Isa stares wide-eyed at the plate in front of her. “I will do my best to eat most of this, but I have found that my stomach is uneasy in the mornings.”
My mother waves a hand. “Bah, I will get you a tonic for that, and you will be back to normal in no time.”
As the two lean their heads together and continue talking, the conversations in the hall start up again, and the tension leaks out of the room like water in a cracked pot.
I hold out my hand, wiggling my fingers in Kapriel’s direction. “Pay up, fucker.”
Kapriel reaches into his pockets, grumbling, and slaps a ten dollar bill into my palm. “You had an unfair advantage.”
“Oh shut up, you started it.” I toss a piece of sliced apple at him.
Before he can throw something back at me, howls and barks sound at the doors to the hall, followed by thumps and scratches, and the guard next to it opens the heavy metal barrier to show Ambush and Grave, the lower half of their legs covered in mud, their fur windblown as though they’d flown here, their tongues hanging out of the side of their mouths.
I grin as they trot over to me, tossing their heads back with pride. “Ah, perfect. Looks like they found something.”
11
“Do you speak to animals as well as ghosts now, Jin?” Kapriel asks.
I look up from touching my nose to Grave’s and pin Kap with a stare before tilting my head toward my hound, pretending to listen to what he’s saying. “Aye, he says you’re an idiot.”
Kapriel laughs, and as if on cue, Grave chuffs and sticks his muddy nose in the air. Ambush shoulders him out of the way, demanding a wet nose touch as well before settling in and leaning against my side as I chuckle with Maxen and Edern.
I grab two slabs of ham off of my plate and give one to each of the hounds. “Finish eating, Kap, we’ve got hunting to do when you’re done.”
Edern quirks an eyebrow. “You’re going to take him out through the forest?”
I nod. “Of course. If I didn’t think he could handle anything that could come at us out there, I wouldn’t have brought him with me in the first place.” It’s not as though I don’t know every square inch of this kingdom like the back of my hand, and I know Kapriel can hold his own in whatever situation we could end up in. He’s proven it time and time again during the last five years.
Maxen claps Kapriel on the shoulder and smiles. “Don’t worry, brother, there aren’t any ten-legged beasts out there…at least none that we know of.”
Our table roars with laughter when Kapriel chokes on the bite of food he’d been chewing. I’m wiping tears from the corners of my eyes when the jolly mood around us dissipates faster than water in a desert.
I try to keep my smile friendly and not demented as I turn to face Draven, the good time ruiner. Nothing in his carved from stone face tells me that I failed in presenting him with a pleasant expression. Clearly old habits from dealing with the many annoyances of court are moving back to the forefront of my brain.
“I see your hounds have returned.” He looks down at them from his much taller height and shifts his shiny booted foot away from a muddy paw print. I barely restrain myself from rolling my eyes. If he’s not pleased with a little mud, I can only imagine what he’d be like hiking through the mountains, chasing after an oath breaker.
“They have. Kapriel and I are heading out as soon as we’re done eating.” I grab a strawberry and pop it into my mouth, enjoying the tangy fruit.
“No, you’re not.” Draven crosses his muscled arms over his chest and leans back on his heels like he’s settling in for a game of tug-of-war.
All attempts at a smile slip from my face like ice cream melting on a hot summer day, and a scowl replaces it as I growl up at him. “Yes, we are. And if you attempt to tell me what I can and can’t do again, you’ll be short a few bits and unable to procreate.” The others at the table cough, trying to smother their laughter at my remark.
Draven snorts, a rare show of emotion for him, and a smile cracks his harsh features in two, revealing a man who’s as handsome as he is frustrating. “You’ve been gone a few years, so let me refresh your memory. I’m the captain of your father’s personal guard. He is king, and as such, it is my duty to find him and bring him back here.”
I stand up from the bench and square off with the insufferable bastard, ignoring Kapriel’s muttered uh-oh, and poke a finger into Draven’s armor covered chest.
“Listen up, you overgrown oaf. I could be gone a hundred years, and I’d still be able to come back here, as named heir to the crown you swore to serve, and order you to stand down while I prance around all of this kingdom like a fucking ballet dancer, and you’d have no choice but to bend to my will.”
Draven steps forward, removing the scarce space between us until our fronts press against each other, and he dips his mouth to my ear. “I’m sure there are many demands you could make of me that I’d follow, mala lovka, but this isn’t one of them.”
Every muscle in my body tenses at his words, half affronted, half trying not to shiver as his voice scrapes across my nerve endings, and I raise my head so our lips are only a whisper apart. “Kapriel and I are going to find my father. You are most certainly not welcome to join us, but if you want to trail behind like a little lost puppy, you may.” I turn away from him, dismissing any other arguments he may have, but he grabs my arm.
“Things are not as they used to be in the forests. If you bring your mostly human pet out there with you, he’s not likely to return.”
Before Kapriel and I have a chance to argue Draven’s choice of words, Maxen intervenes, earning his older brother a moment of reprieve.
“He’s not lying, Jinx. Things have gotten rough out there in recent years. It’s risky going out alone these days.”
“I’m not going alone, Maxen. I’m going with Kapriel and my hounds.” I turn my head and meet his gaze. “Do you think I’m no longer capable of handling myself?”
Maxen shakes his head. “Not at all. I just think it would be wise to bring a third person along with you.”
I shrug. “Okay, then you can come with us, Maxen.” I pry each of Draven’s large fingers off my arm one by one. “And you can stay here. Problem solved.”
“Sit back down, Maxen, you won’t be going anywhere today. You will be guarding the royal family and babysitting Jinx’s friend.”
Maxen plops back down on the bench, and Kapriel blinks a few times before turning his attention to me. I rub at my temples, swearing under my breath. All we’ve done with this argument is insult each other and waste precious seconds of daylight when I could be on my way to bringing back my father and finding out who did this. If I’m going to accomplish what I came here to do, I’m going to need to swallow my pride even if it chokes the breath out of me.
“You know what? You want to back me up while I find my father, the same father you lost, I might add, then be my guest.” I snap my fingers, and Ambush and Grave stand, flanking me, and I walk toward the doors of the great hall, not looking back as I add, “Let’s go, almighty hunter. Time’s a wasting.”
And I sure as hell am not in the mood to wait for anyone else any longer. Especially not Draven Hellguard with his stupid smug grin and his muscular physique.
* * *
“Are you going to continue to ignore me, mala lovka? Or are you going to slow your pace so we can hunt together?” Draven asks for the third time in as many hours.
I ignore his use of the nickname “little huntress” for the second time and continue to stare straight ahead. After I’d given up arguing with him in the hall, I’d walked through the front door and headed directly to the stables where a midnight steed named Shadow had been saddled and was waiting for me. I quickly checked to make sure everything was fitted to her; checked the bag of grain, water pouch, and dried meats and bread that were tied to a loop on the back of the saddle; and jumped on.
I clicked my heels and galloped out of the main gates with Ambush and Grave keeping pace with my mar
e. I hadn’t looked back to see if Draven’s own horse was saddled and waiting for him, when he cursed a blue streak. Instead, I’d enjoyed the few moments of utter freedom as I sped across the misty field leading away from Castle Tor and into the wild forests.
The scent of spring wildflowers floated on the wind along with wet earth as my mare’s hooves kicked up dirt, and despite the disturbance in their homes, the birds still sang to each other as we passed them by at top speed, loose tendrils of my hair whipping around my face in the breeze.
I inhale a deep breath, weighing my options as far as Draven goes. I could ignore him for the rest of the time I’m forced to spend with him if I really wanted to. Or I could use this time to get information out of him in regard to what’s really been happening at the castle while I’ve been away.
I shift in my saddle and pull up on the reins, bringing my horse to a stop so he can catch up. I watch as he quickly bridges the gap between our two horses, trying hard not to admire the way the muscles in his thighs shift and tense as he rides. His back is straight, and he has only one hand on the reins as he commands the giant beast he’s sitting on with ease.
He stops a few feet from me, and I raise an eyebrow and look back at him, unsure why he’s not coming abreast of me. “Are you stuck in the mud or something? Let’s keep moving.”
Draven snorts and gestures to my mare. “No, I’m waiting to make sure Shadow’s not going to balk at Nightmare if he gets too close.”
I snicker at the name of his stallion. It couldn’t be more fitting for his rider. “Don’t tell me your horse doesn’t play well with others too, Draven.” I rub Shadow’s inky black neck in broad strokes as I speak. She neighs and stomps one of her front hooves into the dirt, tossing her head back. I give her room to move, and she turns to face Nightmare.
“No, Nightmare gets along with everyone. They tried to breed Shadow and him a while back, and she wasn’t having it.” Nightmare’s nostrils flare, and he prances a bit to the side, inching closer to Shadow.
I ruffle her mane and smile. “Clearly she has good taste then.”
“I’m not sure about that, but either way, it’s best they take a moment to feel each other out so there aren’t any accidents while we’re out here.”
The irony of his words isn’t lost on me. Yeah, I’d love to get a feel for Draven in more ways than one, but the threat of the political headaches that could come with it are enough to keep me at arm’s length.
After a few minutes, both horses seem to accept that they’re stuck out here with us and each other, and we keep moving deeper into the thick trees. Ambush and Grave are a few yards ahead of us, noses to the ground and then stuck up in the air as they follow whatever path they’d taken before coming to get me.
“I was sure that they wouldn’t find anything,” Draven remarks, and I shift in my saddle.
“Why’s that?”
“Because no one else’s hounds have found anything. They got about fifty feet into the woods and lost the trail.”
“All of them lost it? Not one of them could pick it up again?” I frown, wondering if all the other hounds have lost their edge for some strange reason.
“Not even my hounds could pick it up, and I took them much further into the woods.”
“And no one found it odd that all of the hounds in the Wild Hunt couldn’t pick up the trail of the King of said Hunt?” I tuck a piece of hair that had fallen out of my braid behind my ear, and eye Draven. “The only logical explanation for that is someone who knows how to fool the hounds, and that knowledge isn’t shared with anyone outside of the top tiers of hunters and the stable masters.”
Draven scratches at the stubble on his jaw while he thinks about my words. “That narrows down our suspects considerably.”
“I’m shocked you didn’t think of it first, almighty hunter.” I stick out my tongue at him, and he rolls his eyes at my jibe.
“I was a bit busy sorting through the large amount of information coming at me from all sides, Jinx.”
As I turn to respond to him, a silvery wisp flashes in the corner of my eye, and I pull Shadow to a halt, trying to track the figure through the trees.
Draven stops with me, his eyes narrowed on me, his entire body rigid atop his mount. “What is it? What did you hear?”
I wave him off, still searching the woods for another glance of the figure. “I didn’t hear anything. I saw it. Wraiths.”
“If you’re seeing wraiths, then someone has been doing very dark and complex magic out here.”
“I’m aware of what it means, Draven.” I dismount from Shadow and shove the reins at him so he can keep her from bolting while I investigate things on foot. “I’ll be right back.” I whistle low, and both Ambush and Grave return to my side from up ahead, and I walk through the brush.
I unsheathe a blade from my thigh, ready to strike at anyone out here. I peek around fallen trunks and wild berry bushes but can’t find the wraith I saw.
“Gods damnit.” I turn to head back to Draven so we can continue on, when a stream of ice floats down my spine. I spin around, knife raised, and face the wraith who’d attempted to touch me.
I stare at her misty form, noting the fact that she was probably beautiful when she was alive, with her upturned nose and willowy figure, and not trapped between realms.
“Who are you?” I ask her, watching her lips so I can read them.
She shakes her head, the long shadowy tendrils of her hair floating wildly around her head like cloth tumbling in water.
“What are you trying to tell me?” I ask her, frustrated that I can see wraiths, but I can’t hear them directly. I have to play what can only be described as an Olympic level game of charades.
She holds a finger to her lips before taking a step away from me and looking back to make sure I follow her. I step carefully along the path she’s taking, keeping my senses on high alert and triple checking for any traps.
We’ve only gone about five yards when she stops and points to something hanging from a tree branch, fluttering in the wind like a tattered flag.
Twigs snap behind me, and on instinct I crouch low, flinging my dagger in the direction of the sound.
“What the fuck!” Draven growls the words, and I blink quickly, clearing my vision from the laser focus I’d had on the tree only inches from his face. He pulls my knife from the tree and scowls at me.
“You should know better than to sneak up on a huntress when she’s hot on the trail of someone, Draven.” I stand up, brushing some dirt off of my knee that I’d planted in the ground.
“Why do you think I stepped on the branches?” Draven grumbles the words as he comes to stand next to me, slapping the hilt of the dagger in my outstretched hand.
“I thought you were staying with the horses…and I assumed you’d know better than to creep up behind me.” I stare up at the jacket that’s caught on the branch above my head and plant my hands on my hips, waiting.
When Draven doesn’t move to grab the fabric, I look over my shoulder at him. He’s leaning against a tree a few feet away, one leg crossed over the other at the ankle, his arms folded across his chest as he stares back at me with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“If you’re done hugging that tree or whatever, could you get this jacket down? I’m tall, but I’m not that tall.”
He kicks off from his resting place and chuckles low. “All you had to do is ask, lovka.”
I squish up my face in mockery at his back while he reaches for the fabric.
Frustrating tall bastard is clearly amused by the fact I asked for help. I could have just climbed the tree, which I would have done if I were alone, but seeing as he’s taller than me and can reach it without me scraping my pants or tearing up my palms, I’m not going to complain about his power games.
“I saw that,” he says.
I kick at the damp ground. “No, you didn’t, but that’s okay, because I’ll admit I was making a face at your back with no shame whatsoever.”<
br />
Draven untangles the scraps of material and curses.
“I take it you know who this belongs to?” I have no idea how he could know, because it appears to be a plain black jacket of some kind with no markings that I can see.
Draven blows out a breath and hands it to me. “Look at the left shoulder.”
As soon as my fingers rub across the crown and sword insignia, I know who this belonged to. And judging by the hole that’s just above the crest, there was a struggle that didn’t end well.
12
“What the hell was my father doing out here?” I ask, directing my ire at Draven even though he probably doesn’t deserve it. But he’s the only one out here, and he’d demanded he come with me instead of Kapriel, who would have cracked a joke at this point to diffuse my tension.
“I don’t know what he was doing out here. It’s been a while since he went on a hunt.” Draven taps the crest on the jacket. “This was either left here to draw us away from where he is, or he placed it there himself as a signal to anyone searching for him.”
Dread coils in my stomach like a rattler snake readying to strike. “I’d bet money it’s the first one.” I fold the fabric into a neat square so it will fit in the extra leather bag attached to my saddle and stomp an exposed root in the ground. “If he wanted to leave a trail, he would have, but we haven’t even seen any tracks.”
“If that’s the case, we’re going to need others with us so we can spread out and search a larger area all at once so we don’t miss something. After last night’s rain, we’ll be lucky if we find any footprints to follow.”
I suck my bottom lip into my mouth, letting it go with a pop. “Yep.”
“Do you want to continue following Ambush and Grave to where they were originally leading us?” Draven asks as we walk back toward our horses.
I weigh the options in my mind. We could follow them, but even if they found the trail, it could be false. If we’re dealing with someone who knows how to trick hounds of the Wild Hunt, the only thing they’d be good for is protection while we search every inch of the kingdom.
A Reluctant Huntress: Tales of the Wild Hunt | Book One Page 8
