The fact that Noctis was in the house and had prepared dinner for us would probably have appeased me under different circumstances. Now, I did not even take the time to answer his surprised outcry, hurrying into my bedroom to fetch my bow and swing a quiver of arrows over my shoulder.
He was waiting for me when I returned to the main room, his expression tense as he barred my way.
“What do you think you are doing?” he asked, catching sight of the weapon in my hand.
“The cursed beast has done it again,” I growled. “I need to take care of this fox problem. Permanently.”
He stared at me as if he could not believe the words spilling from my mouth. “You want to spend the night outside,” he said, enunciating every word as if they would make more sense that way. “With one of the deadliest of the Chiasma, a horde of Rakash, and who knows what else lurking around, you want to spend the night outside to hunt a fox.”
“I have no choice,” I snarled. “Or all my chickens will die.”
Noctis closed his eyes and murmured something to himself. With a deep breath, he focused his intense gaze on me again and reached for the weapon in my hands. “Give me that bow.”
I tried to move around him. “No.”
The bastard just picked me up as if I weighed nothing and set me down in front of him again. The fire burning in his eyes as he leaned closer, not letting go of my arms, was so fierce it rivaled the dark flame that had blazed within them when he was still a god. “Give me that bow, Rada,” he growled. “We both know you are a terrible shot.”
“I am passable,” I retorted, fighting in vain against his unrelenting grip.
Noctis laughed in my face. “If that beast is not as big as a barndoor, you won’t hit it in the dark.” With a sharp twist, he stole my bow from my hands. I opened my mouth to curse him, only to suddenly realize he was moving toward the front door and not the bedroom as I had anticipated.
“You’re coming with me?” I asked, following him outside.
He stopped abruptly in front of the house. “Can I make you see reason somehow and you will return to the house with me?” When I didn’t answer, he sighed and continued walking. “I didn’t think so.”
“So where should we be on the lookout?” I asked, attempting to dissolve the tension between us. Despite the sun having long since set, the air remained balmy as we made our way across the courtyard.
“There’s a rise in the field behind the henhouse,” Noctis answered, his stony expression betraying no sign that he accepted my pitiful attempt at a truce. “Though I doubt it’s comfortable.”
The infuriating man didn’t slow his pace for my shorter stride, forcing me to run after him. Silence fell as we settled on the spot he had indicated. Noctis took an arrow from me and positioned it on the rise, the henhouse in perfect view. The full moon cast a soft glow over the grass.
When the silence between us stretched unbearably, I finally broke.
“Are you honestly angry at me for wanting you to help protect the people I care about?” I snapped.
“I’m not angry,” Noctis replied, his eyes fixed on the grassy field before us as if something unendingly exciting was unfolding there. “You saved my life. You give me room and board. That’s a lot more than I should expect from someone who condemned me to death ten years ago.”
He still thought I had cast the vote that sealed his fate. Suddenly, I couldn’t let that misconception stand any longer.
“I didn’t vote for your death,” I confessed.
He glanced at me, his face a tapestry of secrets woven by shadows and moonlight. “Don’t lie to me, Baradaz,” he commanded. “I recall quite well my brother’s words as I lay prostrate in the Temple of Order, waiting for my sentencing. The vote of the Ten was unanimous.”
“It was,” I answered honestly. “But I asked to be exempt from the vote.”
A surprised intake of breath, followed by a long, heavy silence. “I see,” Noctis finally said, his voice softer. Then a bitter chuckle escaped him. “Sha’am must have been livid.”
“Yes, he voiced his objections quite loudly. That was the closest he ever got to openly accusing me before the Council.”
Noctis snorted. “That idiot is a menace. You should have destroyed him ages ago.”
“Some of us can’t kill everyone who tries our patience. Some of us have duties and responsibilities. Some of us—”
Noctis’s touch on my arm stopped my tirade. “Quiet now,” he whispered. “Something’s in the bushes.”
My heartbeat quickened. Suddenly, I questioned whether this had been a wise idea.
Moments later, a small furry head poked out from the greenery lining the brook at the edge of my lands. The fox leaped over the grass, its nimble paws carrying it swiftly to the henhouse. I had to admit, the little predator looked quite adorable: soft red fur, big pointy ears, and a gleaming white tip on its fluffy tail.
