A Reluctant Huntress: Tales of the Wild Hunt | Book One

by Knox, Graceley

  I roll my eyes at him. “Don’t be foolish. It’s not you that I think had anything to do with it.” I hate the fact that I’m even suspicious of the man who’d been like an uncle to me, who’d taught me half my skills with a sword. “I’m just trying to put together all the facts and look at it logically, without any of my feelings getting in the way.”

  Realization dawns on Draven’s sharp features, and he whistles low. “You don’t really think that he could have done this, do you?”

  I curse under my breath. “I fucking hope I’m wrong, but I can’t ignore the evidence piling up against him. You’ve worked with him for years, what’s your gut tell you?”

  “He’s my mentor, Jinx, don’t know what my gut is telling me other than something is off around here.” Draven rubs at the stubble on his chin. “What do you want to do now?”

  I kick at the ground, unhappy that I’m going to have to do this in the first place, my ribs squeezing my lungs at the thought that the person who did this is so close to the throne. So close to our family.

  “I’m going to set a trap, and then I’m going to kill him.”

  17

  Shortly after we’d set our own plans for a trap during tomorrow’s hunt for my father, Draven and I parted ways. I’d eaten a quick dinner and headed to create a timeline of events leading up to this with someone impartial to Bartol, and Draven went to collect supplies and rope Maxen into our scheme.

  I take the back stairwell toward my rooms, so lost in my head I almost slam face first into my little sister.

  I grip both her elbows to steady us and smile down at her. “Sorry about that, I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “Clearly.” Wren shrugs me off, her emerald eyes cold as she looks at me.

  “Have you spoken with Gerant today?” I ask her, hoping that he’d at least shown her our side of things and she wasn’t going to stab me just to relieve some anger.

  She crosses her arms over her chest. “Yes. I did.”

  “And you have nothing to say about what you talked about?” If she wants to act at being short and sweet and pretend like I’m the big bad wolf, then I’m going to play the part.

  Wren scoffs. “I have a lot of things to say about your actions, Jinx.”

  I wave my arm in a circle. “Well, let’s get it all out in the open then so you can stop walking around looking like you sucked on a lemon. Honestly, it’s not a good look on you.”

  Wren growls at my words. “I should have known that when you left, it was for selfish reasons and not for anything else like you led me to believe. You’re not even back a week, and already you’re accepting offers to be anywhere other than here. Where you’re needed. Where your family needs you.”

  I laugh, the sound humorless. “Oh, Wren, if only it were that simple.” I lean against the wall, letting a curious hunter pass us but no longer caring who hears about this. “I know it would be easier to hate me, but before you do, collect all the information.”

  She opens her mouth to interrupt me, and I hold up a hand, my pointer finger risen.

  “One, I left because, not only did someone poison you and leave me a note telling me that if I didn’t leave, they’d finish the job, but two, I also found Artagant and Arianna fucking each other in her chambers.”

  Wren jerks back like I’d slapped her in the face, but I don’t stop.

  “Consider the fact that I was young when our eldest brother abdicated the throne for a forbidden love, and then instead of our other brother becoming the heir, I was named as such.” I shake my head. “Tell me, Wren, if the fate of each and every soul not only under this roof, but of the victims of those we chase down, rested in your hands and someone was threatening death to your family, would you have chosen differently and risked our lives?”

  “Why didn’t you tell any of us any of this? Tell me why you left?” She shouts the words, tears forming in her deep green eyes.

  “I refused to put you in any more danger than you were already in. You were recovering from being poisoned. Our parents were focused on your health and the balance of power within our walls.”

  “So you just left? Thought you’d handle it all on your own? What if they had gone back on their word and killed me off anyways, Jinx? What would you have done then?”

  I step forward and tip Wren’s chin up so she’s staring directly in my eyes. “I’d have torn each and every realm apart until I’d found those responsible and made them pay in ways that not even father would be able to stomach.” I shake her chin a bit. “Do not ever think that I didn’t have contingency plans in place or that I left you without someone to look out for you. If you were upset at my leaving, imagine how I felt, not only leaving the only home I’d ever known, but my family, my hounds, my purpose.”

  Wren chokes out a sob, and I pull her into my arms as she cries on my shoulder. “I didn’t know, Jinx. I had no idea.”

  I rub her back. “I know you didn’t. And if I could have kept this from you so you could go on without looking over your shoulder and wondering who’s friend and who’s foe, I would have, little sister.”

  “You know I’m not a kid anymore, right? I can take care of myself.” She sniffles, pulling back and wiping at the tear tracks on her cheeks.

  “I’m well aware that you can, but as your older sister, it’s hardwired into the very fiber of my being to protect you, even if you don’t think you need it or want it.”

  “I feel like that’s ridiculous, but I also know I’d do anything for my siblings, so I suppose I can’t fault you for that. Even if it offends my pride.”

  “Yeah, well, welcome to adulthood. Pretty much everything you do in the name of family, friends, and lovers will go against someone’s sensibilities. Otherwise, you’re not doing it right.”

  “Speaking of being offensive…” Wren scuffs the toe of her boot on the floor. “Are you really only going to visit Breakneck Keep?”

  I curl my arm around her shoulders, taking her with me as I walk toward my rooms. “Yes, for now, that’s all I’m doing.” A scowl mars her face, and I chuckle. “I will not make you a promise that I can’t keep, Wren. I know it might not be exactly what you want to hear, but I already know that I won’t be able to stay away from home this long again. That being said, I’m not exactly sure what place I have here.”

  “You’re still the heir. Father didn’t suddenly change his mind, you know.” Wren runs a hand over Grave’s coal black coat as they rush to greet us the moment we open the door into my bedroom.

  “I’ve been made aware of that, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I’m unsure if I’m fit to rule the Wild Hunt.”

  “But you think you’re fit to be a part of the Redcaps?” Wren tosses her hands up in the air. “Come on, Jinx! We both disliked Isa when she first arrived, and you see her once in five years and suddenly you’re chummy. I don’t understand you, Jinx.”

  I splash some cold water left in a bowl on my face and chuckle at her disgruntled tone. “That makes two of us, little sister. I do know that I can’t let Kapriel go off to the Redcap Kingdom on his own though. And why are you so upset about me being friendly with Isa? She’s our sister now too.”

  Wren snorts. “No, she’s a brother- and now sister-stealing menace.”

  “She hasn’t stolen me from you, Wren. I’m still your big sister, but she is also the mother of our future niece or nephew, so it would be best if you could make a semblance of peace with her, if not for your sake, then for baby and Gerant.”

  Wren plops down in a chair, laying her hand on Ambush’s ivory head when she places it on Wren’s thigh. “Whatever, I’m over this topic, moving on. So you’re going to be Kapriel’s tour guide in a place you’ve never been? I’m failing to see the logic in that.”

  I toe off my boots and sit down on the floor, my back to the footboard of my bed, and ruffle the fur on Grave’s onyx neck. “No, I’m going to be his bodyguard in a kingdom that isn’t as friendly to outsiders as we are. The last thing I need is for someo
ne to rip his arm off for a poorly timed joke that he’d otherwise get away with here.”

  “You don’t think he could defend himself? How is he your partner if he’s so weak?”

  “Jin, are you telling lies about me again?” Kapriel asks as he walks through the open doorway, his hands on his hips as he glowers down at me like a father would an errant child.

  I bat my eyelashes at him. “You know it, Kap. Can’t have anyone thinking you’re useful or something silly like that.”

  “Well, that’s just plain rude.” Kapriel glances between the two of us and bounces on his toes. “So are you two done arguing now? Everyone has made up, and we’ve hugged it out?”

  I roll my eyes at the same time Wren says, “We don’t hug things out here. We battle to the death.”

  Kapriel points at her. “I one hundred percent believe that, girly.” His expression turns wicked, and he wiggles his eyebrows. “So no hope for a sexy pillow fight then?”

  “Ew, gross!” I toss one of my boots at Kapriel’s head, wiping the smug look off his face.

  He shifts at the last second, letting the muddy shoe hit his shoulder with a thump. “You. Did. Not. Just throw. Your foot fungus infested boot at me.”

  “How dare you!” I rise to my feet. “Are you implying that I’m unclean?”

  Kapriel shrugs a shoulder, his palm facing upwards. “I’m not implying anything.” He rubs at the corner of his mouth. “I’m just stating facts, Jinxy.”

  “Oh, it’s on!” I let out a battle cry and charge him, pretending to duck low and go for his middle but, at the last second, stepping around him and jumping on his back, wrapping my arm around his neck and holding on for dear life as he jumps around trying to throw me off.

  “You think you can best me, Jinxy?” Kapriel teases, and I growl at him, tightening my hold.

  Ambush and Grave both yip and bark, circling around us, trying to join in on my attack, but I cluck my tongue at them, letting them know not to eat Kapriel.

  “Call me Jinxy one more time and I’ll make you suffer in cruel and unusual ways, Kap. Or better yet, I’ll find one of those pink ten-legged hounds and chain you to one!”

  Kapriel stills for a moment. “Ah, fuck it.” He mutters under his breath before shouting at the top of his lungs, “Jinxy! Oh, Jinxy!”

  I hit the top of his head with the palm of my free hand, wrapping a leg around his waist to steady myself. “Wren, a little assistance?” I glance at her, but her mouth is opening and closing like a fish out of water, as though she’s not sure if we’re kidding or if I’m actually attacking my best friend. I mean, I don’t know that I can blame her, because I’m only half kidding about making him suffer for calling me Jinxy.

  “Don’t do it, Wren! She’s playing you! I’m the better ally to have,” Kapriel shouts, reaching back to pull my hair as he tries to loosen my arm around his thick neck. “Gods above, you’ve got a tighter grip than a virgin’s vagina.”

  I choke out a strangled laugh at his words and then punch him in his side. “Do not speak to her, peasant! She’s my sister, she’ll be helping me show you the error of your ways!”

  Finally, Wren seems to snap out of her stupor, closing her mouth with a click of teeth when Kapriel slams us back against the wall, eliciting an oof from me as the wind is knocked out of me. “You’re both completely mad.”

  We both still at her words, as though she’s the one who’s mental. “Did you hear what she just said to us, Jin?” Kap asks, his offense apparent in his disbelieving tone.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Kapriel cranes his neck back as much as he can to meet my gaze from my perch on his back. “Change sidesies?”

  “Wait, what?” Wren stands up, holding both hands out in front of her as though she could stop us from whatever it is that we’re about to do.

  “Change sidesies!” I shriek before launching from Kapriel’s back toward my sister, tackling her to the ground and tickling her side until she’s laughing so hard she’s gasping for breath. “Take it back and we’ll accept your surrender.” I wiggle my fingers a few inches from her side, and she tries to wriggle away.

  Wren tips her chin back, defiance splashed across her face. “You are not well, Jinx. Neither of you are. Perhaps your brain has warped from the chemicals in the air in the human realm.”

  I dig my fingers into her side again. “You’re probably right, but that wasn’t a request for mercy!”

  “I will never surrender!” Wren shouts, arching her back up off the floor as she tries to buck me off.

  We struggle for a few minutes longer until we’re both gasping for breath from laughing and wrestling on the floor. I flop onto my back, arms spread wide as my heart gallops in my chest. I lift my head, looking for Kapriel and finding him perched on the end of the bed.

  “Way to help me out. You didn’t change sides, you took a load off.”

  Kapriel shrugs. “You didn’t ask for my help, you just jumped across the room at her like a wild banshee, and I assumed you had everything under control.”

  “Oh no, not this shit again.” Wren pulls herself up to her feet, using the chair for leverage and practically sprints to the door. “I’m not getting in the middle of another one of your verbal death matches.”

  “Hey, Wren?” I call out, making her pause at the doorway, her emerald eyes meeting my ice blue ones.

  “Yeah, Jinx?”

  “We okay?”

  My little sister smiles at me softly. “Yeah, we’re good. I’ll see you when you bring father back.”

  “You’re not coming with us?” I ask, surprised she’d miss the chance to join us on a hunt. Normally Edern would be the one to stay as the eldest of the three of us that could have any claim to the throne.

  “Nah, Edern wanted to go, so I’m staying behind with mother and Isa. You guys could be gone a day, could be a week. Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you get back, and we’ll do some more catching up.”

  “Sounds good, brat.” Wren flips me the bird and then walks off, and I let my head thump on the carpeted floor, exhausted from the mental and physical exertion of the day. “Fucking hells, Kap, I could sleep for a week and still be tired, I think.”

  “Yeah, well, we can’t take the time to let you do that.”

  I sigh. “I know.” I push up from the floor, resting on my elbows. “What was it that had you coming to find me up here earlier?”

  Kapriel’s face lights up with excitement. “Oh, I ran into Draven.”

  I clear my throat, hoping that Kapriel doesn’t notice any change in my voice at the mention of Draven. “Oh yeah?”

  “I was with Maxen, and he walked in all ‘I am he-man’ and gives me this look like I’m some sort of bug he’s crushed under his shoe and says, ‘I suppose since she trusts you, you can hear this as well.’ And then, he told me all about your suspicions about you-know-who and how we’re going to lay a trap tomorrow?”

  I snort at Draven’s lack of faith in Kapriel. “That’s the plan, but I don’t know if it will work. It will depend on where we end up and how long it takes to find him.” I rub at my forehead, a headache forming behind my right eye.

  “Do you really think he could have done it? From what I’ve heard in my short time here, his loyalty has never been in question even though he was passed over.” Kapriel scoots back on the bed until he’s against the mountain of pillows at the top. “Obviously, I don’t know him well, but something about the timeline and details feels off to me.”

  I massage the knots in the back of my neck. “Yeah, same here.”

  “Well, what’s not making sense to you, Jin? Talk it through with me.”

  I stand and walk over to the bed, ready to pass the fuck out and not worry about anything but sleeping for a few hours. We plan to leave before first light tomorrow, and that means having to wake up while the moon is still high in the sky to get ready, shove something in our mouths to fill our bellies, and then organize a bunch of bloodthirsty hunters.

  “Honestly, I
don’t know. Something is bugging me, and I can’t put my finger on it. But if he did this, he will pay dearly. There will be nowhere he can run. Nowhere he can hide.” I crawl under the covers, lying on my side and hugging a pillow to my chest. “Get some rest, Kap, tomorrow will be grueling.”

  18

  The quick succession of three knocks on my door comes far too quickly after a fitful night’s sleep with Kapriel snoring in my ear. Gods, he’s going to have to marry a woman who can sleep through the sounds of war, or she’ll murder him.

  I shove at his shoulder. “Wake up, Kap.”

  He rolls over, grumbling at me, “No, go away.”

  I push at him, shaking him a bit this time. “Rise and shine, you ugly bastard. We’ve got a king to bring home.”

  He sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “I had the strangest dreams.” He stretches his arms upward, yawning.

  I step behind the partition so I can change into something a bit more fitting for traipsing through the forest. “Oh yeah? Care to share?”

  Kapriel snorts. “Gods no. I’m trying to forget about it. And you’d only use it against me.”

  “Boo! You’re no fun when you’re tired, Kap.” I toss my dirty clothes into a linen bag and head toward my armoire full of weapons, both of us now quiet as we focus on getting done what needs to get done.

  I toss a specially made sheath over my shoulders, securing it in place at my back. Draíocht’s black blade rests snugly against my spine, and I continue to strap various holsters to my leather covered thighs and my bare arms. My shirt is one from the human realm. Tight to my skin so I don’t have to fight with fabric on a quick draw of weapons, thick enough that I won’t freeze my tits off, and light enough that I won’t die if it gets hot.

  Kapriel steps out, his outfit closely matching mine except for the pair of thick black cargo pants he’s got on instead of leathers. “Gods, Jin, you look like you’re headed to the ends of the world and not planning on coming back.”