Jayden walked to a huge fallen tree trunk and sat down as I took a seat next to him.
We sat in comfortable silence. “Thank you,” I whispered. “This was just what I needed.” He rested a hand on my knee and smiled, but didn’t say anything else. My heart swelled and also sank at the same time. There was no way I could fight Jayden in the culling. Even to save my own life. This whole culling situation was bullshit.
“Spit it out, girl.” Jayden must have seen that I was wrestling with something.
I chuckled. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
He nodded as if he understood. “I had a really hard time in middle school when it was apparent that I was different.”
God, middle school was awful. I had braces, weird boobs, and a fascination for rap music. I couldn’t imagine being gay on top of all that.
He winked at me. “Right, so I guess I understand the position you’re in. You’re very different. It makes me think of myself when I had no friends and no one to understand.”
My throat tightened with emotion. I wasn’t prepared for Jayden’s honest reply. I squeezed his hand, but before I could respond, a loud snap of a twig behind us caught my attention. Just as we were spinning to see what was up, a steely voice cut through the tranquility. “Well, well, if it isn’t the queen and the unicorn.”
Jayden and I jumped up. Three large ash were stomping towards us. I scanned their jumpsuits, able to make out the smaller numbers which were stitched into the upper right side of their chests. Numbers eleven, three, and thirty-seven. Two had black hair, and number three was a redhead.
Jayden turned to me. “Am I the unicorn?”
I nodded. “Of course you are, you have magical eyelashes. Besides, I’ve always thought I was a queen.”
One of the black-haired boys bent and scooped up a thick, sharp branch. Straightening, he glared at us. “You know it’s common practice to thin out the weak ash before the culling.”
I very much doubted that. The vampires wouldn’t like to lose their special type of fight club entertainment. Still, as they advanced on us, it didn’t seem like these ash cared much. I swallowed hard, knowing that any hopes I had of us not getting jumped had just went up in flames.
Jayden bent over and pulled a knife from his boot. Damn son!
“Who you calling weak, bitch?” Jayden’s voice had lost all gayness and was pure deep hardass. I decided he was my new BAFF. Best ash friend forever.
Jayden positioned himself in front of me as I grabbed a big a rock with a sharp point. I was more likely to injure myself with it, but I had to have something.
The redhead scanned me with droopy eyes and a sloppy grin. “Let’s kill him first and then have some fun with her.”
Fear ran through me as my grip on the rock tightened. I was feeling seriously pissed at my mom for gallivanting around with Carter right about now. I should be with Tessa scoping hotties at Starbucks, not this. Jayden lunged as two of the black-haired ash went for him.
The redhead snaked around him and came right for me. I was ready. I used the self-defense technique of “never let them get their hands on you,” skirting quickly to avoid his grasp, before managing to fling the rock straight at his forehead. It hit with a dull thud, and my strength was more than I expected as the skin split across his brow-line. His features hardened.
“Bitch!” he roared, stumbling for me.
His hands grasped my shoulders and he hauled me up and slammed me back against the tree. I cried out as I felt a crack in my side. It felt a lot like a broken rib or two.
Number three’s eyes were pulsing as he stared at me, his fangs lengthened. I remembered what Jayden said about my blood being irresistible. I didn’t know what happened when an ash bit another ash, and I didn’t want to find out.
Falling back on the best defense women have had since the dawn of time, I kicked him in the balls, hard, and he let me go briefly. I slid down to the ground, groans escaping as my entire body protested. This was definitely too soon since my fractured skull. I fought through the pain, knowing I had to get to my feet. This redhead dick would be coming at me again. And sure enough, his snarling face was lunging toward me when suddenly his body stopped and like … disappeared. What the hell? My side and head screaming in pain, I dragged myself up and came face to face with Ryder. Wearing a cold, menacing look, he pointed a sleek black gun at the redhead’s face and pulled the trigger. The snapping of the bullet made me jerk. Holy shit. Right between the eyes. Ryder had just killed someone like it was no big deal. I averted my eyes from the body. I knew that red had just tried to kill me, but still, his dead body was not something I wanted to see.