Lux’s appetite was a nonexistent thing. “Is there no stopping it?”
Riselda studied her from the rim of her glass. “Not in the slightest.”
Shadowed tendrils crept through her mind, bringing nightmarish images in their wake. “What will happen to us?”
“I’ve spent many years perfecting my craft. As have you. I’ve little doubt that we will be standing long after these walls fall.”
The answer might have satisfied her once upon a time. Not anymore.
Their plates arrived. Mounds of buttery potatoes had been carved into bird-like shapes, a breast of some roasted fowl dripping and fragrant resting atop each. The aromatic scentsnearly brought her hunger back, which was no easy feat considering how nauseated she felt over Riselda’s words. Wings fluttered in the steam as it twined through the air.
Riselda lifted a laden fork to plump lips, her crystal eyes assessing the ones across from her. “You have braved the forest at last, I see.” Lux choked against the bite of food she’d attempted to appease her aunt. Surely, she couldn’t know about her venture. “I happened to notice your departure this afternoon. Don’t worry, I wasn’t spying.” Riselda laughed then, finishing Lux’s wine.
Lux’s constricted chest uncoiled, just a little, thankful Riselda hadn’t been aware of her true encounter with the forbidden wood. She swallowed quickly, wincing. “I had no other choice. The vendor who supplied me with howler canines died. And Shaw has a little knowledge in trapping, so I enlisted his help.” Lux shrugged, unapologetic. “It won’t be possible to revive most without them.”
“You’ve laid traps around the forest edge?”
She nodded.
“I wish you would have consulted with me first.”
Lux fought back a lengthy sigh. “Why is that?”
“Because, darling, I can get you the teeth you need. Quite easily, in fact, and it won’t even require the deaths of the poor animals. Though it may irritate them, that is for certain.” Riselda brought another bite to her full lips.
“How is that possible?” Disbelief coated her words. Howlers were exceptionally quick, vicious, and deadly. The possibility of killing a trapped one set her heart to hammering; she couldn’t fathom coaxing the teeth from the mouth of a very-much-alive beast.
“Every soul yearns for something, Lucena. Give it what it wants, and it becomes a much more amiable being.”
“Fine, what does a howler yearn for?” Her flesh, surely.
Riselda smiled, guessing her thoughts with startling accuracy. “Not your assumption, that’s for certain. Dismantle your traps. I will procure them for you.”
“Well…Thank you, Riselda.” Lux couldn’t hold back her sigh of relief; she’d been dreading an encounter with the creature, half hoping it would fail.
“You’re welcome.” Her aunt’s hand reached across the table, gripping her wrist, her thumb stroking the bare skin. “Now enjoy your meal. Who knows when this, too, will crumble?”
Lux rested back into her chair, eyeing Riselda as she promptly followed her own advice. Beneath the table, she rubbed her wrist, sure it had been worn to the bone.
Chapter twenty-four
Very few ventured tothe bridge past twilight, let alone crossed it. Midnight dragged the moon to the highest point in the sky, and there it sat, watchful over a cloaked girl slipping through the wet grass like a wraith. She walked alone, clutching tight to a borrowed, bone-handled knife.
A shriek pierced the air. Fury and fear melded into a cry that tore at Lux’s ears and sent cold sweat trickling down her back.
A successful trap. She had hoped to find them empty. She didn’t have a choice now, and, with a quick glance at the glimmering blade, the flicker of resolve grew to a steady weight within her.
She neared the wood’s edge, the trees silent and unmoving, the darkness within complete. With a slash of the knife, the rope suspending the first trap fell.
The cry filled the air again.
Lux crept along the outskirts of the forest, eyes trained on its insides. Another empty trap fell beneath her blade. Three. Four. Five.
She destroyed them all. Save one.
She stared across the moonlit grass, watched it writhe. Howling, the creature fought to free itself from the binds. Fingers blanched even as sweat slipped along the knife’s handle. Lux only gripped it harder, squeezing her fear away.
The beast stilled.
