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Chapter1
Rhoslyn
Ablood-ringed sun set on the evening of the Monster Hunt. Once darkness cloaked our world, two women from our village would leave the safety of the high fortress walls to become brides to vicious, powerful orcs.
No one knew for sure what happened after they stepped beyond the walls, because the women were never heard from again.
With my basket of herbs hooked over my arm, I hurried along the winding forest path that twisted like a serpent through the undergrowth. Sunlight pierced through the dense canopy above, casting eerie shadows that darted among the ancient trees. Silence loomed over the woods, broken only by my light footsteps, a random chirp of a bird, and the squawk of a squitt hiding among the upper branches overhead. Nature itself seemed to hold its breath.
It never paid to remain beyond the safety of the fortress walls when darkness swallowed the world, and not just because of the Hunt.
The shaydes stalked us, hunting for food. We were their prey.
My knife gripped tightly in my hand, I left the depths of the forest and rushed across the broad grassy area between the woods and the high fortress walls.
Mine was the only village in this area, though I’d heard there were other villages far away. Only a few from my village had traveled in that direction, however.
Over a thousand humans hid beyond the ring of stone, relying on the fierce, enormous orcs who granted us protection from creatures even more dangerous than them in exchange for brides.
I slipped through the well-guarded door.
“Rhoslyn,” the guardsman said with a glare, stomping forward. “Why do you challenge them like this?”
“What do you mean?” I asked breezily, slipping my knife into the sheath strapped about my waist and brushing evergreen needles from my long blue skirt. I’d collected those while digging roots at the base of the tree. “I found some willadon.” I lifted the chunk of gnarly black root from my basket. “Now I can make more tea for your mother.”
His lined face softened. “You’re too kind to us all.”
“I love brewing potions and making tinctures that help my friends.”
“And what about Rhoslyn? What doyouwant for yourself?” His pale blue eyes like my own softened, and his voice took on a fatherly tone.
I placed the root back in my basket with the herbs I was eager to dry. “I want to watch my sister marry the man she loves and spend the rest of my years bouncing her babies on my lap. And discover new uses for herbs.”
“No marriage and bouncing babies for you?”
I winced. “I’m twenty-five. Who would have me?”
“Many. If you went to the village dances, you’d find a man to love.”
“I don’t need a man to make me feel complete.”
“What about children? Surely you wish to raise young.”
I did long for a child, but I’d yet to find anyone I dared give my heart to.
“Lyneth weds in a few months, does she not?” he asked.
Thinking of how happy my pretty sister would be with the man she loved, I grinned. “That’s correct.”
He patted my arm. “And then she’ll move in with him and leave you alone. That would be the time to find your own husband.”
My chin lifted. “I like being alone.” Most of the time. Too often, I was lonely. “I plan to trade a tincture for a chall kit. The fluffy beast will make a nice companion.”
“Indeed, the small creature will, but I haven’t given up on you yet. Someone will offer for your hand.” His warm gaze held appreciation, though it didn’t feel slimy like—
Kael’s eyes sharpened as he gazed past my shoulder.
Heavy footsteps approached, and my shoulders curled. If only I could sink beneath the cobblestones. I didn’t need to turn; I knew who stalked closer.
