Rivers of blood and sand

For the first five miles, the trees were dense and spaced out only a few feet apart. The sounds of chirping birds and animals rushing through the trees and underbrush was a comforting song. Rich scents of dirt, wood, and grass filled my senses, along with the telltale scent in the air that came before a storm. I was pretty sure the storm was still hours off, but I still kept my pace fast. I told myself I’d get through this quickly and wouldn’t be at risk of being caught out in the storm.

Every so often, I looked at my wristband and pulled up the map of the area, making sure I was still on track. The glowing spot marked off on the map was still a few miles out. As time went on, the space between the trees increased, putting at least ten feet between them.

I was checking my wristband again when I sensed someone else out in the forest. It was a complete shock since I’d been careful to listen to my surroundings, scenting the air for any out-of-place scents as I kept my head on a constant swivel. But even with all that, someone—or something—had somehow managed to stalk me for so long with me none the wiser. Whoever they were, they’d been smart enough to stay downwind of me. They’d also been careful to stay just far enough away that I hadn’t been able to hear them or feel their presence until now. How long had they been following me?

Keeping my body relaxed, I subtly dropped my right hand down to my push dagger and grabbed the T-shaped handle, but didn’t unsheathe it. Not yet. My dragon funneled energy into me, strength surging through my body as my senses enhanced to the point I could hear their steady heartbeat, and their near-silent footsteps as they drifted closer. Their steps were slow and measured, the way a predator would sneak up on its prey. Too bad for them, since I was nobody’s prey.

When they were only a few feet away, I unsheathed my dagger and whirled around, swiping out with my blade as I did so. Out in the Wilds, you didn’t hesitate. You attacked first and asked questions later.

They were closer and faster than I was expecting, and managed to catch my arm, holding the bicep and wrist of my right arm before I was able to turn around. Using the momentum, they pulled me against their hard body, and squeezed my wrist in a way that forced my hand to spasm, resulting in me dropping the dagger. I reached back with my free hand, releasing my claws and drawing blood. Before I could do more damage, my free hand was captured in their grasp and they moved me forward until my front slammed into a nearby tree. Throughout the entire struggle, I’d yet to catch a glimpse of their face.

Despite how hard I struggled, I was unable to get out of their hold. Worse, they pulled both arms behind my back and held them with one hand as if my struggles were nothing. I tried looking over my shoulder, trying to find out who I was dealing with. With their free hand, they grabbed my ponytail and forced my cheek against the rough bark of the tree. My shoulders protest the awkward and uncomfortable way they held my arms, nearly to the point of pain.

I wanted to summon fire and blast them away. To make them regret ever touching me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t since they had forced my palms together. The palms of my hands were the place my fire physically manifested. Only someone that knew I was a dragon summoner would hold my hands like this. It was impractical and difficult to do otherwise.

The only problem with this was that there should’ve been no way for them to know this. Even with using some of my dragon’s energy, I was still actively shielding her signature—it was second nature to me at this point and I didn’t have to think about it to do so—there was no way they could’ve sensed my animal.

The wind was still blowing in the other direction, preventing me from catching their scent. I knew they weren’t a summoner, I would’ve been able to sense their spirit animal lurking under the surface. Even with summoners who could shield their animal signature, you could still feel that there was an animal soul intertwined with theirs. It was hard to figure out what they were at this point, my senses going into overdrive as I tried to find a way out of this. Maybe if I stopped fighting and stayed still, I could’ve cataloged everything I noticed about them and their energy.

Not knowing their race put me at a disadvantage, which was only made worse by the fact they knew what I was. This didn’t stop me from struggling against their hold, kicking back, and doing anything I could to loosen their steel grip. Their response was to remove their hand from my hair and adjusted their hold on my hands so my palms were now pressed against the coarse bark. I could’ve attempted setting the tree on fire, but that was a dumb and impulsive move that would have the chance of hurting me more than them. I think that was why they put my hands here to begin with, because they knew I couldn’t do anything with my fire without screwing myself over in the process.

I threw my head back and tried pulling my hands away from the tree. My head smacked back into a muscular chest, doing no damage to them. My attempts at freeing my hands worked out just as well. They moved forward—not that there was much space between us already—and pressed the front of their body against the back of mine. Zero space was left between the tree and my body. I was now well and truly trapped.

Before now, I hadn’t been afraid. I’d been too busy focusing on how they held me and trying to find a weakness I could exploit to get free. With the way they had me trapped, I knew my chances of getting out were slim. Fear began seeping in, making my heart rate pick up as well as my breathing. Once it started, there was no stopping it or shoving it aside.

I was in a vulnerable position, pinned by a stranger who could do whatever they wanted to me right now and there was nothing I could do to stop them. No one else was around for miles to help me out of this.

There was no hiding my heavy breaths that had nothing to do with my struggle and everything to do with the tightness growing in my chest. It was unlikely whoever this was couldn’t smell the fear emanating off my body in waves. My lips were firmly pressed together, preventing any whimpers or any noises of panic from escaping.

A warm breath fanned the top of my head as they somehow managed to stay out of my line of sight. We’d been in this position for at least a couple of minutes but they had yet to do anything except hold me in place. What were they waiting for?

The anticipation of what they might do to me had my stomach in knots. The waiting was almost worse. My thoughts tried dredging up horrible what-if scenarios, but I forced them down. A fine tremor ran through my arms, betraying my fear. I would’ve been embarrassed by this if I wasn’t so terrified.

“This is why you don’t come out here alone without telling anyone where you're headed,” they whispered, their lips brushing my ear. My body sagged and I let out a long, relieved exhale. I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

My relief quickly gave way to anger at what he just put me through. “Do you get your kicks scaring women half to death?” It was rude as hell that Ander would toy with me like this, and the fact that he still held me captive against the tree.

Now that I wasn’t in survival or panic mode, I could feel a faint buzz of energy where his hands held mine. It felt similar to the energy all blood mages older than twenty-eight gave off. The magic from their permanent sigils was always funneling into their bodies.

“I was showing you how woefully underprepared you are for coming out here alone,” Ander growled into my ear, his warm breath fanning over the side of my face and I finally caught his scent of blood and incense. “I could’ve been anyone, done anything and everything to you, and there wouldn’t have been a damn thing you could’ve done to stop me.”

A fine shudder ran through me. “Okay, you’ve made your point, let me go.”

He didn’t move back like I hoped he would. Instead, he pressed even closer, something I hadn’t known was possible. His hands moved from my wrists to cover my hands with his. “I don’t think I have.” His tone sent another wave of shudders through my body. In a move that was the last thing I expected, Ander leaned down to the crux of my neck and bit down. Hard.