The vilge may as well be a site of ruins with how much the vegetation is overgrown and rotting of the buildings. I was hopeful that we would arrive to buildings that were still in good standing order, but I see now that was wishful dreaming. It would be better to start from the ground up than to risk staying in one of these buildings. Some look as though a strong gust of wind would be enough to send them crashing down on our heads. A groan, followed by several more, sends a ripple of unease through my veins. The sound comes from what little remains of the vilge and not from those behind me.

  Something is among the rubble.

  I sniff.

  Rot. Death. A putrid scent underneath the flowery smell of the vegetation. It could mean nothing.

  Another groan. The vegetation trembles under the weight. Several enemies, then.

  “Megan.”

  “Yes?” She pced a hand on my arm. Her hair is pulled back today in a low ponytail. I like when her hair is down, but I also enjoy when her hair is pulled back and away from her face because it shows off the green of her eyes. I could stare at her all day and not be bored. She is wearing a pair of dark pants and a tan sweater. It is not clothing that is fit for walking, but I carried her most of the way here.

  “Do not freak out. There may be the undead in this vilge.” There could be something else here, but the smell of death is too fresh to be anything other than the undead. I sniff again. There is a scent of magic that lingers as well.

  Megan’s grip tightens on my arm. “Don’t freak out and zombies do not go together.”

  “Stick close to me. We will eradicate whatever is residing here and then I will hunt down the source.” If the undead in this vilge are anything like those in the Undead Forest, then disposing of them should not be an issue. “The wood is rotting, and it would be easier to start from the ground up,” I say, speaking louder so all our companions can hear. With a snap of my fingers, the buildings are set abze.

  The groans grow louder, turning into shrieks so shrill, it makes my ears lie ft against my skull. An undead fails out of a building and into the middle of the vilge. The bck fmes eat away at its decomposing flesh. A twinge of guilt hits me in the gut. So, those that stayed behind were turned into mindless beings, to be used as entertainment for a dark mage or several.

  “R—roharu,” it croaks out, falling to its knees. The fmes spread from its legs to its back. The smoke mixing with the smell of rot is as vile as a carcass that has been left to rot in the middle of a town for weeks, cooking under the heat of the hottest month, and its bile and blood mixing to create a toxic goo like substance on the ground.

  I stiffen. The undead do not talk. They do not have any intelligence about them, for their souls should be long gone. It bothers me that the creature knows my name and yet I cannot recognize what or who it used to be.

  “Who?”

  Something like that of a smile breaks across its face before its jaw breaks apart and falls onto its p. The ck of blood would be disconcerting if I was not already aware of the mechanics of the undead. A purple light descends, creating a cast that reaches the sky. The clouds that were once there are gone. The sky is now a light purple that borders on vender.

  “Megan,” I hiss, gncing over my shoulder. This change is her doing. Is she praying for their salvation? Surely, she must know that there is nothing left.

  The buildings colpse with a thud. The groans lull into a hum. Megan stands behind me with her hands csped together, covering her lips. She opens her eyes and tries to give me a smile, but her lips falter.

  I gnce back at the undead. All that remains is bck ash. The buildings continue to burn. Zika’s fire is hotter than mine, but he cannot control how far it spreads. The sky turns back to its original color, a light blue with clouds forming. The groans are no more.

  “You care too much.”

  “You felt bad for it,” Megan says, taking my hand. “I feel just fine. Didn’t overdo it. Promise.”

  I bite back the retort and instead turn around to address the others. The journey has been difficult on them. It is clear that they were not accustomed to traveling such distances. Katsuro’s words float to the forefoot of my mind. In times of peace, the citizens have become x.

  “We will work on building an inn and then move towards building our individual homes.” I meet Katsuro’s eyes. He jerks his head in agreement.

  “Then let us draft a blueprint,” Bazur says, rotating his right arm. “A celr would be useful to help with storing our food for the winter months.” He cps his hands and addresses his people. “We need to move quickly so we have some housing for the night.”

  A ripple of agreement goes through the crowd. The young yawn and rub at their eyes. Chloe cracks her neck and then rubs her left shoulder as she walks towards the young. Her hair is braided into two rge braids. She wears loose-fitting pants, or cargo pants, as she told Katsuro and me.

  “Come on, guys. There’s something we can do too.” She motions at them to walk forward. “You guys can come with me too,” she says to the other females.

  Megan lets my hand go, but I wrap my hand around her wrist. She needs to stick close to me.

  “I need your input on the design.”

  She narrows her eyes, searching for something, and then gives in. “Alright. I’m not an architect, fyi.”

  “Fyi?”

  “For your information.” She blows out a breath. “We could sketch something in this dirt before transferring it to paper.” She looks around and grabs a stick. “When I think of an inn, I think of lots of rooms on the second or third floor. There’s like 25 or so of us? But most of us will room together, so I don’t think we need to start with that many rooms.”

  “Twenty should suffice,” I say. “Unless there are any objections?”

  “Not from me,” Bazur responds. He motions to the stick and takes it from Megan. “It would be beneficial to be close to a water source, so we do not have to make as many trips while we are rebuilding the vilge. We’ll need to add plumbing and start with separate bathing areas until each room can have its own space.”

  “You don’t have to go through all this trouble for me,” the saintess says.

  I ignore her. How many more ways must I tell her that this is for my mate and not for her?

  “We need to get the barebones down today before night falls and the chill sweeps through. Katsuro, you and Bazur are to lead the males. Gather enough wood to create this structure.” I point to the crude drawing in the dirt. “Apollo, you are to gather dinner.” I reach into my bag and pull out a wooden basket for him. It is rge enough for him to carry, but light enough that he should not have any issue with the extra weight.

  “What of the undead?” Zika questions. “We only saw one. Is it safe to let Chloe go off with the young?”

  “Megan took care of it,” I reply. “But I will go in search of the dark mage before they have a chance to summon anymore.” They should come this way, sensing something is wrong. I will strike then.

  Megan makes a noise.

  I fsh her a smirk. “You have not tried it.”

  “If I try one bite, will you drop it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Uh? Try what?” the saintess asks.

  “A dark mage’s heart,” Megan says with a grimace. “It’s full of nutrients if Roharu is to be believed.” She takes the stick back from Bazur and modifies the sketch. “I’m not eating it raw, though. It needs to be cooked and then I can pretend it’s like a thigh or something.” She holds out a hand. “Can I have some paper and a pencil? I want to get this down before it gets messed up.”

  I hand over the supplies and roll my shoulders back. “You have your dagger?”

  “Always. Be back before it gets dark.” Megan clutches the items in her hands as she looks up at me, her back to the others.

  It bothers me how much the saintess watches us. We should have left her back in the temple and washed our hands of it. We cannot save everyone. I give the others a look, telling them to get a move on it. They disperse, leaving the saintess and Zika behind, who urges the saintess to leave with him, but she does not budge.

  I frown before turning my attention back to my mate. She is beautiful.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You’re beautiful,” I say, brushing my thumb across her cheek. I lean down and kiss her. Her scent spikes with desire. Soon, I will feel my mate underneath me once more. My cocks twitch. I pull away before the need becomes too much. “Tonight.”

  She stares at my lips with eyes half-lidded, a dazed expression on her face.

  “You should go before...”

  Now I do not want to, but she is right. I need to take out that dark mage before they can create any more issues for us down the line. Nor do I want them getting a whiff of Megan. They can have the saintess if it comes to it.

  “I will return before nightfall. Keep your dagger ready and stick close to Chloe.” I back away before I am tempted to take my mate with me. Casting one st look at Zika, I give him a nod and then take off, following that underlying scent of magic in the air. It is a subtle scent. Citrus like.

  The forest is quiet. Never a good sign.

  I jump onto a branch and cast my shadows to keep myself hidden from view. I am about ten miles, give or take away from the vilge.

  Voices.

  A soft murmuring. More than one dark mage, then. A pain. They always have a trick up their sleeves, but perhaps these mages are rusty from only fighting against beasts. Or perhaps they do not fight at all, since they use their abilities to summon the dead. I narrow my eyes at the figures below.

  They speak in a tongue foreign to me, but I do not need to know what they are saying to know they are upset. Their hand movements are frantic. One man paces back and forth, throwing his hands up every so often, before poking the other dark-haired man in the chest with his finger.

  Humans.

  That is interesting. Humans in the eastern nds. I run my tongue over my fangs and wait for the perfect moment to strike.

  Thud. Thud. Thud.

  My ears lie ft against my skull. My muscles tense. What is that sound?

  The brown-haired man stops and points in the direction of the sound. The tree shakes from whatever is approaching. I sniff, taking a long inhale, and grit my fangs.

  Death.

  Rotting flesh.

  Have these dark mages lost their minds? I gre down at them. The green bushes are crushed under the weight of the footsteps.

  An army of the undead.

  The dark-haired man shakes his head and then sps his forehead. He yells something at the brown-haired male. Even if I kill them now, it will not dispel the magic. Still, I promised my mate a heart tonight.

  The army marches forward. One undead stops in front of the dark-haired man and thrusts its arm through his gut. His scream is silent, but the blood spluttering from his lips is not.

  I snap my fingers, spreading bck fmes through the undead, while forcing the other mage to stay in position with my shadows.

  This one’s heart will do. Megan will love it.

  AutumnBanks

  Thanks for reading! Roharu just cannot resist offering Megan a heart. A romantic. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!