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Hundreds of hearts beaming within iridescent silhouettes flutter around me. Most of the king’s army is asleep in their beds. A handful entertain guests in their tents, but none of the waking soldiers are close enough or alert enough to notice me. The biggest group, with more red flickers than I can count, is fifty yards ahead, and only one soul stands out.
That soul waits for me, patiently biding his time until my arrival. But even he is too far away to cause this kind of unrest.
I sigh and open my eyes, unable to shake the feeling of unease. My sight has never missed anyone, but my senses have never alerted me to danger that wasn’t there either. I’m torn, unsure which gift to trust, and weary of both.
I continue toward the Red Keep, walking slower on this path. For now, I’m close to the woods, but soon there won’t be anywhere to hide. Brown, cloth-bound tents line both sides of the walkway to the glowing lights of the Red Keep. I can’t see how many tents there are, but if I were to guess, I’d say it’s at least a hundred. With my hood up and the dust masking the crimson of my hair, the chances of someone realizing that I’m a Cerise and getting the drop on me is slim, but I hold my dagger close.
Just in case.
"I’ll be fine," I whisper to myself, the words barely audible over the pounding of my heart. "Everything will be fine."
But deep down, I know it’s a lie. The eerie darkness of the forest presses in on me, and the weight of an unseen presence sends a shiver down my spine. This unease is more than just nerves.
It’s instinct.
I extend my web again, searching for someone in the dark. I know he’s there. I feel his eyes trailing me as intensely as I feel the chill of the night biting my skin, but I can’t find the soldier. My blood chills as two thoughts cross my mind.
What if the flames altered my gifts?
What if this is the cost of letting me pass through the arch?
Could they have sucked part of my magic away when they retreated? Did that torch wither not out of fear as I walked past it, but to keep me from sensing what it had stolen? The thought makes me want to puke. My magic is the only tie I have left to that side of my mother. To lose my gifts would be like losing her all over again.
But the fear that thought ensues is nothing compared to my next thought. Say the blue flames didn’t take my gifts. There is only one regiment of soldiers skilled enough to mask themselves from a Creature of Legend.
The Hunters.
I pray I’m wrong, but fear twists my stomach into a knot. I open my senses wider and send my web of shadows deeper into the woods, begging my magic to find whoever is out there. I stretch my abilities as far as they go, finding archers in the trees and foot soldiers on the ground, dozens of yards within the foliage.
But there is nothing and no one within earshot of Overburn that could make me feel this way. I should feel relief, but goosebumps pepper my arms.
My final warning.
I ready my dagger, hiding it beneath the fabric of my cloak. Surprise is my greatest strength in a fight against someone who can overpower me. It’s my first defense and has been a key factor in why I’ve outlived every target I’ve challenged.
“I know you’re out there,” I whisper into the night. If the soldier is a Hunter, he’ll hear me. Their armor is rumored to be blessed by the Cerise, allowing them to move in the dark without detection and hear things most mortals can’t. The magic makes them swift and nearly impossible to kill. But the men who wear it are human, and humans can die. “Show yourself!”
Seconds tick by, adrenaline building in my blood, waiting for an attack to come when finally I hear, “It’s not safe for fair maidens, such as yourself, to be wandering the woods alone at this time of night.”
Iknew it!
Iknew someone was out there. It’s a great feeling knowing I’m not going crazy. Until it sinks in that someone’s followed me. I don’t know where in my journey he found me or how long it took for my magic to pick him up. I just know I need to shake him.
Sooner rather than later.
“I would be a lot safer if I weren’t being stalked in the night,” I say calmly, hoping he doesn’t sense how on edge he’s made me. I look to the south, the direction the man’s voice carried from, and try to find him in the dark. I can feel his presence. But I can’t see his heart.Why can’t my webs find him?
The soldier doesn’t respond. He’s as quiet as the night, giving me no indication of where he is or his intentions. I clench my dagger tight. If he charges at me, I’ll throw it at his heart and kill him before he can kill me. I have a second knife strapped to my thigh if I miss.
But I never miss.
“Come now. This is silly. Only criminals hide in the shadows. Show yourself, or I’ll be forced to alert the soldiers of your presence,” I threaten, wishing on every star in the sky the man doesn’t call my bluff.
If I rally a soldier, I’ll have to give a formal statement. And my name. And declare why I was out past curfew without a work authorization. I could end up being the one arrested, which would only be the bottom layer of the shit-cake the evening would turn into. I wait for him to make his decision, pins and needles pricking my fingertips the longer it takes.
Finally, the sound of heavy steps penetrates the night. Gravel and dried twigs crunch under the weight of his boots. The soldier purposefully steps on another fallen branch, likely wanting me to know the direction he comes from, possibly insinuating that he means no harm. There is no other reason for a man trained in the art of stealth to be so noisy, but he could paint his arrival in oil and set it on fire for all I care. The fact that I can’t sense him in my web of shadows is all I need to know that he's a threat.
The Hunter, I’m nearly positive, lingers in the shadows. He’s close enough to a lit torch to let himself be seen, yet cloaked in enough darkness to hide the intimate features of his face—a tactical move since a Hunter’s identity is supposed to be a secret.
