Kingdom of the Zodiac

Chapter 6

Strong hands gripping under my arms and knees briefly pulls me out of my catatonic state. My head lolls backwards for a moment as my body is lifted from the frozen ground and into a warm embrace. My feeble attempts to shove myself out of the arms that held me are met with a vice like grip that only tightened the more I struggled. 

Too tired to fight any longer, I stopped pounding my fists into the stranger's chest and allowed my arms to fall loosely at my sides. Squinting upside-down, I could barely make out the dark outline of beast that had tried to eat me. The stench from its singed flesh burned my nose and caused my eyes to water. 

Shivering, I attempted to inch closer to the furnace that held me, seeking out its heat. I inhaled his scent, unable to contain the shiver that raced down my spine. It was a mixture of leather, citrus and sunshine. Deep rumbling against my ear told me that whomever now carried me was now either very pleased that I had just sniffed him, or very annoyed. I smirked impishly at my bizarre behavior.

I gazed up at the man who carried me, taking in the square jawline that was lightly dusted with dirty blond stubble. His proximity forced my neck to careen to hold his stare, watching as his eyes narrowed to thin slits. The white spots dancing over my vision made it difficult to really get a good look at him but I could tell that he was gorgeous, like Chris Hemsworth gorgeous. 

I gently lifted my fingers to graze his five o'clock shadow, only to pause when he released a growl in warning. His mouth, while pulled tight in a grimace, was full and sensual. Rolling my eyes at his tantrum, I continued my exploration of this bronzed adonis. I was clearly hallucinating from losing too much blood, so why not enjoy the show while it lasted? 

A rustling sound behind us caught my attention and drew my eyes away from his face, only to land on a pair of  giant grey wings protruding from his shoulders. They were massive, they were... tipped in gold? Mesmerized, I reached out to stroke one of the soft grey feathers, only for his grip to tighten as he shuddered.

"That. Tickles," he ground out through clenched teeth. 

The sound of his voice caused my eyelids to flutter and I fought to keep them open. His intense gaze swallowed me whole, slowly drowning me in the molten amber depths of his eyes. He was clearly not amused by my wandering hands, but I couldn't help it, I was curious. 

You look like an angel.

I must've said that out-loud because at that moment a dark chuckle poured over me like honey, causing my eyelids to droop.

"No little one," he shook his head gently, causing some of his unbound sandy blond waves to fall over his shoulder, "I'm no angel."

Giving myself a mental shake, I continued my train of thought. "So what are you then? Cupid? Wannabe Victoria Secret model?" I teased.

He continued to glare down at me as he carried me further into the woods. I probably should rethink my tactics, otherwise he might reconsider helping me. None the less, I could not help myself. I loved to mess with people, especially cranky ones.

"You're into cosplay huh? I mean I'm into role play and all, but I think you're taking this a little too seriously."

My snide remarks earn me a nasty snarl, "Do you ever shut the fuck up? And stop that persistent shaking, it's getting on my nerves."

Glaring daggers, I attempted to look as menacing as I could, "I am shivering because I almost died tonight, asshole, and because I am half naked in the woods in the middle of winter. Incase you haven't noticed, there's snow on the fucking ground."

"You've got quite the mouth on you don't you?" his eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Sure do," I stated proudly, "And, I am quite skilled at using it," I wiggled my eyebrows.

"In fact, I once..." I paused, wincing as he adjusted his hold on me. 

"Apologies," he mumbled.

My body throbbed with the pain of my wounds, blood still dripping from where the beast had bit my calf. It appeared as though my rescuer attempted to bandage my wounds but I was bleeding right through them. 

"I can walk, you know. You don't need to carry me," I did my best to sound convincing.

"You're full of shit. If I put you down right now you would collapse. You've lost too much blood, it's a miracle your still conscious." he stated.

"I'm sorry, I'm bleeding all over your nice jacket." I picked at one of the wooden toggles holding the leather ends together in the middle of his chest. 

"I appreciate you coming to my aide," I continued, "If you hadn't shown up when you did, that monster probably would have attacked me again. How did you manage to kill it?"

He quickly glanced down at me, raising an eyebrow, "You don't remember?"

"Remember what? How you killed it? No jerk-face, I was kind of busy passing out and all from being thrown against a tree," I glared.

"I am not the one who killed the Displacer Beast, little lion, you are,"  he nodded to me.

"No. You are mistaken I... Wait, what the hell is a Dis spacer Beast? " I did my best to sound out the foreign name.

"Displacer Beast? Nasty creatures. You're lucky it was only a juvenile, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation," his face remained stoic. 

"That, was a juvenile?" I stared in horror back at the creatures retreating form. 

He nodded in agreement, "I've never seen anyone kill one by themselves, let alone without any real weapons."

"I told you, I didn't kill.. woah, pump the breaks for a second. Did you just say that you saw me kill it? As in, you watched that thing attack me and did nothing?" I gaped, eyes wide in astonishment that he had been there the whole time.

"It didn't occur to you that I might, I don't know, need some fucking help?!?" I screamed.

He shrugged, lifting my body with the movement, "You seemed to be doing okay."

Rage consumed me. I was about to let him have it when he glanced down at my reddening face.

"Oh calm down, I would have intervened if need be, but it seemed like you had it under control," he smirked again.

Snapping my lips shut, I glared off into the distance, eyes beginning to droop from exhaustion. The world spun as he continued to carry me closer to a shimmering veil in the distance. Prisms of light danced across my vision.

"Wait, where are you taking m..." my eyes rolled to the back of my head as I slipped into unconsciousness once more.