The Great and Terrible: No Monsters Like Hers
The Great and Terrible: Chapter 13

Leona and I watched as Jasher headed the way we’d come, quickly disappearing in the foliage. Worry pricked my nape.

“So,” she said, studying her nails. “You two are secret lovers, huh?”

“He’s my guide, nothing more.” Despite the occasional flirtation, we hadn’t reached the valley of decision.

“Sure, sure. I believe you.” She exaggerated a wink. “Denial is always best with a royal guard, considering most people hate them.”

“And why is that? Other than beheadings and taxes, I mean.”

“Those reasons aren’t enough for you?” She released a pft sound. “They are emotionless yet wild, highly volatile yet unresponsive. They detest commitment and have no mercy. We aren’t even allowed to look at them without permission!”

I mean, she wasn’t wrong. On the other hand, Jasher was the steadiest, most dependable and protective person I’d met in Hakeldama.

“A relationship with him won’t end well,” she stated.

“I don’t recall seeking your opinion.” Before I left for college, Dad shared a nugget of wisdom I utilized to this day. If you wouldn’t trade lives with someone, don’t follow their advice.

“I wouldn’t call it an opinion so much as a fact.”

We lapsed into silence, waiting for Jasher’s return. And waiting. Finally, he arrived, splattered in blood. Silent and stoic, he marched past us. We glanced at each other, wide-eyed, before rushing to catch up with him.

Our threesome resumed the trek, but we didn’t pick up our former topics of conversation. Leona was too busy issuing a rapid-fire stream of questions at Jasher.

“You killed all the trappers, right?”

“Those who tracked us, yes,” he replied.

“Is anyone else tracking us?”

“Not currently.”

“So we’re safe?”

“Never.”

“Do you⁠—“

“Enough.” His flat command finally quieted her.

Amid the silence, I got lost in my thoughts. Facts I’d been previously unable to process demanded consideration. Daniel Shaker wasn’t my biological father. He’d comprehended that truth, surely. My mother would’ve been noticeably pregnant when they met. And yet, he’d never mentioned the lack of a biological tie to me. Never even hinted at it.

My good hand balled. Why had most of the people in this land despised King Ahav and Queen Sandrine, royals who’d been “great” and “kind,” according to Greta? What did the prophecy that wasn’t a prophecy have to do with them? And it must connect to the pair. Why else would the old woman point me in this direction? Critical details were missing from the story. Jasher must know more than he’d admitted.

I wondered if the shadow ring on my finger represented the royal seal. But how did it sense danger and flood me with strength at critical junctures?

Hey! We had deviated from Dead Man’s Pass again. Why?

“—need to rest before I die,” a huffing Leona was saying as I pulled myself from my head. “That’s not too much to give a girl…if you’ve got a heart.”

Jasher remained silent, stoic and didn’t slow. Okay, so, he was in a mood. I didn’t bother asking my question.

Leona sniffled. “How can you be so cruel to me? I just lost my only home, my few friends. My very purpose!”

Been there. I almost—almost—felt sorry for her.

Still Jasher marched on. Nugget returned, chasing a rodent.

Light faded as evening approached. Just when darkness arrived in full force, we came to a majestic section of the forest with huge glowing mushrooms and purple flowers with glittering petals. Tree branches had grown together, forming a row of arches. A narrow river flowed gently at our right.

The beauty wowed me, which meant one thing. Dangerous. I stiffened, waiting for a new threat to appear. Minutes passed without a burn in my finger to signal genuine peril. Dare I believe we were safe?

“We’ll stop here for the night,” Jasher announced, dropping his pack.

Well, okay then. Guess he agreed with the ring. “I approve.”

The executioner dug a fire pit. I gathered sticks.

Not Her Highness, Queen Leona. “I’m starved,” she said, flicking her hair over her shoulder and sitting with the grace of a sovereign, her expression pinched and easy to read. Give me my supper, peasants.

“Then go foraging.” As the fire blazed, I poured Nugget a bowl of milk provided by Jasher, courtesy of Greta. Once the dog drank his fill, he settled in at my side near the warmth of the flames. He fell asleep, snoring softly.

“My skillset revolves around staying out of everyone’s way.” Leona batted her lashes with mock kindness. “You’re welcome.”

I looked to Jasher for help.

“I won’t be preparing a seven course meal.” He crouched nearby, busy riffling through the bag, revealing what else the old woman had packed. A bag of what looked to be carrots, potatoes and onions, plus a bunch of cookies wrapped in cloth I would be devouring at the first opportunity. There was also a small tin with mystery contents, two canteens of water, clean clothes, two thin blankets, a multi-use tool of some sort, and ten fist-size rocks.

As he removed the rocks, Jasher actually snickered.

Confusion set in, and I wrinkled my brow. “Do you usually carry around so many weights?”

“Greta likes to tease me about working harder.” He passed me and Leona a cookie. “There will be two courses. Dessert and soup.”

“Thank you, Jasher!” I snatched it up as fast as humanly possible, sinking my teeth into the treat. Oh, yes! The succulent taste of sugar thrilled every inch of my being.

The mayor shoveled the entire sweet into her mouth, crumbs falling out as she chewed.

“What’s in the tin?” I asked, attempting to savor the rest. In the end, I did just like the mayor and shoveled.

“Rain gear.”

Leona jackknifed to her feet, paling. “You’re expecting a storm?”

“I always expect a storm.” He searched my gaze for a long suspended moment, his irises heating. “But I’ll let nothing happen to you.”

Instant breathlessness. The urge to draw him struck hard and fast. First, though, I needed to trace my fingertips over his face to gain full knowledge of his peaks and hollows. I’d start with his lips. No way they were as soft as they appeared. I forced myself to look away.

“I’m not budging from this spot, so don’t go ripping each other’s clothes off,” Leona muttered, easing back down. “Or do. I’m bored and a distraction doesn’t sound half bad.”

He stiffened and stalked off, disappearing beyond a wall of foliage.

“You are the worst,” I snipped at her, giving chase. Nugget continued snoring.

“Hey! Where are you going?” she bellowed. “You can’t leave me here alone with the creature!”

“If you hurt my dog,” I called, “he’ll be eating your organs by morning. Bitter or not.”

I found the beautiful executioner standing statue-still in a small circular clearing lit by more luminous mushrooms, his face to the sky as he inhaled with purpose. An invisible weight rested on his shoulders.

Oh, man. I’d made a mistake, following. He required solitude. Intending to sneak off, I backed up a step. Not a noise did I make, yet he said, “You’re handling everything better than I expected.”

Okay, so, maybe he’d only sought a break from Leona. Understandable. “Honestly? I’m only handling it well on the outside. My mind is a mess.” I glided to his side and peered up at the sky, too. Colorful stars winked from a sea of black velvet.

“Go ahead. Ask the burning question you’ve somehow contained all day,” he said and sighed.

How well he’d come to know me, so quickly. “What can you tell me about the prophecy the Guardian is willing to kill to hide?”

Jasher’s mood dipped from strained to leery. “Water maidens claim King Ahav’s child is destined to return to Hakeldama and ends storms, sacrifices, and monstra.”

Every word hit like a bomb, exploding inside me. Me, some kind of hero? A promised protector. Please. There was no way this so-called prophecy pointed to me. “The king’s mistress must have given birth.” Yes, yes. A strong possibility. Most kings kept mistresses.

Jasher massaged his nape. “If he had another child, it’s the best kept secret in the realm.”

“Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” I rubbed my lips together. “Will the Guardian seek to kill me for my lineage?”

“I don’t know. Could he strike at you? Yes. Could he welcome you with open arms? Yes. Is a strike more likely? Also yes. He takes extreme measures to prevent storms.” A heavy pause. “Does this alter your plans to visit Lux City?”

“No. This isn’t my world. I want to go home.” But honestly? I wasn’t as eager to part with my guide. Jasher had kind of grown on me.

“And if I’m the one ordered to kill you?” Ferocity glazed his features, torching any hint of blankness. “I told you about the only girl I’ve ever loved. She developed a crimen, and I was forced to end her life to save a town.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Do not force me to end yours, too.”

My chest squeezed with compassion. And hope. Had he just admitted to developing feelings for me? “That must have been terrible for you, Jasher.”

“Yes, princess, it was.” Without the mask, he couldn’t hide his emotions. In those sunset irises I saw incredible pain, endless rage…and budding desire.

Tremors cascaded over my spine. “I won’t let you decapitate me. I’ll fight.”

He arched a brow, slightly amused. “You think you can stop me?”

“I do.” Emboldened, I stepped closer to him. So close I breathed his breath and shared my own. Desperate for true contact, I flattened my non-bandaged palm on his chest. His heart raced, proving I influenced him, and the knowledge was heady. “Because you’re going to give me self-defense lessons.”

“Is that so?” He rested his big, calloused hands on my hips. “What will I get in return?”

“More trouble, probably.” My gaze dropped to his lips. How soft, how soft? “What do you want?”

A slow smile spread, and I felt as if I’d won a great battle already. “I want you to stop filling my head with ideas I shouldn’t entertain. I want you to cease surprising me. I want you to not look at me with those stunning hazel eyes, making me feel things I shouldn’t. I want you…safe. Always.”

Head spinning.

“Your lessons begin in the morning,” he said, sliding his thumbs along my pantyline.

My heart raced in time to his. “Thank you.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, a shockingly intimate pose. “For now…”

“Yes?” I whispered.

“We have a visitor,” he finished with a wry tone, lifting his head.

“There you are,” Leona called.

Dang it! I had hoped, well, it didn’t matter now.

“Your creature is growing,” the mayor grumbled, “and I need you to be with me when he wakes up and decides to snack on my liver.”

Her whine grated. “The. Worst,” I grumbled right back.

We returned to the campsite. And yes, Nugget looked as though he’d doubled in size again. “How big is he going to get?” I asked, settling beside my darling to stroke his fur.

“Huge,” Jasher and Leona said in unison.

She rubbed her hands together. “Another cookie wouldn’t be amiss.”

We ignored her. The mushroom clusters illuminated the campsite more than the clearing, ensuring the surrounding gloom never snuffed out the fire as the executioner cleaned vegetables, plucked leafy greens from the root, and removed a pot and bowls from within a hidden compartment in a tree trunk.

“What—how,” I stuttered.

“My brothers and I come here a lot.” As water heated over the fire, he peeled and sliced the vegetables. It wasn’t long before a tantalizing aroma filled the air.

“And he cooks too,” I muttered. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“There is, yes.” His eyes landed on my lips, and his lids sank low, hooding.

I fanned my burning cheeks. There was no denying it any longer. This man stirred something new, exciting, and unexpected inside me. We might be doomed relationship-wise, considering we came from two different worlds, but we had time before my return home. Perhaps that was enough.

“If you guys will stop staring at each other and finish cooking, I’d appreciate it,” Leona announced.

Jasher pursed his lips and refocused on his task. I did my best to not shake the other woman.

“So. What do you guys know about those horned, winged horses?” I asked.

“The pegacorns?” His brows winged up. “What about them?”

“Yeah,” Leona interjected, her nose crinkling. “What about them? And what about those cookies?”

“Have either of you ever ridden a pegacorn?” I asked.

“How could we? They belonged only to royalty.” Jasher handed a second sweet to the mayor, who squealed and Cookie Monstered the treat. “When the king and queen died, the monstra wiped out their stables.”

Leona nodded emphatically, crumbs scattered over her chin.

Such a casual mention of my parents, without connecting me to their lineage. “The pegacorn are most certainly not extinct. I’ve seen two off and on.”

He went still. Canted his head. “When? Where?”

“After the cannibals. Here and there.”

“Perhaps you saw regular horses and imagined the horns and wings,” Leona suggested. “You’re an otherworlder, and you guys tend to spew ridiculous ideas.”

I worked my jaw. “Have you met many otherworlders?”

“A heaping handful, and you’re all the same.” She reclined against a tree, getting comfortable. “Always so desperate to return home. Like, what’s so special about your land that you’re willing to ruin someone else’s life just to get back?”

I frowned. “What do you mean, ruin another’s life?”

“The storm brings one and takes one. An equal exchange.” The mayor shrugged. “Think sacrifice and titleholder. A life for a life.”

Whoa. Hold up. Someone from Hakeldama died to allow my entry?

Recalling the man smashed beneath the chapel, I went cold and jerked my gaze to Jasher. “Is this true?”

“Some say yes, some say no.”

But what did he say?

Now might be the perfect time to confess. All I had to do was say, “The chapel crushed someone, and he wore boots like yours.” But I didn’t. Right time, wrong place. Leona did not need to serve as a third wheel. Besides, the dead guy wasn’t Jasher’s brother.

Except, what if he was?

My stomach curdled, and I almost declined a bowl of Jasher’s incredible smelling soup. Almost. In the end, I gobbled up every rich, flavorful drop. But having a full belly while cocooned in comfort welcomed fatigue. And not just for me.

Jasher handed me a blanket, then passed the other to Leona.

The mayor yawned and stretched out before the fire. “Want to cuddle?” She wiggled her brows. “I’ll keep you nice and toasty and you can help me be a better person. Apparently, attempting to rescue my sister Claudia from captivity is a crime worthy of getting kicked out of my village.”

“He’s sharing with me,” I announced without thought. Then her words registered, and guilt pierced me. “Maybe we can help you replace her. Where⁠—”

“How dare you! As if I have any interest in discussing my greatest source of torment.” Leona turned to her side, ending the conversation.

Jasher cast me a look and arched a brow, all we’re sharing?

Well, why not? I jutted my chin, basically shouting yes, dang it. “Can’t have you freezing and getting sick.” I spread the blanket on the ground, adjusted my dagger, and cuddled up beside Nugget, awaiting Jasher’s decision. Would he? Wouldn’t he?

A minute passed. Then another. And another. Guess he’d⁠—

He rose, closed the distance, and stretched out behind me. I swallowed a moan as he conformed his body to mine and wrapped a strong arm around my waist, sealing me against him, searing me with his furnace-like heat. His breath fanned my nape. His scent drugged me hard and fast, and his strength awed me. Mmm. The luxury! The sense of safety. The rightness. And oh, the way his (now) steady heartbeat lulled me into total relaxation. A melody more beautiful than the one produced by sirenes.

My breath hitched as Jasher dragged his hand up and wrapped his fingers around the compass nestled between my breasts. Though I agonized over what he might do next—what I wanted him to do—he remained still.

“Goodnight, princess,” he rasped.

“Goodnight, Tinman,” I rasped back, fatigue finally getting the best of me. My eyelids slid closed. As I floated away on an ocean of nothingness, a thought drifted through my mind. What if he comes home with me?

Soft growls awoke me. My eyelids popped open, and I jolted upright, expecting a threat. Trappers. A wild animal. Those winged monkeys or lions.

Sunlight poured over the camp. Leona slept on the other side of the firepit. Nugget sat beside me, staring at rustling leaves. I reached behind me, intending to wake Jasher, but he wasn’t there. Gah! One morning I would enjoy waking up to discover everything exactly as I’d left it.

I swiped up my dagger just as the leaves parted. The executioner came into view, and I sagged with relief. Then perked up with interest. Well, hello, Tinman. His dark hair was askew, his sunset eyes bright. Dirt streaked his brow and sweat wet his shirt, the material sticking to his broad chest. His muscles remained flexed.

Nugget quieted, as if disappointed, but I smiled. Until I noticed the redhead hanging over his shoulder, singing about love gone wrong.

“Patch?” I gasped out, waking the mayor.

The teenager twisted to look at me. Her lids narrowed. “You.”

“Who is she? What’s going on?” Leona demanded.

No one paid her any attention. “What are you doing out here?” I climbed to my feet, a blanket toppling to the dirt. Had Jasher covered me up?

“I caught her sneaking up on the campsite,” Jasher explained.

“Yeah, but only after you chased me around a bit,” Patch boasted, all smirk.

“You know her?” he asked.

“She’s a fellow sacrifice.” I leveled a frown at the surprise intruder. “How’d you escape the Governor’s Guild without causing a storm?”

“Henry and his dad released ten of us from our contracts.” Patch yelped as Jasher dropped her. She landed on her hands and knees with a pff, spit on his boots, then clambered to a stand and straightened her potato sack. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she sauntered past Leona, who scrambled backward.

When the redhead neared, the hair on Nugget’s back stood up like spikes. Patch paid him no heed, lifting the lid on the pot of leftover soup. No. Wrong. Not leftovers. Jasher had prepared breakfast while I slept. A new vegetable medley filled the air with the most amazing scents.

My mouth watered even as suspicions rose. “Why would the Wests do such a thing? I doubt either man suddenly grew a heart.”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Patch scooped out a generous portion of food into a waiting bowl and dug in. Before she swallowed her first bite, she said, “I took off and won’t ever go back.” Broth dribbled down her chin.

Or the redhead had, in fact, caused a storm. Were bounty hunters tracking her at this very moment? I didn’t see evidence of her mark. Maybe West did let her go, hoping she’d replace me and I’d welcome the enemy, allowing her to broadcast my location.

A possibility, though it wasn’t likely the Wests would leave anything to chance.

“I wasn’t aware the campsite was yours, okay?” She spoke while scooping in bites. “I smelled food. And don’t think you can steal my serpens-rosa. West has ‘em. Also, why aren’t you farther along? You had a huge head start.”

“Trappers delayed us,” I replied. And there went my appetite.

“They the reason you have a runt rabdog?”

“How do you know he’s the runt?” Look at him! My big boy had grown so much in such a short time. He was currently the size of a mini-pony.

“The way his eyes flash red. Wait.” She scanned the others with something akin to disgust. “You guys didn’t explain the deal with runts, did you?”

“They did not,” I said as Jasher glared at the girl, attempting to intimidate her into silence.

Patch huffed a defiant noise before licking her bowl and granting herself a second helping of soup. “See, the runt’s grow up to be bigger and meaner than their brethren. Once they make their first kill, a switch flips. They become obsessed with eating their litter mates, mother, and anyone else they perceive as a source of weakness.”

What! No. “Jasher would have mentioned something so catastrophic.”

He deflated a bit. “I hoped, for your sake, this one could be tamed.”

“You should kill him while you have the chance,” Patch said, unconcerned by my increasing upset. “Even the monstra hesitate to challenge them once they’re fully grown. That’s why the runts are left to die without exception.”

My gaze swung to Nugget. He peered at me with his sweet, puppy dog eyes and even wagged his tail. Love for him rose in my heart, a brilliant sun shining its light upon the entirety of my being. No. Just no. He would never harm me.

I jutted my chin. “You’re both wrong.”

“Don’t believe us then.” Patch downed the rest of her meal and belched. “One day, he’s gonna turn on you. But you’ll be too dead to hear me when I say I told you so.”