Page 70 of The Hunter

“Got it,” she replied, offering him a smile.

His mandibles twitched up before he straightened.

With Garahk and Droztar taking the lead, the group walked forward, spreading their line wider than usual to cover more ground. She doubted she’d be much use spotting the flowers, especially considering that vrix eyesight seemed so much better than that of humans.

It wasn’t long before Garahk found a second flower, which was in a little cluster with several more. The Hunter’s eyes were sparse and sporadic, but they became steadily more abundant as the group advanced. The thornskulls deposited the flowers they picked in a big basket that Ayali casually carried on the palm of one hand.

“Oh, I think I see some!” Lacey declared, pointing to a smudge of crimson amidst a patch of grass and shrublike plants. “Right there.”

She hurried to the spot, with Telok striding right behind her. They crouched beside the plants, and Telok reached out, sweeping aside the other vegetation to reveal what must’ve been at least fifteen of the tiny flowers.

“Good, kir’ani vi’jatai,” he said in that raspy, sexy-as-sin voice of his.

Those words seemed to vibrate right to her pussy, and she barely suppressed a shiver.

Pushing aside her naughty thoughts to focus on her task, she plucked the flowers by their stems. Once she and Telok had cleared the patch, they rejoined the others, adding their harvest to Ayali’s basket.

Garahk soon called for them to make their wild den near a vineroot tree. Though it wasn’t nearly as big and tall as many of the other trees, its roots, which ran over the ground in long, twisting tendrils, covered a large area around it. Utilizing both the natural features of the landscape and hastily collected branches, the thornskulls created a barrier to protect their camp before passing out baskets.

They split into small groups. Lacey found herself paired with Telok—to no one’s surprise—and Okkor. Cole and Droztar remained near camp to collect vineroot seeds while everyone else set out to forage.

After walking for a few minutes, Lacey’s group came across a thicket filled with bushes, fern-like plants, and several varieties of flowers with colorful petals. She paused to study the vegetation. With so much color and so many leaves, the tiny hints of crimson underneath were difficult to discern, but they were there.

“Looks like a good spot, right?” she asked.

“Much good,” Okkor agreed cheerily, moving off to begin his search.

Telok caught Lacey’s arm before she could step forward. “With care.”

She chuckled. “I know.”

Of everything she’d witnessed on this alien world, the firevine violently attacking her friends might’ve been the most unsettling, and she wasn’t keen on becoming plant food.

Using her spear to shift the plants and prod the ground in front of her, Lacey advanced. Telok’s hand fell away, but he lingered nearby, his hesitation thickening the air, before striding away to search a different part of the thicket.

Every time she uncovered a hidden Hunter’s eyes, Lacey did a happy little dance in her head as she bent to pick it. With her basket’s handle looped over the crook of her arm, she trekked onward until she brushed aside a plant with big, fanlike leaves to reveal a large cluster of red flowers.

Telok hadn’t been kidding when he said Hunter’s eyes liked shadows.

“Score.” She knelt and set her basket and spear on the ground beside her. The vegetation was cool against her knees, which her shorts did not cover. Bending forward, she began plucking the flowers and tossing them into the basket.

There was a flapping sound overhead, followed by a soft rustle and a musical warble.

Lacey straightened and turned her head to look at the larkhet, which now sat on a winding tree root sticking out of the ground. “Well, hello again.”

The bird sauntered closer until it was standing on the end of the root and cocked its head so far that it was nearly upside down.

She chuckled. “Curious little thing, aren’t you? Is it true that if I give you food, you’ll call your friends?”

The larkhet perked, crown feathers rising.

Lacey glanced toward Telok. He stood several yards away with his back toward her, bent low as he deftly swept through the vegetation in search of red flowers.

She looked back at the bird and lowered her voice to a whisper. “If you can keep it a secret between you and me, I’ll give you a little treat.”

Shifting on her knees to face the larkhet, she removed her backpack and pulled it in front of her, opening it to dig inside. She found one of the leaf-bound bundles and peeled back the leaves, removing a thin strip of dried meat before tying the bundle back up. Setting her bag aside, Lacey lifted her head to find the bird watching her intently.

“See this?” she wiggled the strip of meat. “Food.”