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She slipped into the darkness, racing as if she was hurt. Her feet stumbled and her eyes watered with pain.
I didn’t like that.
I didn’t like seeing her hurting. Even if she was the reason my arm didn’t work properly, and I occasionally saw double.
She didn’t stop until the clean scent of water hit my nose.
I inhaled with relief, eager to replace the lingering smoke on my skin with the crispness of a river. She slowed up ahead, and I slipped into silent stalking. My bare feet selected the quietest spots to tread, and my lips parted to let out streams of shallow air, keeping my breath as quiet as possible.
The wolves were so much better at hunting than me. Their pelts camouflaged them. Their scent smelled like earth and woods, yet the girl didn’t see me as she looked over her shoulder, right at where I hid in the grass, before slipping down the small valley to the river that carved its watery way through the grasslands.
Willow trees grew along its banks, their limbs heavy with thin leaves, their bark almost silver in the moonlight. The gentle babble of the river and whoosh of water over rocks eased my fear of the fire.
My heart rate slowed.
Even the pain in my arm seemed to fade as relief smothered me to be where she was. To be alone with her. To be away from the others and free to take her with me.
Rubbing my mangled arm, I debated how to claim her.
I could throw her over my shoulder again, but I doubted I’d have enough strength to run the entire way back to the pack with her. Especially if her lynx attacked me again. I might not be so lucky the next time.
My hackles prickled with sudden worry.
Dropping to my haunches, I scanned the grass stems, straining my ears for the telltale thud of paws, sniffing the faint breeze for the musky taint of cat.
Nothing.
The girl was alone.
But then again, she’d been alone when I first found her. The lynx had appeared as if summoned by the girl’s struggles.
I scowled.
Perhaps the creature was bonded to her as surely as I was beginning to be. Drawn to her through will alone. Always aware of her. Desperate to keep her safe.
I made a new plan.
The lynx was not my enemy as long as I didn’t hurt the girl.
If I could prove to the cat that my only intention was to take the girl to a better home, to a better life, then the lynx could come with us. She could become a wolf and turn her back on the fire worshippers. Salak wouldn’t care if I brought home one or two new members.
Nodding at my wise decision, I stood and slipped from the grass, stepping into the dappling moonlight, and sliding down the short slope to the river and the girl below.
Chapter Thirteen
. Girl .
I HADN’T COME TO THE river to swim.
I hadn’t run in any particular direction, and didn’t care where I went as long as I could be alone for a while.
But now that I was here...in the scar of the land where the river ran through, heading west to east before meandering south to where Niya said a giant lake pooled and the people of Lagol lived, I couldn’t ignore the call of the water.
I needed to shed the smoke off my skin...just for a little while.
I needed to wash away the fear, the questions, and the man who’d haunted my mind ever since he’d found me in the grasslands.
Ripping at the binds tied behind my back, I fumbled with the sinew knots. My hair fell around my face as I bent forward, struggling. A frustrated moan escaped me as I tugged harder, swaying on the spot as the fur finally came undone. I didn’t bother to check where the bison fur landed, and the moment it was no longer wrapped around my chest, I dropped my hands to the knot on my hip to remove the fur from around my legs.
That one came away easily, and I sighed with relief as it fell to the ground, leaving me bare like before.
A twig snapped.
The air turned potent with awareness as an icy chill darted down my spine.
Twisting on the spot, I narrowed my eyes at the night-shrouded river’s edge. The trees hung heavy, blotting out most of the moon while dragonflies darted in its silver sheen, and bats skimmed the water as they ate insects I couldn’t see.
Life existed all around me, yet the shallow valley suddenly felt crowded. Crowded with another mortal like me.
“Hello?” I held my breath, waiting for a reply. “Anyone there?” I scanned the cloying darkness, unable to see the telltale glisten of eyes or teeth. Insects continued buzzing, owls continued hooting, and the river continued rushing past, its call to join growing louder the longer I stood on its bank instead of in its embrace.
