Chapter 13
Thirteen
R ath was gone for hours. I did as he asked and went back to the tent to wait, but it felt like time dragged on. I paced the tiny space, worrying my bottom lip with my teeth and twisting my fingers. Every time I heard someone walk past, I peeked out, listening to see if anyone was talking about Rath. A few mentioned the hunting group, but none said anything about him returning.
Supper time came and went. I was certain Rath wouldn’t be mad if I left to get something to eat, but I was too nervous to want to. My stomach churned uncomfortably, the worry eating at me, so I didn't even think about putting anything in it.
Eventually, I had to sit down or risk throwing up. I wrapped my arms around my knees, hugging them tightly, and willed myself not to cry. I berated myself for causing trouble, for putting Rath in danger by luring out a creature that was obviously dangerous. Hours passed with me doing that. I might have dozed here and there, but I was still berating myself when Rath came back. He looked exhausted, and his expression was grim. My stomach sank as I looked up at him, but he didn’t say anything to me. He took off his weapons, leaving them resting by the bedding, and crawled over me, burying his face in my neck as he held me tight.
“What happened?”
He shook his head, tightening his arms around me. I wanted to keep pushing, but he was obviously exhausted. He’d gotten up with me that morning, done dirty things with me, then spent the morning taking care of me before we were sent on the hunt. Even after his job was done, he had to save me and get me to safety before going back out. He was obviously tired. I couldn’t tell what time it was, but it felt late. Instead of pestering him for information, I hugged his shoulders and stroked his hair, soothing him like he did to me so often.
He fell asleep like that, lying on me like a blanket. For a while, I dozed with him, but I couldn’t seem to settle like normal. That foreboding feeling hadn’t gone away since I saw that creature in the forest. Eventually, I wriggled free of Rath’s hold, my bladder protesting going so long without relief. I thought about waking Rath to go with me, but I didn’t want to cause him more trouble. Instead, I took one of his smaller knives from where he’d left it beside the bed. I carried it with me to the trench, which I still couldn’t get near without flinching, and did my business before heading back.
Another wave of foreboding brushed against my back as I weaved between the tents to Rath’s. I was almost too afraid to look over my shoulder. I was sure it was just my imagination. I picked up my pace a little, only to freeze a second later when a familiar growl filled the air.
This time, the creature didn’t give me a chance to run. I barely had enough time to spin around before it leapt at me. My hands came up automatically to protect myself and I took a step back, tripping over a steak to the nearest tent. Tripping actually ended up saving me, because instead of landing on me as it probably planned, the creature leapt too far, knocking us both to the ground.
“Rath!” I screamed his name even as I felt the weight of the animal land on me. It let out a pained cry, leaping off me, which was when I noticed that in my attempt to protect myself, I’d lifted the knife I had borrowed from Rath. It didn't kill the creature, but it did injure it, blood dripping from its belly.
I scrambled back to my feet. Unlike when Vann hurt the creature, this time it didn't run when injured. It bared its teeth at me, crouching for another attack. I held the knife in front of me, my hands shaking so intensely, I doubted it’d do much good. Running wouldn’t help either. I was out of ideas.
Just as the creature leapt into the air at me, Rath shouted and tackled the thing. It didn’t even have time to react before he slammed one of his knives into the animal’s gut. The creature let out another yelp of pain, but Rath didn’t let go or jump back. He lifted his head enough to bellow into the creature’s face, jerking the knife hard and slicing through the animal in one quick motion. It went limp just as more clan members showed up to help. Rath shoved to his feet, covered in blood, fury coming off him in waves. He swung around to face me and I had to fight the instinct to flinch or jump back. Rath wouldn’t hurt me. I hoped anyway.
He must have noticed my trepidation because he approached slowly, the hand not holding a knife lifted in a calming gesture. He shushed me, stooping enough to drop his weapon before the other hand came up to do the same. I didn't understand what he was doing or why he was acting like that until he spoke to me.
“You are safe. You are okay.”
My gaze darted around as I tried to figure out why he was saying that. Was there another one? Did they come in groups? Did the whole camp need to move somewhere safer?
Rath’s hand was warm when it wrapped around my wrist. He pried the knife out of my hand, handing it off to someone else, but his eyes never left mine.
“Breathe, Korvash. You are safe.”
It was when he cupped my cheeks that I realized I was hyperventilating. My whole body trembled against his palm and my knees went out from under me. Rath caught me, pulling me against his chest. Zoya came out of nowhere in her night clothes and a cloak, appearing at our side with fear and determination on her face. Her gaze swept over us both in a clinical manner before she turned to me.
“I-I-I-” I couldn’t get any words out. It felt like they were caught in my throat and I couldn’t force them out, no matter how hard I tried.
“It’s okay,” she soothed, taking a deep breath and urging me to do the same. “You’re okay. Try to breathe, Finn, or you’ll pass out.”
I was feeling really lightheaded. I tried to do what she asked, but I couldn’t seem to make my body listen. My fingers dug into Rath’s arms, desperately reaching for that safe feeling that blanketed me whenever he was close. He wrapped himself around me so much that I couldn’t see or hear anything but him. His rapid heartbeat, his deep breaths, the strength in his arms as he held me. It helped, and I tried my best to match my breaths to his, listening to his heartbeat as it slowly came down to a more steady thump, thump, thump against my ear.
“Were you hurt?” Zoya asked Rath. My fingers tightened, worry rising again, but it quickly came back down when Rath answered in the negative.
“No. It had no chance. I caught it as it was leaping at him. I should have known better than to return until I found it.”
“Honestly, it’s a good thing you did, otherwise he would’ve been alone when it came for him,” Zoya argued.
“You were where you were supposed to be,” an older male voice said soothingly. I didn’t recognize it, but at the moment, I didn't care. I just wanted to get as close to Rath as I possibly could.
There was a flurry of activity around us, but no one seemed to expect anything from me. Rath kept me wrapped up in his arms and spoke around me, reporting to the older man what had happened in the forest earlier.
“How did you manage to get the thing twice without getting injured?” someone asked.
Rath turned, looking over his shoulder, and I could hear the frown in his voice. “What are you talking about? The kill was quick.”
“There are two stab wounds,” the person explained, and I could hear shuffling like they were turning the creature over to prove it.
Large hands rested on my shoulders as Rath gently pulled me away so he could look me in the eye. “Did you…?”
I dropped my chin, my bottom lip quivering. “I-I didn’t mean to. I tripped the first time it jumped at me and–”
Rath sucked in a sharp breath, yanking me back against him again. To my surprise, a tremor ran through him, much like it had me before he’d settled me. I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him as tight as I could muster, my face buried against his chest.
“I’m sorry.”
“Alright. I believe it is safe to say the danger has passed,” the older voice said. “Verus, alert the other hunters and everyone else, get some rest. I get the feeling we have a ceremony to plan.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that, and I didn’t care. It took a few moments for Rath to be willing to release me enough to walk away. We headed back to his tent, but then I remembered he was still covered in blood. We didn’t have anything to clean him up inside the tent.
“You should go to the river and clean up. I promise, I won’t leave again.” I’d caused enough trouble being where I shouldn’t today.
Rath shook his head. When I opened my mouth to argue, he pulled me against him again, resting his forehead against mine. “I can’t be away from you right now. I’ll survive.”
I didn’t like the idea of him being uncomfortable just because he was worried about me. So, despite how much I hated it, I drew him to the river myself and stripped down, leading him into the icy water with the most blank face I could muster.
Rath huffed, pulling me against his body. “You are not good at hiding, kolrav. You do not have to pretend.”
That word was new, and I wasn’t sure what it meant, but now wasn’t the time for a language lesson. I focused on running my hands over his skin, washing off all the blood. I wasn’t as cold as before, maybe because I was still numb from the panic, but I still didn't want to linger in the water if I didn't have to.
Rath took his turn, running his rough palms over my skin. Because I was cuddled against him, a fair amount of blood transferred to me, too. He wouldn’t let us leave until he was sure every drop was gone. Then, when we were both clean, he dried us both off and covered me with the cloth before sweeping me off my feet and marching us straight back to his tent. And instead of bringing me to the fire to warm me up, he warmed me with his body on top of mine and his tongue in my mouth until I was so worked up I came with a cry and ruined the efforts of our river bath. But when he followed after with a shudder, I couldn’t find it in me to complain.