Frost Bound (Entangled with Trickery #1)

Neve

Chapter Fifteen

Neve

He’d made a mistake.

Neve had assumed that Flyka could handle anything.

He hadn’t counted on a bloody dimedon.

Rage fueled him as he raced toward his Haunt.

A curse flew from his lips when the valles turned her mount around and raced toward Flyka. She was going to get herself killed. The creature swiped at Flyka, catching her thigh. His Haunt didn’t cry out, but pain rippled across her face as she tried to keep out of the beast’s reach. His mouth went dry as the princess released her reins and pulled a slingshot from her cloak, holding on to Anwen with just her thighs.

She fired, hitting the dimedon right in the forehead. The creature snarled, its attention now on the princess. Flyka maneuvered her mount behind the beast, slashing at its hindquarters. It bellowed and charged at the saloes . The princess didn’t slow and fired once again, hitting the dimedon. The bear roared as the projectile lodged in its eye. Horse and creature met. Anwen reared up, catching the human off guard. She scrambled for the reins and wasn’t quick enough.

Neve’s heart stopped as she tumbled off the back of the horse and into the mud and sand.

The valles didn’t move.

Almost there.

He urged Alastor faster, and hissed out a breath when the princess pushed her hood back and crawled away from the prancing horse and snarling dimedon. He balanced in the stirrups just as the creature spotted the human on the ground. It released a roar and lunged.

Neve launched off Alastor and onto the dimedon’s back. He yanked his sword from the sheath at his hip and stabbed the creature with all his strength. The beast cried out and shuddered, trying to claw him off its back. He didn’t let go of the pommel, putting all his weight into the blade. The dimedon wobbled, and then crashed to the ground beneath him. Neve didn’t move but held on tight, counting in his head. It was possible the creature was playing dead. They were intelligent.

Olwen, Eyri, and Flyka circled, their steeds prancing.

“It’s dead,” Eyri called, adjusting his foggy spectacles. “Its gaze has gone murky in its one good eye.”

Neve pulled his sword away and slid off the dimedon’s back, landing in thick mud. He held up his blade as he rounded the creature, his boots squelching with each step. His shoulders slouched as the cloudy eye stared sightlessly back at him. He stowed his sword and approached the animal. He ran his fingers around its broad head, searching for a marking. His lip curled as he found what he was searching for.

A circle with three twisting lines.

A brand. Qovving humans.

Neve cursed and ran his hands through his hair. This wasn’t one of the wild beasts that were native to the area. It was an animal trained to hunt by scent that had been sicced on them. It made him sick. He ran his hand through the dimedon’s wet fur and offered a few words to the beast.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he whispered.

He turned from the animal and looked to Flyka. “How bad is it?” he asked in Loriian.

“Manageable, but I need stitches.” Silver blood leaked through her fingers.

They needed to be out of Astera now . “Can you make it another two hours?”

“I’ll bind it tightly. I’ll let you know if we need to stop sooner.”

“Is she alright?” the princess called, slogging through the mud, her cloak covered in sand and muck.

Neve turned to her, fuming. He marched through the slop and the sleet. Towering over her, he pointed to the dimedon.

“This is what your people do,” he spat in the common tongue. “This is your legacy.”

She shook, staring up at his face in surprise, the little sprinkles across her nose standing out against her complexion. “Excuse me?”

He crowded into her space. “That animal was sent to find us. It was no accident.”

The valles blanched, all color draining from her face. “That’s not possible.”

His upper lip curled and he snarled at the princess. She yelped and tried to take a step away, but he seized her upper arms, yanking her against his body and lifting her slightly. “You can’t be so na?ve. It is branded . That creature is trained by scent. It had Flyka’s and yours. What do you think that means, princess ? Would your family sacrifice you so easily? Do you have so little worth? What are you hiding?”

A fire lit in her strange gaze as she glared up at him. “And what of you? Is this little charade to get rid of the princess of Astera? By my accounts, we’re close to the border.”

“And what would you know of my kingdom?” He leaned into her face. “You know what I think?”

“What?” she spat, bottom lip trembling.

“That you’re not so innocent after all.”

She laughed right in his face. “And you are?”

He seethed, his fingers flexing on her biceps. His nose twitched when a tantalizing scent of ginger and amber and sugar teased him. Neve’s mouth watered. He inhaled deeply, pressing a little closer to the princess.

It was her.

His enemy.

His little human loviaye .

He’d scented her like she was his proper mate.

Neve dropped her like he’d been burned. His hands shook as he backed away from the human. He pointed a trembling finger at her.

“Get back on your horse,” he commanded. “We leave now.”

The sleet did nothing to cool his heated skin or his temper. Every time he glanced in the valles ’ direction, he became angrier.

How could she have been so reckless? What was she thinking when she charged that dimedon?

Neve snorted.

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Rage burned in his gut when he caught Flyka wincing and pressing a hand against her wound. He frowned at the silvery blood that dripped down her trousers.

They would pay.

Whoever had attacked them would wish they were never born. No one hurt one of his people without seeing the consequences of their actions.

“ Lae reillov ?” Olwen called.

Neve squinted at his friend through the sleet. “What?”

“I can smell the weather turning for the worse. We need to stop and find shelter now.”

“We’re almost to the safe house. Just a few more miles. We need to get over the border.”

Olwen’s lips thinned, but he dipped his chin. “As you wish.”

The weather did indeed worsen to the point where he could hardly see in front of his horse. Sleet and snow pelted Neve from the heavens angrily, as if berating him for taking a human loviaye . There was no welcome to Lorriia. It felt like condemnation.

Some of the tension disappeared as he caught a glimpse of the old barn just ahead. He slowed his horse as Eyri sidled up next to him.Olwen rolled the doors open and waved his hand. Neve didn’t need to press the mount at all. Alastor practically pranced into the barn. Eyri, Flyka, and the human followed.

Olwen wrestled the doors shut, cutting off the wind and snow. It howled outside as if raging at being thwarted.

Neve sprang from the saddle and shook the sleet from his hair. While he had no aversion to the rain, the snow tended to seep into his bones after a while.

He turned to Flyka, who lifted her uninjured leg over the horse and perched sideways in the saddle.

She glared at the ground, and he frowned. His Haunt never did well when she felt vulnerable.

“Do you need help?” he asked softly, the scent of sweet hay and wet horseflesh filling the air.

She shook her head and peered toward the door. “No, Olwen will help me,” she said a bit louder than necessary. “Tend to the princess.”

Olwen strode toward them and helped Flyka off her horse. They limped to the side of the barn designed for living.

His mood soured further as he glanced at the bedraggled creature in the soaked brown cloak. Neve strode over to her, only catching a brief glimpse of her chin.

“Do you need assistance, my lady?” he asked through gritted teeth.

She hunched over farther, her cracked knuckles clenched against the reins. “No. I’m f-f-fine.”

Her raspy voice made him frown. She sounded nothing like she had this morning.

He crossed his arms as she slowly lifted her right leg from the shortened stirrups and twisted to face him. She jumped from the saddle and stumbled upon landing, her cloak wrapped around her awkwardly. Neve lurched forward and caught the princess by the elbows before she fell on her face.

What was wrong with her? This was the second time he’d kept her from falling on her face.

Her bones were so fragile beneath her skin. His fingers flexed on the wet fabric of her sleeve. He could crush her so easily if he wasn’t careful. Without his permission, his thumbs caressed the sides of her forearms.

“I said I’m fine.” The valles jerked out of his grasp, almost falling once again.

Neve scoffed. “Clearly.”

She tossed her hood back and scowled at him, her little blue lips turned downward. He blinked slowly. Blue lips? Her lips had been pink before. Were humans really so changeable? Could they shapeshift as well? Was he discovering a human secret?

Even as the questions ran through his mind, he couldn’t tear his attention from her mouth, pouty and bowed at the top with a fuller bottom lip. A low heat flickered inside his chest the longer he stared.

Blue looks good on her.

The errant thought jarred Neve out of his ludicrous musings. He took a big step backward, off-kilter. His hearts pounded in his chest as the princess ignored him and drifted toward the living area.

What the devil was that? Had he really been admiring the enemy?

There was something very wrong with him.

Neve tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling of the barn and rolled his shoulders.

It wouldn’t happen again.

At least he hoped.