The sun chased away the last of my chills, and I sighed. “Wynn. I found him doing something illegal, and he pinned the crime on me. Guess he decided exile wasn’t punishment enough.”
“I’m sorry.” Oz’s gaze found mine, and I believed him.
“He wasn’t always that way.” I rotated my ring. “Something happened to him. He went on a hunt for beasts, and when he came back…he was never the same. He never told me what happened.”
I didn’t know why I was telling Oz this. Even now, years removed from our golden days, the memory of who Wynn used to be tormented me. He’d done enough damage to ensure I’d never return to his arms, but I still wondered. Still retraced those nights to determine what happened to him so long ago. Why he traded love and compassion for power and dominance.
Oz’s soft voice brought me back. “Still, you deserve better.”
Something inside me shifted. Something warm. I smothered it the second it appeared. “Yeah, yeah.” Following the trail, our Zeelahs cut into the knee-high wheatgrass before us. A breeze worked its way through the field, beating the strands of grass against my mount’s legs. Another jarring birdcall taunted my ears.
There was no way for me to track the Femsy. All I could do was get on with the job—quickly. The sooner I found their beasts, the better. I needed to get to the Council and clear my name before Wynn did anything more drastic.
As if hiring an assassin wasn’t drastic enough.
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I studied each of the men. I wasn’t even certain whether these assassins would turn on me the second they received their beasts. Maybe, just maybe, if I provided them with creatures so perfect for their needs, they’d feel obligated to honor our arrangement.
Assuming assassins even cared about respectable things like honor.
Another heavier breeze coursed through the plains, shifting the grass and rustling the trees along the edges away from the dirt path. Tracking the wind’s progression, something white caught my attention. There, lounging at the base of a thick oak tree overlooking the meadow, sat a Poi.
White fur with one black stripe running the length of his spine, the fox-like Poi studied the open field. He was probably hunting for mice, and I only had moments to act. Smack-dab between his oversize ears sat a jewel-like purple orb, and if he decided to pull his focus from his hunt for one moment, if he tapped into his ability to check the future before him, he’d see me coming.
No other beast was as perfect for Kost, the control freak.
“Oz.” I pulled my mare to an immediate halt and kept my voice low. “There’s a beast along the edge of the forest. Hold on to my Zeelah. I don’t have time to explain, but don’t follow me.”
He blinked, taking my reins as I shoved them into his hands and slid out of my saddle. I only had minutes, maybe seconds, before the Poi sensed me. Crouching low, I weaved my way through the grass out of the creature’s direct sight line.
Pausing roughly twenty feet away, I centered myself and focused on the dormant well of power. I tapped into it, letting warmth and joy spread through to my fingertips. A bond offering between the beast and me, a display of love and kindness. My body emitted a peaceful rosewood glow, and I inched forward.
The Poi’s head riveted to my direction. Round brown eyes peered at me, and a cloudy mist obscured the once crystal-clear gem atop his head. A new future was brewing, and soon enough he’d be able to see what was about to pass. He licked his chops.
Palms up, I beckoned for him. “Come on. It’s all right.” I tried to push more power outward, to dazzle him with the possibility of the Charmer’s Bond, but fatigue struck hard and fast. Adrenaline fled my system, and darkness tinged my vision at the sudden expense of power. At once, the warm light dissipated, and the Poi saw me only as an intruder in his territory, one within reach of his jowls.
He snarled, lips pulling back to reveal finely pointed teeth coated in venom. Darting forward on precise feet, he already knew the outcome—I was just late on the uptake. He bit the soft flesh of my hand and shredded skin as he dragged down toward my fingertips.
A high-pitch curse burst through my lips, and I stumbled backward into the field. Exhaustion and pain claimed me as I crashed heavily onto the ground. I’d failed. I should’ve known better, trying to charm a beast so soon after depleting my power. It’d been ages since I’d been this foolish. What was it about these assassins that made me push myself beyond my limits? Black spots bloomed across my vision, and my limbs grew heavy. These men were taxing and damning and annoying and…and I wanted to do right by their beasts. That’s why I’d pushed myself.
Before I could examine that thought further, harsh ringing sounded, and I settled into the wave of night that followed.
* * *
“Why would you let her run off by herself?”
“She saw a beast. What was I supposed to do?”
“Stop her.”
Between the cotton in my ears and the crackle of a distant fire, I vaguely recognized the hushed tones of Kost and Oz. Weighed down by fatigue, I couldn’t force my lids to open. I’d overclocked myself. Used too much power in too short a span. Kost was right: I shouldn’t have tried to tame the Poi.
“How’s she doing?” Noc. Was that concern lacing his words? Or just the fog doing weird things to my senses? Slowly, I peeled my eyes open. Three shadows bled against the canvas of my tent, wavering in the orange light of a fire.
“We bandaged her hand, but that doesn’t cleanse the poison.” Kost’s words were clipped.
Poison?Oh. With sluggish and clumsy fingers, I pulled back the edges of my calfskin hide to get a look at my right hand. Poi venom. Black sludge oozed from the bandages, and an onyx matrix of darkness tracked my veins. “Shit.”
The three figures outside went ramrod straight before peeling back the entrance to my tent and clambering in.
