Page 20 of The Hunter

Damn vrix and their super sense of smell.

“Okay fine! Yes, I went into your den and dropped your spears to the ground.” Lacey poked his hard chest. “Serves you right for tying me up and lugging me around like a sack of potatoes in front of everyone. Do you know how much that hurt and how embarrassed I was?”

“Better you in-bare-assed than dead.”

Lacey pressed her lips together and glared at him as she lowered her hand. She had no retort, because he was right, even if she’d never admit it. She hadn’t been thinking clearly due to her pain and her need to be alone, and that had made her reckless.

Telok devoured the distance remaining between them with a single stride and bent down until his face was just over hers. She tipped her head back to keep their eyes locked. This close, his scent dominated the air, leaving her no choice but to breathe him in. Warm cedarwood, moss, and an undertone of smoke.

Though this was neither the time nor place, heat curled low in her belly.

“A spear is to hunt. To protect. To live.” He gestured sharply at the damaged weapons. “These are how I give to our tribe, how I protect our tribe. How I protect you. They are… Othan elad rayathi elush et sythex tes kir’ani althai. Ul inkahl tes kir, kir vishaxx saal othirn jeika ithaa kir’ani eshtai, kir vishaxx kuix’zak niktera iln kir kala’al kir’ani nedahl vux dask.”

They are woven into the threads of my soul. A piece of me I give to those I care about without hesitation, as I would give my blood and labor.

“You were careless with these,” Telok said in English, his voice even rougher and raspier than usual. “You broke them.”

It was only then that Lacey realized he was shivering. She remained silent, absorbing his words, drowning in remorse as tears burned her eyes and blurred her vision.

“You did not like what I did, but I was not careless with you, Lacey.”

Her heart clenched, and it felt as though her entire chest was going to cave in on itself. She had broken his spears, but his words were breaking her.

Lacey fought for every shallow breath, fought to keep a sob from tearing out of her throat, fought to keep her tears at bay, but it was a losing battle. Unable to hold his gaze any longer, she dropped her eyes to the ruined spears at her feet, and the tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” she said, the words coming out small and strained. “I’m so sorry.”

Telok’s long, powerful fingers caught her chin, and he guided her face back up toward his. As much as she didn’t want to, as much as she dreaded it, she met his gaze once more.

His green eyes flared.

He lifted another hand. With uncharacteristic hesitance, he touched the back of a bent finger to her cheek, catching a falling teardrop. His mouth parted slightly as he stared at the bead of moisture on his dark hide.

Lacey felt his grip tense on her chin, though it did not tighten. An unsteady exhalation escaped him, followed by a deep, distressed buzz and a shudder that swept through his entire body.

Telok released her. For an instant, he lingered, his hands still so close to her face, his body still so close to hers. Then he growled harshly and withdrew from her.

He left without a word, without even a backward glance, and she watched him go, her tears spilling unhindered as the breeze blew through her hair.

Only when he was no longer in sight did a sob work its way free.

How could she have been so thoughtless? So cruel? It wasn’t like her at all, and that brief, misguided sense of justice wasn’t worth any of this. Wasn’t worth hurting Telok, not even a little.

Lacey dropped her gaze to the spears he’d left behind. The spears that had meant so much to him. Crouching, she reached out and ran her fingers over the deep crack in one of the shafts.

“I’ll make it right.”

CHAPTER 6

Lacey clutched the long, thin, silk-wrapped gift to her chest as she walked across a swaying bridge, one hand on the rope rail to keep her steady. She grimaced at the tenderness of her palms and the stiffness in her fingers. Wind tugged at her short yellow dress and whipped her hair. Though she’d grown used to traveling across Kaldarak’s bridges, it didn’t stop her belly from doing a little somersault with every sway and bounce.

But that feeling was overcome by her nervousness today.

She looked up to the platform in front of her. Telok’s den was here on the outskirts of the city, perched atop one of the highest tiers. It’d been two days since she’d last seen him, two days since their altercation, and she wasn’t sure what to expect.

Was he still angry? Was he still hurt?

Did he…hate her?