Page 25 of Revealing Fate

A pair of shallow lines appeared between Kal’s stern brows. He glanced back toward his friend’s empty home, then grasped Felíne’s trembling hand, his rough, steadfast fingers folding firmly over hers.

“Come on,” he said. “Looks like I’m taking you home, after all.”

Chapter 9

DECIDE

KAL LED FELÍNE THROUGH THE city, weaving in and out of trees, houses, gardens, and places of business. It was a labyrinth of natural flora melded with shurii-made structures, impossible for her to tell where the forest ended and the city began.

It was amazing how readily her appetite returned once the immediate danger of encountering Rask had been postponed. They stopped at a vendor selling smoked sausages wrapped in buttery pastry crust and ate as they walked, juice dribbling onto Felíne’s chin with each mouthwatering bite.

The farther Kal took her, the quieter Meress became, until eventually, the city itself and the people within it were left behind, leaving them enclosed by the untouched wild of the wood. Birds called animatedly to one another high in the canopies overhead. Lizards and other climbing creatures scurried from limb to limb. Shy little furred beasts scrambled throughout the low-lying shrubbery as they passed. At least one pair of eyes watched them from the shadowed space between distant trees.

Kal may as well have been crafted from the sinew of Stillwater Wood for how silently he tread, picking his way with care. Felíne likely weighed half what he did, yet her footfalls felt twice as heavy and landed thrice as loud.

“There is an actual house out here, right?” Felíne peered between the trees. “You were kidding about the tent?”

“Yes, there’s an actual house.”

Kal didn’t see the skepticism settle over her features. Felíne glanced around as she followed him. The forest looked the same in every direction. Tangled vines wound up moss-covered trunks. Thick, thorny brambles covered in tantalizing black berries hugged the invisible path he chose. Felíne nearly stumbled when the toe of her boot snagged on a wild root. Upon righting herself, she caught sight of a pair of large glowing eyes tracking her movement from the shadows.

“Kal,” she whispered, unsure if she should move. “Kal.”

He glanced back a short way ahead. “We’re nearly there. What’s wrong?”

“There’s something following us. Something big.”

Kal followed the direction of her gaze. “A grimalkin.”

“Here?” she squeaked. Grimalkins were dangerous black and gray jungle cats known to hunt in packs deep within the Faresian Jungle. Mender Alcuin had told her stories of entire campsites wiped out by groups of the voracious predators.

“Likely a straggler pushed out of the Faresian hunting grounds. We see them on occasion.”

Felíne glanced up, but Kal was already heading back along the path. She hurried after him, away from the hungry yellow eyes. “I’ve heard they’re aggressive.”

Kal nodded. “Very. Bold, too.”

“And you’re not worried about it?”

“No, I’m not worried.”

She peered back warily. “Well, I am.”

Kal turned over his shoulder, teeth flashing in a feral grin. Deep gold rolled over his irises in a gilded wave—not the warm hue of desire, but cold and predatory. “Don’t be. He’s not the most dangerous creature stalking this forest.”

A shudder descended her spine. Even so, Felíne stayed as close as she could get without stepping on Kal’s heels as they continued.

If the grimalkin followed, Felíne remained unaware. She didn’t catch sight of it again.

Several minutes later, Kal paused before a veritable wall of green. The hedges here were so thick and grew so close together that she couldn’t see beyond them. Kal, once again led by some mystical instinct, picked a spot in the verdant wall and pushed through. The hedge parted for them, granting private access. Once on the other side, Felíne straightened, brushing leaves from her clothing, and found herself momentarily stunned.

They’d entered a small, shaded clearing. Afternoon light trickled through the leafy ceiling, spilling dollops of sunbeams along the grassy sweep of the forest floor. Tiny indigo flowers scattered the expanse like fallen fragments of an evening sky. And there, nestled between the ancient, lichen-covered trunks of two monstrous sacred fig trees, was a house.

Not just any house. Kal’s house.

The construction was simple, practical. The single-level cabin looked to Felíne like it’d been torn from the pages of a fairytale. Deep walnut wood walls supported a gray slate roof, the tiles of which were interrupted by a wide, multi-colored stone chimney. Thick wooden columns extended past the entrance, encased by a capacious porch wrapping the perimeter. The unruly roots of the fig trees guarded the house, low-hanging branches framing a single, large window.

Kal offered a rough palm. “Shall we?”