Chapter Eighteen
Calista
“Moon’s curses.” I leapt to my feet, dropping the remaining food.
Within seconds, the Ironcliff hunter stepped out of the pines behind a shield. The massive thing had clearly been built to shove and trap. From the look in his eye, he had every intention of using it to capture me.
He could try anyway.
“Hold your ground,” the Black Wolf snarled, setting himself at my left and half a pace back. “I’m not allowed to break him unless he breaks the law.”
“I didn’t ask you to break anything,” I shouted back. “I’m more than capable of handling one Wolvryn hunter by myself.” I slid one crescent free and left the other to sleep at my back. My rope, however, was at the ready.
“I’m charged with keeping you breathing, remember?” My guard didn’t smile. His voice went quiet instead. “And I intend to.”
The Ironcliff hunter, clad in maroon armor, charged, putting a hasty end to the discussion.
I met his shield with my crescent, rolled, hooked the rim with my rope, and yanked. The male stumbled, stance easily broken. Eyes wide with surprise, he swung for my shoulder, but I ducked and clipped his knee with my blade.
He hissed out a curse, glaring down at me. “Who knew Hollows were so proficient with blades?”
“When you’re born without claws, you learn to make do.”
He charged again before I got the final word out. I whirled out of his way, my small feet more nimble than his big, unwieldy body.
The Black Wolf never struck, but I could feel his presence everywhere.
Violence rolled off the massive warrior in waves, as if holding himself back was costing him everything.
He stole space at every chance, shoulder angling, boot edging, so the hunter’s lines kept collapsing as if by his own missteps.
“Move back,” I gritted over my shoulder.
Then I yielded the ground on purpose, cut right and scrambled to the broken ledge I’d marked minutes earlier. The Black Wolf moved tight on my heels, hulking body protecting mine and the Ironcliff hunter followed, much slower in armor.
I sprinted across the cliffside, dodging loose rocks as I ran.
The hunter wasn’t quite so lucky, tripping over a crumbling edge.
He hit the ground hard, his armor clanging through the stillness.
As he struggled to rise, I pushed myself harder.
We dropped down into the pines on the far side of the cliff.
“Go, go!” The Black Wolf shouted.
For once, I did as instructed, never looking back.
Pumping my arms, I darted through the pines with my guard at my side. A few minutes later, we were deep in the woods, hidden by shadows.
Selraya, we’d lost him.
“Heathcliff will be no more than a nuisance.” The Black Wolf finally slowed beside me. “It’s Thornwild and Stormhallow we must be most wary of. Their Alphas are out for blood. They know what claiming you as theirs would cost the king.”
“His pride?” I couldn’t help the quip as I caught my breath.
“It’s more than that. There’s history there…”
“Trust me, I’m not planning on getting caught or claimed by any Wolvryn on this Hunt.”
“Good girl.” There was something about those two words that slid heat behind my ribs.
I quickened my pace, putting some distance between us.
“Listen for the river on your right,” the Black Wolf called out, lengthening his stride so all thoughts of warmth leeched right out. “If it fades, you’ve drifted wrong.”
“I know.” My breath was steady now, calm even.
Time blurred, the ache in my muscles a constant irritation. But I never stopped. Years of training, of running around our abandoned isle had made me strong. Stronger than most of these savage daughters, despite their inner beasts. I was certain of it.
We jogged through the pines until the night thinned to pewter ahead of us.
Stormhallow Fields waited where the ridge lifted and the grass shivered in the cold.
If we made that rise by dawn, the plan would hold.
Hopefully. I was sure the Nightreef hunter would try again, and Ironcliff couldn’t be far behind.
I patted the frost-wolf sigil in my pocket, the one the king had given me. For a reason I refused to name, it brought some sort of solace. An end goal. Then I touched the wolf figurine dangling from the cord at my neck, warm against my skin. There was no way out now, only through.
“East to the next river then north to the fields.”
“On you,” the Black Wolf replied.
We moved as one.
We finally reached the cliffs above Stormhallow Fields with dawn creeping up in the east. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest, but I kept moving.
Trudging along the narrow ledge, I kept one eye ahead and the other on the treacherous drop to my right.
The Black Wolf suddenly stopped, and I nearly plowed into his hulking frame.
He cocked his head, listening, then tapped two fingers against the rock face.
A narrow seam opened into a cleft I never would have seen.
I nearly cried with happiness at the sight. “How did you…?”
“I know these lands like the moon knows her tides.” He slid inside first and offered a hand I refused on instinct. Once I squeezed into the space, he steadied me anyway with a light touch at my elbow.
The cold lived in the cave like a permanent resident, but at least it was shelter.
And hidden. An icy chill sliced up my spine as the sweat blanketing my skin suddenly turned frosty.
The air smelled of salt, wet stone, and old ash.
As I walked around the dark cavern, he crouched by a blackened ring.
I watched as he coaxed a thumb-sized flame from flint and tinder, then fed it pinches of dry moss he found on the ground.
Within seconds, a little fire took, no larger than my cupped palm.
Thank the goddess. That was certainly a useful trick.
He glanced up at me. “We have to keep it small. Only enough to warm your fingers, but not enough to attract company.”
I held my palms over the glow and tried not to sigh. He removed the Wolvryn mask again, then shrugged out of his cloak and set it at my back, over my own. The sudden warmth was shocking, and heat climbed up my throat for a different reason entirely.
“Eat something,” he murmured, passing me a bundle of oilcloth. “Half now and half when you wake.”
My stomach grumbled in response.
We ate in complete quiet. I was too exhausted to think let alone speak.
The cave seemed to breathe along with us.
Out beyond the mouth, the wind combed the frosted grass of the high fields and the river whispered along its stones.
Once we moved further north, there would be nothing but snow-covered terrain.
Another chill skated up my spine. The other competitors were at a distinct advantage when it came to the harsh weather.
Wolvryn ran much hotter than typical Fae, and without that wolf to keep me warm, the next few nights would be torturous.
The Black Wolf withdrew the map from his satchel and stretched it across the flat stone floor, drawing my attention. He sketched the river bend then the field ridge, and finally a temple mark further north where the Lupherium would give us sanctuary for two hours.
“Here,” he said, tapping the map. “We cut west with the grain of the fields, then north to the marker stone. The Nightreef hunter will favor the gullies, and Ironcliff will likely try the ridge again. Stormhallow will read the weather for signs and charge straight up the middle of the isle.”
I nodded, pretending to follow along. “You’re pretty good with those maps, and you seem to know the other hunters well.”
He made a small sound, not quite a laugh. “Hopefully well enough to keep you from getting killed.”
The fire cast a soft shine along his stubbled jaw.
I glanced up, still not quite used to his face.
Or those light eyes that seemed to notice everything.
I allowed myself a second to fully take him in by the firelight.
The straight nose with a small break, the pale scar across his dark brow, and the raven hair mussed by salt and wind.
Moons curses, the male was even more attractive when illuminated by the flickering flames.
Diverting my gaze, I focused on his calloused fingers fiddling with a sprig of dried moss. Those hands looked like they could build or break with equal ease.
“What can I call you?” The question slipped free. “Not just my guard or the Black Wolf. Do you have an actual name?”
He studied me for a long heartbeat. “Everest.”
My brows rose. A part of me had expected an argument like the one with Savage. “Everest,” I repeated, tasting the shape of it.
“If you prefer something else—”
“No, it fits.”
His mouth tipped. “Your turn, Calista. Not the name, since I already know that. I’d like the truth. Tell me about you, about your life on Hollowcrest Isle.”
“Why do you care?”
He lifted a casual shoulder. “We can sit in silence if that’s what you prefer.”
“I do.” But I didn’t, really. So after a minute, I found myself thinking about his question.
“I usually train before sunrise because the day belongs to work. We work hard and we work often. We don’t get many choices in Hollowcrest. And when the Savage King came for me, for once in my life, I wanted a choice and a chance to really help my family, my people. ”
“And, what about your family?”
I could have lied. I should have. Instead, the cave, the small fire and the steady way he watched me loosened something I always kept tight.
“I have a sister, Suri, named after my mother, Suriel.” My voice trembled in a way I hated. So I opted for a safer topic. “But the people of Hollowcrest are my family too, and they’re suffering—” Then I snapped my jaw shut before I said more than I should.
He listened without moving, and something in my chest resettled, less jagged somehow.
“I did not expect to say any of that,” I admitted.
“Chaos has a way of stripping words to their bones.” He drew in a breath and leaned one shoulder to the wall. “Thank you for trusting me with them.”
“I don’t trust you,” I snapped.
The big brute had the nerve to look insulted. “I hope that by the end of the Hunt, you will.”
His eyes held mine, steady. I felt a strange sense of familiarity in them, as if I had spoken to him for years and not hours. I blamed the Hunt. I blamed lack of sleep. I did not blame the warmth curving low in my belly.
I’d never been one of those females who went distracted over a pretty face. Even Jameson had never made my stomach flip-flop.
This was different entirely.
My guar—Everest set the pencil aside, then tucked the map back into the satchel. “Sleep a little. I’ll keep watch.”
“You will not. You need the rest as much as I do.”
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” A smirk. “I know the signs when I’m near exhaustion, and I am not there yet. You on the other hand…”
“Are you saying I look half dead?”
“Your words not mine.”
With a grunt, I tugged his cloak tighter around me, and the scent of cedar and frostmint oil enveloped me in warmth. It was oddly pleasant. I forced myself to lay on my side facing the fire and glanced up at my guard. “Before I close my eyes, I have a question.”
“Ask but be quick. You don’t have much time to rest.”
“Why did you agree to accompany me on the hunt?”
“Because the king asked it of me.”
I was surprised by his word choice. It would seem a king would make demands more than requests. “And do you always do what your king asks?”
His head dipped, a hint of amusement brightening azure eyes. “Of course. He is my Alpha, and I live to serve.” His answers slid under my armor the way his hands moved, clean and sure. It left me off balance in a way that was surprising.
“One more…” I held up a finger. “If I reach the throne first and speak my edicts, could the king refuse to honor the rite?”
“Never.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I know him.” He said it like fact, essentially putting an end to the topic.
I heaved out a breath and curled deeper into the warmth of his cloak. “I can’t help but wonder if this was a mistake—”
“It wasn’t,” he murmured, then he paused for a moment. “You kept your word to yourself, to have a choice, to win something important for your people. And trust that I will keep you breathing while you do.”
“You keep speaking like vows,” I whispered, eyelids suddenly heavy.
“Perhaps I was built for them.”
The fire ticked, and a breath of wind moved somewhere deep within the stone crevice. I watched the embers until they started to blur.
“Everest,” I muttered, nearly asleep and possibly delirious from exhaustion. “If I’m captured by another Court, what would they expect of me?”
He heaved out a breath. “Likely they’d have you marry their Alpha, once the gift from Selraya emerged. It would be a means to strengthen their own standing within the Conclave, and all of Lunaris.”
My gift. I’d been so consumed with thoughts of the Hunt, I’d barely had a moment to consider it. It had been an entire year since I’d been chosen, and I hadn’t felt even the tiniest flare of power. Perhaps, Selraya’s gift didn’t work on Hollows.
Wouldn’t that be ironic?
He must have noticed my bleak expression because his eyes flashed. “You need not worry about the other Courts. I will always keep you safe. From anyone and anything.” There was no hesitation in his words.
Relief loosened the last knot inside me. “Thank you.”
“Sleep, Calista.”
I let my lids slide closed despite the Blood Hunt churning outside and the anxiety churning within. I dreamt of rope in my hands, a king watching from the cliffs, and a shadow at my left that always kept pace.