Pretty Painful

by K. A Knight

I can’t wait.

  Dabria

  We soar over the city, heading for a strip of land near the forest surrounding it. I let both Mishal and Nyre search the city, knowing they haven’t seen it. I bet when they were here, it was nothing like it is now.

  Just a small village, how times have changed, he whispers slowly, and I can hear him wondering what else has changed, what he has missed.

  We’ll explore it all together, I vow.

  We soar above the city, making sure not to get spotted until Nyre takes us down and lands softly in a clearing in the trees on the outskirts. He tilts to the side again and I slip off his back, steadying myself against his side. His tail curls around us and he turns his head to see me, those giant, golden eyes unblinking. Grinning, I step up to his snout with no fear and drop a soft kiss where I can reach.

  “Thank you, Nyre,” I say softly, stroking his scales. They are solid, like metal.

  Always, mi cielo, kiss me again? he requests, closing those eyes like he daren’t look if I do.

  So, I lean closer and pepper kisses across his face, knowing they both need love.

  He purrs before stepping back, his body curling in on itself, and a flash happening before Mishal stands in his place. I cover the distance between us, flinging myself at him. He catches me mid-air as I wrap my legs around his waist, my lips fumbling until I find his and we both groan at the contact.

  “Missed me, little one?” he inquires, his hand rubbing at my back as the other grips my ass.

  “Always.” I grin, kissing him again.

  A soft smile curls his mouth, those black eyes locked on me. “Fuck, you are going to be the death of me,” he grumbles, gripping me tighter.

  “I guess we should find the warehouse,” I whisper, knowing we need to, but I’m dreading stepping foot back in there. I keep seeing flashes of Rachel’s body in my mind, and I know it will kill me if it’s still there when we crash that place. It will all become real again.

  “Little one,” Mishal growls, but I’m lost in my thoughts. My body is in his arms, but my head is stuck on the sight of Rachel’s body jerking when the bullet hits her. Again, and again on replay, like a stuck record, until I’m almost screaming in my head, begging for it to stop, like a car cash you can’t look away from, my eyes glued to her.

  “Dabria, you fucking look at me right now,” Mishal roars.

  Rachel, I sob, trying to reach for Mishal, but I can’t seem to find him.

  “I swear, if you don’t fucking look at me, I’m going to tan your arse red,” he threatens, and it cuts through the panic and grief. As if in slow motion, I raise my eyes to his, blinking away the tears.

  “I—”

  “Shh, little one, you just got lost for a moment. It’s okay, we’re here, I’m here,” he assures me, walking us across the field until we reach a tree, then he sits at the base and pulls me into his lap, holding me while I cry again. I don’t want to, it’s weak and I know we need to get moving, but I can’t help it.

  “Shh, let it out, we have time. It’s okay, little one,” he soothes, rocking me in his arms as his heat seeps inside my cold heart, warming me and forcing me to let all my pain out.

  “If she is there, it will be okay, we will bury her. We can offer her the rest she needs, little one. I promise you aren’t facing this alone,” he tells me, repeating it over and over again until my sobs slow to soft tears trickling down my face, the pain manageable and not all-consuming. I don’t even know what set it off, but I can’t pretend to be embarrassed.

  “You remember how I told you we killed our parents?” he asks and I blink, confused at first, before nodding against his chest.

  “We had hated them for a really long time. We were nothing to them but something else to control, more power to have. We grew up learning to fight and harness powers, as we were thrown into wars and tortured. Through it all we stayed strong, we believed in their cause, we believed in them.” He sucks a breath and I look up at him, noticing the faraway look on his face, he is baring his pain to try and help lessen mine, I owe it to him to listen. “What I never told you is we had a sister, not by blood, she wasn’t our parents’, but as kids we had adopted her. Her father worked on my mother’s wait staff and had no time for a child. She was such a little thing, wearing these pigtails that used to fly behind her as she ran, and she had this giggle that made you smile whenever you heard it. She was an innocent. Fuck, she was just a child. I guess each of us saw in her what we always wanted—happiness and family. She brought us together, we made her our sister, we protected her as much as we could and offered her a family like she had never had. Soon, they realised this. They never paid much attention to us, so we never bothered, but it turns out they had spies watching us. They saw our love for our sister as a weakness. How could we care for a human?” He shakes his head and I stroke his chest, letting him know I’m here.

  “One day, we were sent away on a mission, another slaughter, and when we came back, they were waiting. Her father was strung by his ankles above the castle door. We all kind of looked at each other and burst into motion. When we found them, in the sitting room, we froze. All the air was sucked from the room…there she was. Her broken, little body lay before the fire. She was still alive, but the things they had done to her—” He shakes in my arms. “But when she looked at us, those eyes lit up, she had believed the entire time we would come for her. That we would save her, she never doubted us, even though they hurt her. Fuck, she must have been about sixteen at the time. Just a fucking kid. They waited until we got there and they threw her into the flames of hell. We were forced to watch her burn, listening to her screams. We tried to get her out and one of my brothers was burned for his troubles. He should have died, but he didn’t. It set something in us free. The remains of our hearts, our loyalty, burned with her. Our little sister, just gone. I would never hear her laugh again, never watch her eyes light up when we showed her our magic or abilities. Just gone.”

  “Mishal.” I shake my head, crying tears for him and his brothers. They were so young themselves, forced to endure the worst thing possible. No wonder he understands my grief.

  “It was one of the reasons we decided to kill them. We plotted and planned for years, all the while playing the good sons. I hated it, pretending I didn’t hate them, but every time I looked at them, I saw her. Eventually, it was time. We killed them and we made it hurt, little one. They suffered for what they did before we tossed them to the flames as well.” He stops, sucking in a breath, his body racked with pain and old wounds.

  “What was her name?” I inquire softly, watching him closely.

  “Lilith,” he whispers. “Lilly to us.”

  “I’m so sorry, Mishal,” I whisper, heartbroken for him. I try to gather his pain, to take it for him, but he doesn’t let me.

  “I need it, little one, it makes me who I am. As does yours. I’m not saying it won’t hurt, it does, but the past builds us, it allows us to choose who we want to be now. I chose to be the person Lilly thought I was, not the one my parents did. Do you choose to be my mate? Do you choose to be nothing but the broken creature they tried to make you with her death, or do you choose to be the warrior I see every day?”

  “The warrior,” I whisper, before licking my lips and trying again. “Warrior, I want to be the warrior,” I say stronger.

  “The warrior and the dragon, I think they make a pretty good match.” He grins, both of us letting the pain flow through us but not overwhelm us. We let it fuel us and guide our decisions, knowing what the cost of life and making the wrong call is. We know death, we know pain and heartache, and together we will know love.

  Mishal

  We sat in the forest for a while as we rebuilt ourselves, readying for what might come. I’m constantly astounded by my mate’s strength. She picks herself out of my lap, her chin tilting up like a queen in court, and offers me her hand. “Let’s go and make them pay.” She nods and I grin.

  Taking her hand, I weave our fingers together b
efore dropping a soft kiss on her lips. “Together.”

  Leading her through the forest, we reach a curving road that heads into the city. I picked the end closest to the warehouses I spotted when flying over, so it shouldn’t take too long, but I would like to get my mate some clothes and not have her walk all the way naked—a dragon flying through the city and landing would cause too much of a stir.

  Grumbling, I push her behind a tree, ignoring her incredulous noise. “Shh, little one, stay there or I’m going to have to kill someone for seeing that body. Feel free to walk around naked all the time at home, but outside, clothes, clothes are good,” I mumble, heading to the road, completely naked myself, but I am used to it.

  The road isn’t very busy, but I wait until I spot a yellow vehicle speeding along, the word taxi painted along its side. I step in front of it and it squeals to a stop, the man behind the wheel gaping at me. I slowly walk around and he sticks his head out of the window.

  “What the hell, man? Why the fuck are you naked, were you robbed or something?” he yells.

  “Yes.” I shrug. “I need clothes for me and a woman, and a ride to the warehouse district.”

  “Eh, sure man. I don’t know if I have any clothes, definitely none that will fit you. Fuck, you’re a big bastard.” He gawks, getting out from the car. I don’t move back and he squeezes down the side of it, throwing me look as he mutters under his breath, before popping the trunk and rummaging through. My eyes go back to Dabria to see her poking her head around the tree.

  If he sees you, he dies, I tell her casually, and she sticks her tongue out and hides back behind the tree, making me smirk.

  He will give us a ride, it’s his job, just tell him you have money.

  We have no money.

  He doesn’t know that,

  “Hey, big bastard, I got a blanket and a spare shirt,” the man calls, slamming the trunk as he makes his way back to me, the items held in his hands.

  I grab both with a nod. “Wait here, we have money.” I turn and head back to my mate, leaving the man confused in the middle of the road.

  “Sure, err, I’ll just wait here!” he shouts cheerfully. “Weirdo,” he mutters when he thinks I can’t hear.

  I head behind the tree to a waiting Dabria, and pass the shirt over with a crinkle of my nose, hating that she’s going to smell like another man. It will drive my instincts crazy.

  “Why don’t you just bleed on it or mark it?” she jokes, going to grab it from my hands, but I pull it back with a grin.

  “Good idea, little one.” I pass her the blanket and she clutches it to her chest as I grab the shirt and rub it against my chest, making sure to scent mark it really well before passing it back over.

  She watches me with an open-mouthed, incredulous expression. “I can’t believe you just did that, why don’t you just piss on me and mark your territory?” she scoffs, grabbing the shirt and pulling it over her head, hiding those delicious curves from me. Leaning in, I sniff at it, happy it smells like me and her now, and not some strange man.

  I pretend to think about it, and she smacks my chest, muttering about men. Grabbing her, I kiss her hard before pulling away with a smug smile.

  “Here.” She thrusts the blanket at me and I grab it, wrapping it around my hips and tying it off so at least I’m not flashing everyone.

  “Come on, little one.”

  She takes my hand as I pull her back to the waiting man.

  His eyes pop when he spots her, but a narrow-eyed look from me has him hurrying to the back door and opening it for us. I let Dabria get in first, my eyes locked on the man as he cranes his neck, trying to catch a glimpse. “I wouldn’t,” I warn, making my voice deadly.

  His eyes instantly snap to mine and he cowers, racing back to his front seat as I slide in the back and slam the door. “Warehouse,” I bark, leaning back and pulling Dabria into my arms as the man starts his car.

  “Got it, you sure you don’t need to go to the cops or something? I have a phone,” he offers, glancing at us in his mirror.

  “No, warehouse,” I reply bluntly, and I look down to see Dabria smiling and shaking her head.

  “We are meeting a friend there, he’s a cop,” she lies. “They tracked our car to that location.” She gives the man a sweet smile and he relaxes, returning it before he speeds away.

  She cuddles into me in the back of the taxi as we hurry through the city. I stare out of the widow, my eyes wide at how much it has changed and how quickly the humans have advanced.

  “It’s all changed,” I whisper.

  She follows my gaze. “Yes, maybe for the better?”

  I nod, sitting back in the leather seats as the man expertly weaves through traffic. Dabria takes time pointing everything out and answering all my questions until by the time we get to the warehouse district, I feel like I know the city again. The driver pulls over at the curb, giving us a view of the warehouses surrounding us in the dark of the night. I don’t sense anyone close by and the places look deserted. I slip from the taxi, watching as Dabria leans into the man.

  “I’m sorry, we have no money. Think of it as your good deed for the day.” She grins before getting out.

  I hear the man swearing as he peels away, his tires squealing, leaving us alone here. Sniffing at the air, I catch the scent of gasoline, bricks, and rubbish, but under that I smell blood.

  “This way.” I wrap my arm around her as we walk along the first two warehouses, circling around the back and walking down an empty road until we come upon a gated warehouse, which looks deserted, but there are some cars parked inside the lot.

  “I smell a lot of blood here.” I sniff again, my eyes narrowing at the conflicting smells, it can’t be.

  “What is it?” she asks, obviously picking up on my thoughts.

  “Let’s get inside,” I growl, even more confused at what my senses are telling me.

  Ripping through the flimsy metal, I hold the hole open for her and she slips through, with me following after. I head straight for the door I see at the side of the warehouse, with Dabria on my heels, her hand on my back. The door is partially open already, and a waft of death and blood hits me square in the face. Dabria must smell it too, because her hand tightens on my back, but she doesn’t say anything, following my lead.

  Kicking open the door the rest of the way in, I surge inside only to freeze. Well, shit.

  Blood and bodies litter the ground, men in black with weapons at their sides tossed around like ragdolls.

  “Mishal?” she hisses.

  I look over my shoulder to see her fangs have dropped and her eyes are glowing, and I follow her gaze to see her glaring at one of the dead men.

  “Know him?” I query.

  A flash of his face laughing as he hurt her flashes through my mind and I growl, turning back to the body. Picking him up, I rip him apart piece by piece, flinging him away so that she never has to look at him again. In fact, I do it with the others as well, not wanting any of them to hurt her with her memories. When I’m done, I stand in the middle of the bloodbath and look back at her. She’s grinning at me and I glance down to see the blanket has come free and my skin is coated in blood and gore.

  “Thank you.” She blows me a kiss and I nod as we head deeper into the building, finding body after body.

  I give them the same treatment, and each time I feel a burst of love exploding through my mind from her. Finally, we find propped open double doors and when I step through, a growl escapes my throat. This is where they kept my mate, this is where they killed her sister.

  Empty cages stand in rows, and I spot a body of a dead man in one and plenty of blood, but no women. Stepping farther into the room, I close my eyes, letting Nyre look through me, knowing his senses are stronger than mine. I want him to confirm what I already know.

  Mishal, he growls, and I sort through the smells and information assaulting him, my eyes popping open as I turn to Dabria.

  “The women are gone, this place is empty.” />
  “Did the guards kill them?” she cries, wrapping her arms around her body. Her eyes keep darting to a spot near the cages, so I block her view of it, knowing that’s where they killed Rachel.

  “No, no this wasn’t done by humans,” I growl, my hands clenching into fists.

  “What do you mean?” she questions, confused.

  “I smell…changeling, fallen, and even a fucking nature supe. This wasn’t humans, this was our kind.”

  Dabria

  I gasp and fall back a step. “They killed them all? Our kind?”

  “No, it doesn’t make sense,” he growls, pacing before me, his head working so fast I can’t even follow his thoughts.

  With a roar he spins, and I race after him as he leaves the room and heads down the hallway. I see him checking if I’m still following as he pushes open a door at the end of the corridor and races down the steps, with me on his heels. A metal door is on the floor at the bottom of the staircase, and when we step through into what must be the basement, I have to cover my nose at the smells assaulting me.

  “You aren’t used to it, you will be soon,” he promises.

  Cells like the one we were kept in stand open down here and I look in each one, checking that no one is trapped inside until I get to one in the middle. It’s empty, the door closed, but something makes me turn the handle and swing it open. Stepping inside, I freeze as I smell myself in here and blood…is this where they kept me after Rachel?

  “Little one?” Mishal calls from the doorway.

  Stepping back, I walk into his chest and he wraps his arms around me, steering me from the room. We end up in an open room at the end, with computers in the middle, two broken glass cells on either side, and past that what looks like an operating room. I leave Mishal ripping through papers on the desk as I head there, something drawing me, calling me, until I stand at the foot of what looks like a dentist chair and the half-mauled corpse in it. If it wasn’t for the white coat, I might not recognise him. His face has been ripped off, and his chest and stomach ripped open and pulled free. Fuck, someone even cut off his cock. I spot it on one of the counters at the back.