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Grung’s rules were not bound by mana. Fuck him. Nothing would stop Leaf from slicing his way through the competition. Nothing except… his hand paused an inch fromReckoning’s hilt as a wild notion entered his mind. He imagined Nova being ripped from his arms because he’d not followed these damn rules. He imagined his magic failing to protect her. He imagined her given to the runner-up. Leaf’s fist returned empty to his side.
Playing by their rules ensured Nova was safe until he found the opening to get them out—his horse included. This human was too important to him.
To Clarke,he corrected. Nova was important to Clarke and the other Well-blessed women. And to the Order. Not to him.
Before he set off, he warned a remaining soldier, “Touch my things, and you’ll lose your hands. Understood?”
The guard nodded emphatically. Leaf scrubbed his face and jogged into the forest.
It didn’t take him long before he found the first corpse. A vampire had been impaled on a branch protruding from a fallen log. From there, Leaf tracked the shifter’s path with ease. In their desperation to claim their prize, no one had been stealthy—a fact he had expected. One look at each soldier revealed most had erections. What little sense these males had would be stuck in their cocks.
A woman’s blood-curdling scream chilled his blood. He sprinted, pumping his legs and dodging branches. A shadow leaped from the cover of a tree trunk. Leaf blocked a punch, taking it on his shoulder. Snarling, he lashed out to grab the offender by the throat and slid his knife into a palpitating heart. The flimsy blade broke as Leaf registered shock on the shifter’s face.
He was the one who’d scented Nova.Fuck.
Before the first manabee popped, Leaf was two paces away, searching for signs Nova had come this way. The darkness made it difficult to tell.
The best tracker was gone, and so was Leaf’s weapon. He was foolish for believing this would be easy. Wiping his forehead, he continued jogging, hoping he was going in the right direction.
After dispatching two lying in wait and discovering five impaled corpses, he caught up to the captain. The orc’s green, sweaty skin glistened in the moonlight as he plowed through the forest. If he still ran, then he hadn’t found Nova. That scream belonged to someone else.
Hopefully.
Grung noticed Leaf chasing. He snarled and ripped a tree from its roots, tossing it behind him. Leaf vaulted over it, landing gracefully on the other side. A thud and cry of dismay sounded behind Leaf as the tree hit someone else.
The orc skidded to a halt. Broad, muscled shoulders heaved a lungful of air. They circled each other in the small space between trees. It would be difficult to maneuver. The forest was eerily quiet. No more thudding of footsteps. Only ragged breathing and Leaf’s pulse roaring in his ears. And the voice in the back of his mind whispering,Find her. Find her. Find her.
“Where is your knife, puny elf?” Grung chuckled.
“Inside your soldier’s heart,” Leaf drawled.
The orc’s humor died. “I let you join the hunt, and you kill my soldier.”
“Your rules didn’t mention otherwise.”
Anger simmered in the orc’s gaze, but he knew Leaf was right.
They both looked to where splashing filtered through the trees. That had to be Nova in the river, trying to hide her scent. Clever woman.
The orc bolted, crashing through trees in his way.
Leaf cracked his neck and took a deep breath. Then he gave chase. He spared no energy running after the orc. That voice in his head grew louder, more insistent. Branches whipped his face as he passed. Sharp things scraped at his flesh. But his eyes never lost track of the sweaty green skin. The moment they cleared the forest, Grung ran into the water.
The urge to fling a spell at the brute rose within Leaf like a wave of lava. He barely restrained it from releasing. The backlash inside him caused his head to feel like it was splitting.
He searched the torrential darkness and found no sign of Nova. He jogged into the water, his heart slamming into his ribcage. Grung’s enormous body barely fought the currents to remain steady. If he struggled to stay afloat, how could Nova possibly survive?
Leaf’s heart squeezed.
She couldn’t be dead. Surely she wouldn’t drown herself… Something cracked open in his chest. Despair. Grief. Agony. Why? He barely knew the woman.
But it mattered not. His lungs refused to work. His vision blurred, and he forced his gaze away… only to land on small, petite footprints leading away from the water’s edge further down the riverbank.
A flash of white in the forest caught his eye.
Nova.
Her moonlit face peered out from the shadows. Seeing him, she ran from the trees’ safety. Grung’s roar traveled across the water, almost ashore. Bursting into action, Leaf raced to meet Nova.
