Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
There was no further explanation needed to send all the girls running.
Sybil was by far the fastest, but Avalyn seemed to move the most confidently as she nocked her first arrow mid-sprint.
It took me a moment to get started, mostly because I found myself scrambling to get past the others to reach Mara.
She hadn’t moved an inch, instead staring down at her bow like it was some sort of snake that would bite her at any second.
She’s going to fail if I don’t help her, or at the very least go hungry.
I ran up to her, making her nearly drop the bow as I skidded up to her and showered the hem of her dress in snow. In true Mara fashion, she was shaking like a leaf, staring up at me with a hopeless expression that made her scar look so much deeper.
The king was still watching, and I could feel his eyes piercing me from over my shoulder. That monster, this was what he wanted. He knew I couldn’t resist saving Mara from going hungry after the times he’d starved her in the past. Helping her would put my own victory at risk.
He planned to use Mara to weaken me.
“D-Diaspro?” Mara whispered my name like a broken plea, looking uncertain if she even had the right to say it. “What do I do?”
Curse him, he’s right.
“Come on, we have to hurry.” I slung my own bow and quiver over my shoulder, then grabbed Mara’s hand. She ran with me, keeping up well despite her unsteadiness.
There were no spectators today, but that didn’t mean that news of today’s events wouldn’t make it back to the servants.
This might be one of the only events I could help Mara score in.
Hunting was a common pastime for royalty, including Damon.
There were no rules that I couldn’t kill something for another competitor to use; I just had to hunt down twice the game.
The icy air was brutal, but the morning sun provided a thin blanket of warmth that coated my cheeks. The forest was denser the deeper we ran into it, making it difficult to push through the prickly evergreens. Mara stayed close, not making so much as a peep as she placed her full trust in my hands.
Icicles dangled precariously over some of the tree branches, making it seem like even Aemastia’s forests were out to harm me.
We splashed through a narrow frosty creek, and Mara gasped as the icy water soaked through her boots.
The tiny gasp startled a bird in the trees, triggering me to snatch my bow and aim an arrow at the sky.
Too slow.
The bird was long gone before I nocked my arrow, and the trees were too dense for me to get a clear shot anyway. Damon wasn’t a bad shot, but Diaspro was rusty. If I was going to catch anything, I needed to find a clearing.
“L-Lady Diaspro,” Mara gasped, her warm air forming small puffs in front of her face. “Please, I don’t wish to burden you. I know how important it is for you to perform well in these events. If you could just show me how to hold the bow, then I promise I’ll—”
“There’s more to hunting than holding a bow,” I said softly, grabbing her hand again as I pulled us further into the woods. “I’m not leaving you alone out here.”
Something caught my eye in the snow, and I paused to crouch down and inspect it. When I led royal hunts in Ivalon, it was rarely this cold, but fortunately, deer tracks looked the same in the snow as they did in the dirt.
“Is that what I think it is?” Mara asked, sounding both hopeful and nervous.
“Come on,” I whispered, releasing her hand once more to draw my bow. We crept silently through the trees, following the tracks at a snail’s pace to ensure we moved more quietly than the wind.
“But, my lady, what if there’s only one deer?” she whispered fretfully in my ear.
I paused behind a thick shrub, lowering my bow to look back at my former servant and friend. “I left you behind in the last challenge,” I said. “But I don’t have to this time. If there’s only one deer, then I’ll only claim half.”
If the king will let me.
Mara’s eyes watered, and she shed a quick tear before wiping it away. “I don’t know how to thank you for your kindness.”
“You can start by surviving.” I smiled at her, then turned my attention back to my prey. The trees were thinner overhead, and the wind parted the bush’s leaves enough for me to see the smallest glimpse of a deer’s hoof.
Found you.
I stood to fire the arrow but didn’t get a chance to let it fly before my finger started buzzing like mad.
A warning?
There were no words, which in the past had meant that something or someone was coming. I scanned my surroundings, waving the bow around so Mara would stay crouched below me. I didn’t see anyone, but when I looked up past the trees, I realized that didn’t make me unseen.
The castle towers loomed in the distance, propped up on a cliffside, causing the hunting ground to live in its shadow. The ring buzzed again, and I couldn’t help but guess that someone was sitting in that tower window with a spyglass.
“See me?” I tapped out, squinting my eyes against the sun as I tried to make out any semblance of a window from that far away.
“Yes,” He replied almost instantly, confirming my suspicions. “Ava. Close.”
“Avalyn?” I whispered, loud enough that Mara caught on. She stood beside me, her brows knit but mouth quiet as she carefully kept from disrupting the hunt. “She’s close! Hurry!”
I pushed through the bushes, drawing my bow in a desperate race to catch my prey, but my stomach dropped when I spotted the fallen deer already being hoisted over the princess’s strong shoulders.
She straightened when she saw me, her dark skin glistening with sweat and snow like her tropical blood couldn’t be bothered to cool down.
Regret filled me as I looked at her prize with envy.
The hoof I saw through the leaves must have been from when it collapsed.
Atlas was trying to tell me that I was already too late.
Mara stepped up behind me, gasping softly as she took in the sight of the impossibly strong princess proudly holding a deer on her shoulders. Avalyn scoffed when she saw us together, rolling her neck with an exaggerated groan that allowed me to get a view of her ears.
Her earrings…they were turning her ears purple.
I narrowed my eyes on the tiny silver hoops that studded her earlobes, my thoughts whirling as I considered if that could be the source of her impressive strength. It would seem that I wasn’t the only person utilizing magic in this battle.
“Two against one, and you’re still too slow,” the princess said in a thick, elongated accent. “I suppose it makes sense that someone as scrawny as you wouldn’t know how to catch their own meal.”
“Unfortunately, the servants here believe me to be a picky eater,” I said, matching her tart expression. “At least, that’s what I presume since they feed me as often as a bird.”
“If castle life is so rough, then perhaps I should put you out of your misery.” Princess Avalyn scowled, making no effort to hide her distaste for me. “Sadly, my hands are full, or I would have gladly put my next arrow through you.”
Mara staggered back a step, but I stood my ground as I took the princess’s verbal lashes in stride. I wasn’t sure what stories the king had spread about me to the others, but he’d done a good job of sullying my reputation.
“What have I done to offend you? It’s not as if I’m going to steal your deer,” I said.
“What you did was worse; you stole us from our beds and dragged us from our families,” the princess growled, her heavy accent mimicking that of an angered predator.
She adjusted the deer on her shoulders, then turned to leave while still muttering to herself.
“The only reason any of us are here is because you were too choosy to pick a husband. Now the rest of us have to put our necks on the line for a set of puny men.”
She disappeared into the trees, leaving Mara and me with empty hands and flooded thoughts. I had figured that was the source of her anger, but I didn’t realize how deep it ran. Mara may have been on my side, but she might be the only ally I’d get at this rate.
“She’s wrong, you know,” Mara said from behind me. “This isn’t your fault. You were only trying to survive.”
“I could have married Lochlan,” I reminded her, looking over my shoulder to see her shake her head.
“No one could survive that.” She smiled, and I returned it as I readjusted my grip on the bow.
“Come on.” I extended a hand to her. “Let’s go find another deer before—”
My ring cut me off, the buzzing so fast that it forced my heart to pound with it. I froze, scanning my environment like my life depended on it while the ring continuously rattled my hand.
I don’t see anything…
“Look!” Mara said brightly, completely unaware of my panic as she pointed toward a set of bushes. “Something moved over there. Maybe it’s a rabbit!” She ran toward the sound before I could stop her, and the buzzing sped up.
“Mara, no!” I ran after her, tackling her to the ground. She squealed from the impact, but I barely heard her over the sound of the arrow whizzing over my head.