Mated to the Warg (Wargs of the Outland, #1)

The Bargain

"The key, Merrit." Rowan's breath fluttered behind her teeth like a trapped bird. "Hand Meera the key."

"What...what is that thing!" Merritt shoved himself up against the wall beside her, cursing. He was working himself into a paroxysm that was bound to draw unwanted attention from above.

"A mirok." She kicked him in the thigh to snap him out of his growing panic. "Give Meera the key! Now!"

Without taking his eyes off the monster in the roiling waves, he threw the key at Meera's feet. "What now?"

Rowan had no idea. She tried not to hurry Meera as the girl grappled with lock and key. At last, the cuffs snapped open and Rowan stumbled down onto her feet.

If the mirok was here for an easy meal, it gave no sign of being in any hurry. It was like a statue, unmoving despite the rushing water. They were all three on a very precarious ledge. The mirok wouldn't have to stretch far if it decided to gobble them up in one bite.

She shot a quick glimpse up at her mirok dagger embedded in the rock, knowing she couldn't risk yanking it out. She didn't want the she-mirok to think the worst. It was calm for now and she wouldn't risk angering it.

But why was it calm at all? Why wasn't it attacking them? Refusing to let her fear control her, she knelt low and met the mirok's gaze, trying to parse its intentions. But no sooner was she on her haunches than the mirok began edging closer. She held still, her shoulders knocking forward as Merritt scrambled behind her. Not that he had much room to move.

"What're you doing?" he cried.

She shrugged his hand off her shoulder, watching as the mirok inched ever closer.

Back in its lair, it'd charged at them with blatant wrath and rage. Its girth had trippled, its intentions dire. But now it approached with calm strokes of its long tail and a curious gleam in its eyes. She didn't know much about these creatures, but she did know the difference between a threatened mirok and an inquisitive one. And this one had eyes only for her, so she wasn't fearful for Meera. Only for herself.

The urge to flee was like a gale in her chest, whipping her heart into a frenzy. The mirok lifted its jaws fully out of the water and brought its gaping maw to rest atop the ledge. She dragged a gasp through her nose, frozen. The curved tusks were now abeam her white-knuckled hand.

Air gusted out of her lungs in a whoosh as she realized what it was holding in its mouth. She blinked, stunned. A mirok fang! Long and thick as a broadsword, and curved at the end. Her eyes shot up to meet its gaze. "You understood me!" Her hand shook as she raised it to her mouth. "Thank you!" she croaked, a knot thickening in her throat.

Carefully, she reached out and took the long fang by its thick root which served as a makeshift hilt. The mirok unlatched its jaws so that she could pull it free. When the sword was settled in her lap, she sat marveling at its ivory length and steady weight. She ran her finger along the rounded edge, brushing silt away, imaging all the ways she wanted to kill the queen. But how would she get close enough to wield this marvelous weapon?

The hall erupted with more of Hessa's repulsive laughter. Rowan's hands tightened on the ivory. Whatever was happening was likely happening to poor Thresh. The queen wouldn't risk assaulting Thrax yet, not until her venom worked its evil and made a lapdog of him.

She clenched her eyes, riding a wave oaf dizziness. There was still time, she told herself. Maybe for Thresh, too. Through the swirling and throbbing fog in her brain, something began to take form. Her eyes snapped open as a daring scheme began to form through the pain. The mirok gazed back, steady and unblinking.