The little creature shook and sniveled at his paws, growing more and more pathetic with each painful second that passed. Thackery would have rolled his eyes even if she could see—but it helped that she was blind, and he could make his irises do summersaults without her squeaking in protest. Dear god . . . is she sure this “Melos” didn’t abandon her because she’s so fucking irritating? It looked as if the lass had given up long ago. She positively reeked of defeat, abject sadness clinging to her inky fur like a sickness. It actually made Thacks wrinkle his snout in disgust, the overwhelming scent obscuring her otherwise tasty blood-smell until he wanted to scrape his tongue against the dirt—just to have something better to focus on. When the girl sniffed uselessly toward him, seeking a cologne that wasn’t there, he only scoffed. “So you’ve met a leech like me? And lived? He must not have liked the way you smell any more than I do . . . or you’d be dead.”

The blonde monster leaned down to buffet her with his muzzle again, tongue snaking out to plaster itself against her crimson-damp pelt. She had started to cough, pitiful twitches of her body, and droplets of ruby spattered the earth. Poor kid . . . even if the beast she’d previously met hadn’t killed her, she was dying anyway. Maybe she’d always been weak, doomed to an early death. Thackery might even feel sort of sorry for her if his diamond-hard heart were capable of such an emotion. Almost gently, the savage prince continued to clean the blood from Tesa’s shadowy canvas, fangs extending until their glittering tips poked their way past his velveteen jowls . . .

“You’re hardly worth eating. Most of your blood has already leaked out of these wounds. But, hell. Maybe there’s something I can do to ‘help’ you. How does that sound, Tesa?”

He knew she would miss the malevolent glint in his carmine pools. The way his lips turned cruelly at the corners, his ears perking as he contemplated his next act. All Draven had to turn to Turn him was bite him . . . so to Turn Tesa, he should be able to do the same. Quietly Thackery opened his jaws . . . positioned his daggers toward Tesa’s nape . . . “I won’t lie. This will hurt like hell. But you’re already in pain, aren’t you?” His teeth pierced her flesh with pinpoint accuracy. Right between the shoulder blades. And his paws held her still, pushed into the soil, so she wouldn’t writhe too much when the venom finally entered her system.