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“Are you sure? Because I haven’t seen a sign since we entered this place.”
“The Children don’t exactly want the entrance to their village advertised, but I know where it is.”
“I hope you do. I’m counting on you to protect me against being eaten. I would very much like not to be eaten.”
“No one’s going to eat you, Tallin. Relax. I’ve got this.”
A sound like the snap of a large branch caught my attention and made my hackles rise. We lowered our heads and scanned the tree lines on either side of us, but neither of us could see any movement.
“What was that?” Tallin asked.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
“I knew this was a bad idea.”
“Will you take it easy?”
“How can I take it easy when there’s probably a pack of Vrren about to come down on us?”
“They won’t attack. They’re opportunistic hunters who will only get into a fight if they think they can win with minimal losses.”
“Do you actually know that, or have you made that up?”
“No. I know it.”
I think.
All I really had to go on were tales, stories, and what I had read about in books. My mother had come across them before, a long time ago, but not since. And in the few times I had been to the village of the Moon Children, we had never seen them. All the information I had was anecdotal, which made for flimsy information at best.
Still, I was confident I could take a few if it came down to it.
More than a few,well… that would be tricky.
When I finally saw a shape there, between the trees, I froze. The Vrren were notoriously hairless animals, but the creature stalking closer to the tree line had thick, bristly fur and luminous green eyes that shone brightly against the dark. Looking at it more closely, I started to pick out details. Ears, a long snout, a black nose…teeth.
It wasn’t one of the Vrren—it was a wolf.
I felt myself instantly relax. Exhaling deeply, I called out into the woods. “Hello!” I yelled, “I’m looking for Radulf!”
“What are you doing?!” Tallin hissed. “And who are you talking to?”
“Over there,” I said, “Look.”
Tallin didn’t exactly shriek, but he cowered behind me. “Is that… one of the Moon Children?” he asked.
“Yep,” I said, but I found it weird I hadn’t received a reply, so I turned to face the wolf again—only now there were three of them. “I didn’t mean to barge in on your forest like this,” I said, “I’m Princess Amara, Radulf’s sister. I really need to speak with him.”
“Princess,” I heard someone say in a long, drawn out, snake-like kind of way. “We have no Princess…”
CHAPTERTWELVE
My blood turned to ice water in my veins. There wasn’t just one wolf, but a whole pack of them. Their eyes glowed in the dark, illuminating their long, furry snouts, their black noses, and the sharp, pointed teeth in their mouths. I couldn’t help but back up a couple of paces, but a yip and a growl at my back told me we were surrounded.
“I should point out,” Tallin whispered, “This doesn’t seem to be going very well.”
“No, there has to be a mistake or something,” I said. “Please, you have to listen to me. I’m Amara Wolfsbane—I’m one of you.”
“Amara Wolfsbane,” came the reply, with syllables which were long and drawn out. “Windhelm’s Princess would never have ventured this far into our woods without an escort.”
