Chapter Five
The Man With No Eyes
I’m done for.
The same three words from earlier echoed through her mind, louder each time than the last. Only this time, she knew it was true. There was no mistake this time. The figure approaching was none other than the being summoned to kill her.
How had he found her so fast? She could’ve sworn she arrived in Sylva only a couple of hours ago.
As far as she knew, the hunter didn’t have any magic.
He wasn’t a witch or a wizard, just a cold, relentless killer.
Somehow, he’d found her over and over again.
For a second, Nora couldn’t help thinking that this would be the last time he’d need to.
She thought to perform a spell and disappear again. She could try opening another portal. And then what? It would only take him a couple of hours, if not less, to find her. She turned toward Henry, who was frowning in the direction of the approaching figure.
“Help me.” Her voice came out as a croak. “Please. Do something.”
The hunter was drawing closer. Barely twenty feet away now and still moving through the crowd, heading right for them.
As he drew closer, she made out more of his features.
His blades were tucked in his belt, almost completely concealed from view.
He lifted his head a little, and for a moment she got a glimpse under his hood.
His lips were pressed together, his nose sniffing the air, and his eyes...
“He has no eyes,” Henry observed.
She stepped closer to him, her heart almost in her throat. Why wasn’t he doing anything yet? Right now, she was seriously considering opening a portal and leaping into it. The closer the hunter got, the closer she got to her demise.
To her surprise, the hunter paused suddenly, looking around, and sniffed in the air. He took another step closer, then turned, sweeping his head about.
“What’s he doing?” she wondered aloud.
Henry stepped in front of her. “I don’t think he can see us.”
Looking at the hunter, Nora couldn’t help but wonder if he was right.
The hunter had drawn closer to the animal rescuer tent, but he was looking everywhere but right at her.
It was as though he couldn’t see her—which wasn’t exactly much of a surprise, considering he had only bare flesh where his eyes should be.
Except...he’d been hunting her for over a month. He’d practically pursued her across the country, despite having no eyes in his head. How come he couldn’t see her now?
Hope flickered in her chest. Maybe it had something to do with Henry. Maybe the dragon shifter’s presence was affecting him somehow. That flicker morphed into a surge. Maybe he would leave, and never come back. Her problems had been solved.
To her horror, the hunter took another step closer to them.
Sheer panic clawed at her insides. “Henry...”
His expression darkened then. He pulled her close, turning as though to shield her from the hunter with his body. Nora gazed up at him, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. Or was it his heart? Her eyes searched his face, saw his lips part slightly. Henry’s chest heaved against her breasts.
And he kissed her.
***
The second his lips touched hers, Henry felt his world disappear.
He’d kissed Nora because it had been the only solution to their current problem that he could think of—hiding in plain sight and acting like a regular couple at a fair would certainly attract less attention to them than suddenly fleeing from the spot, especially if this blind hunter had other means of “seeing.” But right now, as his lips caressed hers, he was glad he’d done it.
Her lips were softer than he’d anticipated, and just warm enough to make him crave more of her. He felt more than heard her gasp, placing a hand on his chest. A split second later, she kissed him back. Her breath was warm against his nose, and he felt his quicken as their kiss slowly intensified.
It was hard to believe this was happening.
Admittedly, he’d wanted to kiss her—and more—from the second he saw her.
This woman...this hybrid woman...had a hold on him that he couldn’t quite explain.
As much as a part of him wanted to put as much distance between them as possible, he was drawn to her, drawn to protect her, drawn closer and closer to her.
Nora’s hand crept up his chest, her fingers flexing slightly as she reached his shoulder.
Her lips parted wider to grant him access, and she let out a tiny moan as his tongue found its way into her mouth.
Henry let his hand drop to her waist, pulling her closer so that his erection was brushing against her crotch.
She almost went wild against him, her nails digging into his shoulder. Her breathing grew almost frantic, their shared kiss more urgent, and if a sudden wolf whistle hadn’t jerked him back to reality, he might’ve found himself tugging her clothes off.
“Give us a show, why don’t ya?” a man’s voice called. “Or invite me. I wouldn’t mind taking turns with that beauty.”
It immediately dawned on him that they were still at the fair, and outside the tent, in full view of everyone.
He broke the kiss, taking a step back from Nora, and looked around.
Not surprisingly, they’d attracted a few gazes from passersby.
Some had smirks on their faces, others shooting disapproving glances in Henry’s direction.
He’d been so caught up in the kiss, he’d completely forgotten everything else. He spun, expecting to see the hunter still approaching.
But the hunter was nowhere in sight.
“He’s gone,” Nora said behind him. “I don’t think he saw me.”
When he turned to look at her, she looked like she’d just had all the air sucked out of her.
Her cheeks were a bright shade of red, and she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
Henry’s lips were still tingling from the kiss, his heart threatening to explode from his chest. The reality of what they’d just done was starting to dawn on him, and he suspected she felt the same way.
She looked a little shaken as well, which wasn’t much of a surprise.
The idea of being hunted for so long by a medieval-looking man with no eyes sounded like something out of a nightmare.
Not for the first time that morning, Henry considered going over to the Rubicon Valley stall for a couple of whiskey shots. With the way his day was going, he could certainly use a drink.
Overhead, the sun was climbing higher in the sky as noon drew closer. The crowd had thinned out a little, some of the townsfolk having entered stalls or left the fair for whatever reason. The noise had gone down, too, although he could still hear music blaring from speakers somewhere in the park.
He turned to face Nora again. This time, she was staring at him.
“How come he didn’t see me?” she wanted to know. “I was standing right here.”
Henry shrugged. He had a lot of questions that needed answers, too. “He’s got no eyes. Maybe that’s—”
“He followed me here this morning all the way from Texas. I portaled myself here, and he found me. He’s found me every single time I tried to escape from him. How come it’s different this time? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe...” He frowned, a possibility occurring to him just then. “I could be wrong, but...”
“But what?” Her golden eyes seemed to bore into his. “What is it?”
“He doesn’t have eyes. That means he must be tracking you through some other means. He’s not a wizard, is he?”
She shook her head. “Doesn’t use magic as far as I’m aware.”
“But what if he can sense it?”
Nora blinked at him, and he could practically see the gears already starting to turn inside her head. “What do you mean, exactly?”
“I mean, what if Sir Arthur here can sense whenever you use your magic? What if that’s how he tracks you?
You’ve been using magic to fight him, to get away from him.
A portal brought you here, to Sylva. And just before he showed up, you used some more magic.
That must’ve led him right here. Except you didn’t use any more of it.
Now he’s gone. Now, this is just a theory, but—”
“But it just might be correct,” she breathed. “He’s been tracking my magic. And since I didn’t use it this time, he couldn’t sense me. I was just a regular person to him.”
It was the only explanation that made the most sense to Henry right now. But it was still only a theory. For all they knew, the hunter could return for Nora, whether she used magic or not. At least he’d left them alone this time.
They headed back into the tent, Nora in the lead.
He watched her take her seat on one of the foldable chairs and felt a slight tug in his chest. The memory of their kiss flashed through his mind.
It couldn’t have lasted up to a minute, but he could’ve sworn they’d been kissing for at least ten.
Clearly, she’d been into it as much as he had.
She was just as attracted to him. For some reason, that fact tickled his insides with excitement.
It also filled him with dread.
When was the last time he’d felt this way, this attracted to anyone? Certainly not anytime in the past six months, or even in the past decade. No, the only time he could think of was about fourteen years ago, when he met Carmen, another hybrid. And just how well had that worked out for him?
The memory of his ex-girlfriend standing over him with that book of spells, chanting as the candle flame shot higher around them, flickered through his memory, and he clenched his jaw, doing his best to ignore it. She was in the past. Right now, he had another hybrid to worry about.
He took his seat at the table, right across from her, and asked the first question that arose in his mind.
“Why exactly is this hunter after you?”
Her eyebrow twitched slightly. “I told you already. I’m a hybrid.”
He shook his head. “That can’t be enough reason for your coven to want to kill you. Hybrids aren’t inherently evil, right? That means there’s some other reason you’re being hunted by some Sir Galahad wannabe. What is it?”
It made no sense for her coven to have sent a hunter after her, especially for so long. She wasn’t being hunted as some kind of trophy. This wasn’t that kind of hunt. Her coven must want her dead as retribution. But for what?
Nora swallowed. “I...I...”
He leaned closer, waiting for her response. “I’m listening.”
For a moment, her gaze darted toward the tent’s entrance, and he thought she might try to make a run for it. Instead, she breathed a sigh, placing her hands on the table in front of her.
“I’m being hunted because...I killed someone.”