Sven the Collector by Denali Day

Author:Denali Day [Day, Denali]
Language: eng
Format: epub

6

Colette watched as Sven tossed a few more sticks onto the tiny fire they’d built. The heat of the flames licked at her damp under-shift, raising goosebumps on her legs. The serendipitous cave they’d found was narrow but deep enough they didn’t fear drawing predators with the flicker of the light.

Most of their clothes lay out on the ground as close to the fire as possible. Hopefully, they’d be drier by morning. With Sven’s torso bare, Colette didn’t even try to conceal her fascination as she gaped at those intricate scars. She could see Sven watching her from the corner of his eye and didn’t miss the subtle flexing of his muscles as he moved about their tiny shelter.

“What are they?” she asked.

“My idadi. My people mark ourselves for every kill we make.”

The man had dozens and dozens of marks. Glancing away, Colette sucked the last of the coyote fat from her fingers, surprised at how good it tasted. Room and board—all in the same tiny den. It was the only thing to have gone right today. Well, not so much for the former residents. She’d have to wash her bloodied arrows in the morning. Without looking up, she feigned casualty. “What kind of kills?”

“Yeti, imps, blood-seekers.” He shrugged. “A variety of things.”

Was he being serious? Those were not common prey. Most who’d seen the likes of them didn’t live to tell the tale. Suddenly, the idea of victory scars didn’t seem so extreme. Still. “Doesn’t it hurt like hell?”

Sven snatched up a rock and began digging a hole for the coyote carcass. “We grow accustomed to it.”

He was a hard man. That much was obvious. Had so much bloodshed darkened his soul? He was an ass to be sure, but was he also cruel? Colette wrapped an arm around her knees.

“Which marks are for the men you’ve killed?”

He paused, glancing at her from across the fire. “I haven’t killed any men.”

“Would you?”

Sven resumed digging. “If I had cause.”

“Such as?”

“If I feared death. Mine or that of someone I loved.”

Fair enough.

Colette considered everything she’d learned about him today. Before, she’d thought him a domineering brute. Now she knew he was a domineering brute who also possessed a gentle side. He’d recognized the danger they were in, acted quickly and decisively. He could have left her behind the moment she’d begun to slow him down. It would have been wiser. Instead, he’d fought her tooth-and-nail, enduring a broken nose and bloodied hand, just to keep her safe. How wholly impressive.

Damn him.

His task complete, Sven scooted around the fire to where she was sitting.

Colette released her legs and stretched her toes toward the flame.

When he was seated right beside her, Sven turned and raised himself onto his knees. Without a word, he swung an arm and a leg over hers and paused so he was crouching directly in her face.

Colette began to stiffen, but the devilish glint twinkling in his gaze compelled her not to give him a reaction. She forced herself

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