A Hunter, Hunted
WREN
In Grenbloom, the village where I grew up, the blacksmith’s forge is located a short distance from the small school I attended until my eighteenth birthday.
Sometimes, on particularly warm spring and summer afternoons, the forge’s yard would be a popular gathering place. The smithy’s apprentice, Jonathon Howard, and his friends would be outside, shirtless and sparring with old swords.
The clash of metal against metal would often draw a crowd, most of them women. I’m not ashamed to admit Amelia and I were often among them. We would lean against the wooden fence, a little away from everyone else, and admire the young men with their glistening chests and rippling muscles.
I always thought Jonathon and his friends were rather skilled, but it turns out, they were boys playing at being men.
But Gabriel . . .
Suns save me, he is not a boy, and he isn’t playing at anything. His movements are fluid, infused with power and grace, and they are as captivating as they are lethal.
My core warms as Gabriel swings his sword in an arch above his head before bringing it down on the other Hunter’s weapon. The clash is so loud, it reverberates in my bones.
Hunter Erlet, Gabriel called his opponent.
Hedran.
Even the man’s name makes me feel queasy. My blood chilled as soon as Gabriel had told me to hide, and a sickening feeling had settled in my stomach when the other man began speaking. When my Mark flared, the blue blindingly bright, I nearly threw up.
There had been a moment when I’d wondered whether Gabriel would change his mind and let this man take me.
My concerns had been for nothing.
Gabriel is fighting his fellow Hunter for me, and it means something that I’ll have to address later . . .
If there is a later.
There might not be. At least not for me.
Hedran knows I’m here, and he seems intent on getting past Gabriel to me.
I may not know many things about this world, thanks to my guarded upbringing, but there is no doubt in my mind that this man is dangerous. There’s a dark gleam in his eyes that speaks of death and darkness and pain, and I already know I’d rather die than go anywhere with him.
A shout comes from the woods, drawing my attention back to the fight.
Gabriel and Hedran are moving so quickly, I can barely keep track of them. Both are clearly well trained, and I’m not sure who has the upper hand at the moment.
Gabriel attacks, aiming for Hedran’s side. The other Hunter deflects his blow. A shift of his feet, a lunge, and now Gabriel is on the defensive.
These aren’t the practice blows the boys in the yard used. Each of these swings are meant to maim and kill.
My heart is racing, and my breaths are too short.
Nearby, Mist is circling the grey wolf.
The two creatures had initially tumbled, a ball of black and grey, but now they’re snapping their teeth and snarling.
After a few moments, I drag my attention back to Gabriel. I can’t look away from him for long. Hedran brings down his sword, aiming for Gabriel’s side. Gabriel blocks the blow, grunting with the effort.
The hilt of my dagger is pressed between my palm and the mottled brown tree trunk, and I dig my fingers into the bark. My soreness from earlier is long forgotten.
I can barely breathe as Gabriel’s steel clashes with Hunter Erlet’s again and again.
The ringing of metal seems far louder in this silent forest than it ever did in the smithy’s yard.
Each time the swords connect, the resounding shriek is a signal to all near and far that something is happening this evening.
Gabriel growls something too low for me to hear. Hedran laughs, the cruel sound sending skitters up my spine. I gasp, and he looks directly at my hiding place.
“Fuck.” The curse crawls out of my throat. I shift, pressing my hooded forehead against the rough bark.
For the suns’ sakes, why can’t the damned glow stop for once?
My heart is a booming drum, getting louder by the moment.
It doesn’t stop me from hearing the feline cry that fills the air, though, or the responding canine roar.
The sounds of the animals fighting has my chest tightening, but I dig my nails into the tree and force myself to remain still and stay hidden.
I am not a fighter, I tell myself. I’ll be in the way.
Once again, I’m reminded of how little I am prepared for real life. I was robbed of many things simply because I was Marked to be Given.
I have a dagger, but I don’t really know how to use it. Avoiding stabbing myself is one thing—gods above, doing such a thing would be awfully unlucky, even for me—but I don’t know how to use the weapon defensively.
If I were to try to attack someone, I’d never get close enough to use the blade.
The sounds of the fight are closer, and the wind carries male grunts of exertion to my ears. Eventually, I give in to my curiosity and peek around the tree once more, my heart lurching.
Gabriel and Hedran are right in front of me.
At some point while I was distracted, Gabriel removed his cloak. His back muscles ripple, his well-honed body moving with each swing of his sword.
My arms hurt thinking about lifting the heavy weapon, let alone being half as graceful as him.
The Hunters seem evenly matched, but what do I know?
They fight for what feels like forever. Shadows fall, the suns cede their positions to the moons, silver slivers in the sky.
The men are still battling. They seem to be drawing from bottomless wells of energy, but that can’t be true. At some point, this must end . . .
Right?
Gabriel brings his sword down. Hedran ducks. They parry, their blades slamming against each other, and turn in a circle.
Shadows lengthen even further, darkening the forest. I keep my eyes on the Hunters until Mist cries out, the pained sound twisting my heart. I look over to where she is circling the wolf.
Oh, gods.
Blood is dripping down her face, and she’s keeping her weight off her right front paw. The wolf is snarling, crimson matting the fur on his left side.
The animals growl, and then Gabriel curses. My eyes find him immediately.
Oh, suns. Oh, gods. Oh, no. Panic is a fist squeezing my lungs, and a strangled gasp escapes me.
Gabriel is cornered in a tightly packed cluster of trees, the trunks as wide as several men put together. There’s nowhere for him to run.
A scream rises in my throat as Hedran raises his sword, slicing downwards. Gabriel moves out of the way, but he isn’t fast enough. His sleeve gapes open, and blood streaks down his arm.
No, no, no.
That thing deep inside me grows barbs, twisting tighter and tighter. Forcing me to pay attention. Urging me forward. The only thing holding me back is Gabriel’s warning.
I don’t know what to do.
“You should’ve let me take her,” Hedran says menacingly. “It didn’t have to come to this.”
Their swords clash once more, a resounding shriek that I’ll remember for the rest of my days. Gabriel’s movements are slowing, and sweat is beading on his forehead. The red patch on his right arm has reached beyond his elbow.
“You can’t have her,” Gabriel grits out, blocking blow after blow.
With each movement, that wet patch grows and grows and fucking grows.
“When you’re dead, no one will stop me.” Hedran smirks as if he’s eager for Gabriel’s demise, and he advances.
Burning suns, there’s nowhere for Gabriel to go. My Hunter’s eyes widen as he seems to realize the same thing I do.
“I saw the posters,” Hedran taunts, slashing his sword. Gabriel groans as a crimson line blooms across his chest. “I know the girl is a pretty little thing.”
Another slash. Another red line. A pained groan from the man I’m supposed to hate. That I used to hate.
But why is my heart twisting? Why am I leaning towards Gabriel? Why am I swallowing a scream as the other Hunter mercilessly brings his sword down again and again.
“Perhaps I’ll taste her before I hand her over to the king,” Hedran suggests.
“No,” Gabriel growls, pushing off the tree. Staggering towards the other man. He ducks and twists, evading Hedran’s next blow. “I won’t let you have her.”
Metal sings as their swords meet once again. On and on, they fight, but blood keeps pouring from Gabriel’s wounds. Each of his movements is slower than the last. They are no longer effortless or graceful but filled with echoes of deep pain.
And then, in a move that’s too quick for my untrained eye to follow, Hedran disarms Gabriel and flings his sword deep into the woods, away from us all.
My hand flies to my mouth, muffling my cry as Hedran points his sword at Gabriel’s chest.
Panic twists my heart as Hedran forces Gabriel to walk backwards until his back hits the tree once more.
The other man keeps advancing. He presses his forearm against Gabriel’s throat and chuckles darkly.
The tussling animals yelp, but I can’t bear to look away even for a moment.
Hedran angles the tip of his sword towards Gabriel’s heart, and horror grips me in its clutches.
My Hunter struggles, trying to shove the other man away, but between his weakened state and the tree at his back, he’s caught in a trap.
Once a predator, now he’s prey. The dark irony has bile rising in my throat.
Hunter Erlet laughs, and the disturbing sound rattles me to my core, reminding me far too much of the head priestess who stole Amelia’s life.
Hedran is going to kill Gabriel. The knowledge settles in my stomach like a heavy stone, and I swallow roughly.
I can’t let that happen.
Even though Gabriel hunted me, even though we haven’t dealt with all the problems between us, I refuse to stand by and watch him die. I must help him.
My feet are moving before I can form an actual plan.
“Don’t!” I shout, my voice carrying through the forest as I dart out of my hiding place. My hood falls back in my haste, the sky-blue glow pushing back the darkness as I race towards the pair. “Don’t kill him!”
My fingers tingle, and a small fire burns in the middle of my forehead. Gabriel’s wide eyes meet mine, and he stops struggling for a moment as several emotions flicker through his gaze.