoughts while I’m awake. Every moment of the last week has been focused on the group of men that my annoying ass familiar says are my mates.
Honestly, at this point, I have no other choice but to believe him. When I walk through the town, I get distracted because I swear I can smell their scents on the breeze. I’ve burned more food than I’ve eaten because my mind gets lost conjuring their faces, trying to remember every facet of their features. Ahazu Facetimed me last night, and I had to cut the call short when he asked me why I kept getting a dopey look on my face. Fowlynn was laughing so hard, he tumbled off his perch. Az told me he was coming home tomorrow and he was bringing the rest of his Healing Group. He also told me he has exciting news.
I wish I could say that the anticipation of my brother coming home and the frustration of not knowing his news was enough to distract me, but it definitely isn’t. I’ve been praying to the Goddess every night for an assignment or something to take my mind off the distraction of my annoying so-called mates, but nothing has worked yet.
Giving up after my third attempt to make scrambled eggs, I head to my room thinking I could lie down and go back to sleep. However, when I go to my desk to put my dagger down, a simple black card is waiting for me. A smile lights up my face and I don’t even look at the information before I pierced my fingertip with my dagger and let the drop of blood fall to the glossy black card. A smile forms on my face as my blood spreads wide on the black surface, then the edge of the droplet sizzles, the card slowly burning until puffing away into a white cloud of smoke.
This is just what I needed. Finally the thoughts of those men scurry from my thoughts as information about my newest target floods my mind. A new target, one that seems to be an actual challenge. There is very little information to be had about ‘the Dragon’, which means that I get to do a bit of research before going hunting.
Chapter 5
The Pub is as busy tonight as it was a week ago when the ridiculous Quest began. Halfway through the time period to collect the quests, and I swear the number of bands looking for a quest has doubled. A few people are asking questions while more are sitting around tables filled with maps and figurines that move on their own.
Thankfully, my spot at the bar is still available, so I push my way through the crowd and tap the bar top as I sit. Kelsy saunters over, a smirk lighting up her face as her eyes focus on something over my shoulder. When she leans on the counter in front of me, I smile at her, blinking my eyes like some sort of innocent daisy. Lies, all lies.
“Evening Kelsy.” I say, keeping my voice sweet. “I have a question for you.”
Kelsy’s eyes instantly get guarded. It’s never a good thing for someone as twisted as an assassin Pixie/ Dark Elf Hybrid to be asking you questions. I’ve known Kelsy for a while now though, so she shouldn’t be too scared.
“Okay, what is it?” she asks, her voice a bit hesitant as her eyes flicker over my shoulder again, before finally settling on my face. For a brief second I wonder what has her attention captured so thoroughly, but decide to deal with it after I get the info I need.
“What do you know of the man they call The Dragon?”
