Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
I t took a week just to get close to the herd. A series of storms slowed us down while the herd moved farther south when the ground got too muddy for them to find food. With each passing day, I grew more frustrated. I’d promised Patrick I would be back quickly. If it took this long just to find the herd, it did not bode well for returning soon.
Rath ducked into our makeshift shelter, his long hair soaked and his expression annoyed. I sighed heavily.
“It’s not going away any time soon, is it?”
He shook his head, sitting in front of the small fire. The others were just as unhappy about it, if the grumbles were anything to go by. Since the mud slowed us down just as much as the herd, we never hunted them during this kind of weather. But that just meant we were stuck here waiting until it passed.
“Do you think I am cursed?”
Rath looked up, his brow furrowed tightly in a frown. “What? Why would you ask this?”
I waved my hands wildly, my words rushed and frustrated. “Ever since I found Patrick, things have been difficult. I was not quick enough to find him before his injury, I scared him when we first met, and I could not protect him from Tavik’s hurtful words. Yami had to step in because I was too distracted to deal with it myself. Orthorr still has yet to agree to let me bond with Patrick, and should he not allow it, I will be forced to leave my clan. And now all this.” I thrust a hand at the storm outside our shelter, which answered back with a flash of lightning. I scowled. “We cannot go home until we get Morak what he needs, but the storm started the day we left. It feels as though I am cursed.”
“Do you think Patrick is cursed, and it transferred to you?” Rhos suggested.
Horrified, I whipped my head around to look at him. “Why do you think that he’s cursed?”
He lifted a shoulder from where he lounged on his bed roll, ticking off things on his fingers. “He was chased from his home, got lost in the forest, was hunted by a shadowstalker, and hurt himself so badly he cannot walk—all before he even met you. It sounds to me like he is more likely the one who is cursed, not you.”
Rath made a tsk sound behind his teeth. “No one is cursed. I thought the same thing when Finn arrived. He has been fine since our bonding. It will pass.”
Orvak, who sat near the entrance to the shelter as a lookout, glanced over his shoulder at us. “Perhaps it is all townsfolk who are cursed. You said Finn has been fine since the bonding. Maybe once he became a clan brother, the curse was broken.”
Pursing my lips thoughtfully, I considered it. A lot of what happened did revolve around Patrick. I didn’t want to consider the idea of him being cursed because it would only worry me more, being so far from him. But if Orvak was right, there was an easy fix for Patrick’s problem. I needed only to bond with him to keep him safe.
Of course, that was easier said than done. I still hadn’t gotten Orthorr’s permission to bond with Patrick. I hadn’t even asked Patrick if that was what he wanted. I felt like he would agree—he seemed happy with me—but a part of me was afraid to ask. What if he said no?
Rhos sat up, scowling at the rain. “I’m hungry. Whose turn is it to hunt dinner?”
We’d run out of the bread Patrick made us days ago. He’d mentioned that it would last if we were careful with it, but it was so delicious, it was too much to resist. My brothers and I were already planning on asking Patrick for more for our next hunt. I regretted being so gluttonous when we first set out. It would make me feel better if I had a little more of it right now.
“Verus and I will go,” Rath grunted.
I didn’t argue with him. Perhaps hunting would get my mind off of everything. There was nothing I could do about curses or the like right now, anyway. Not until I got back to Patrick.
Since the herd was in the plains, it was a journey to get to the closest forest for hunting small game. We tried to make our shelter somewhere in between the forest and the herd, but we still needed our stallions to cross the distance safely. We had to be quick while lightning coursed through the sky so we didn’t end up hurt, and it was faster to do that with stallions.
“Make haste, Dhellgas. The weather is against us.”
The stallion grunted, none too pleased about being left out in the rain for so long. Their shelter was only large enough to keep their food and heads dry. I was a little worried he’d refuse to hunt for the insult.
“I’ll make it up to you once we’re home,” I promised him. I was going to make it up to Patrick when I got back, as well.
With an irritated toss of his head, Dhellgas followed Rath’s stallion into a gallop towards the trees. The rain pelted my skin, cold and sharp, but I did my best to ignore it. I would only be more miserable if I focused on it.
We made it to the trees in record time, and I jumped off Dhellgas’s back and patted his side as Rath and I drew our bows. I got a nip as he walked off, but I didn’t comment on it. He was allowed to be annoyed. I knew I was.
It didn’t take long to find some evrach enjoying a meal. With the sound of the rain silencing my footsteps, I was practically upon them when I finally let loose my arrow. Rath did at the same time, killing two in quick succession. The ease of that hunt surprised me, and I shot a look at Rath, who looked just as surprised.
“Perhaps we should reconsider hunting in the rain?” I suggested.
He huffed, reaching for the evrach and twisting its neck roughly to ensure it was dead. “Let’s discuss it with the others. If it means we can get back sooner, I’m all for it, but not while lightning is in the air. It is too much of a risk.”
True, but the lightning wasn’t all the time. And mud or not, I could catch the coiwak. It might even mean we could catch more than one at the same time.
“Patrick?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I smiled at Finn, beckoning him inside. It was just me in the cooking tent. Yamileth’s bones didn’t handle the poor weather well, and after I’d proved I could cook enough for everyone, she finally took some time to rest. I was slow-roasting some meat for our supper, and I mostly stayed in the cooking tent to avoid Verus’s. It made me sad to be in there all alone.
Finn pulled off his cloak, wiping his face off on his tunic sleeve. He’d hovered around me and Zoya since Rath left, too heartbroken to be left alone for long. I liked his company, so I never said no to his visits, gesturing to an empty stool for him to join me. I handed him a basket of beans to prepare, giving his hands something to do while we sat out the storm.
“Does it always rain this much in this area?” he finally asked, leaning a little closer to the fire to stay warm.
I hummed, adding another log to the fire. “In the spring, yes. Not where you’re from?”
He shook his head. “I lived farther south, near Hartheim.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “The capital? I thought they didn’t participate in the treaty.”
He shrugged. “We were close to it but still far enough away that the capital refused to send soldiers to protect us. It took a few days to get me to the clan after I was volunteered. I didn’t realize the weather would be so different in the north.”
Honestly, neither had I. I’d never been south before. I didn't realize how close our town was to the barbarian’s winter hunting grounds. Granted, the forest between here and the town was massive, and I spent days wandering around, but still. Only a forest stood between our town and the barbarians during the winter season. I wondered what the mayor would do with that information. He’d probably freak out.
Finn sank in on himself a little, his lips turned down in a deep frown. “Rath usually keeps me warm at night. Without him, it’s hard to sleep. I’m always cold.”
“I was going to ask,” I admitted. Finn was tiny, with no body fat to keep him warm, and the tents didn’t have fires in them yet, except for the healing and cooking tents. Even I was a little uncomfortable at night, and Verus had plenty of furs in there to keep me warm.
Looking around, I considered our options. “We could stay in here?” I suggested. “Yami might complain, but at least we’ll be warm, and it would spare me from having to try to walk back to Verus’s tent with so much mud around.” I gestured to the crutches with a grimace. It was a pain to get through the muddy paths between the tents. I’d needed to request help twice already because I nearly slipped and fell just walking to the trench to relieve myself. If I could avoid it unless absolutely necessary, it felt like a win for me.
“Are you sure?” Finn asked, twisting his fingers anxiously.
“Why not? My home was above my shop in town. How is this any different?”