Chapter 27

Iclenchedmyteeth together as I watched Andy work her magic. Watching witches work their spells was always interesting. The common theory was that witch families were spawned from some other magical creature, perhaps fae or something similar, their blood diluted and changed by thousands of years of interbreeding with humans. It wasn"t a popular idea among the snooty high-class magic working families, but I could see how it might be possible. I could feel Andy"s magic. I could tell what she was doing, how she was directing it, and hear the symphony of the spells she was casting and breaking—but it was as if she spoke another language, one with a heavy dialect and impenetrable layers of slang that I could never hope to understand. From what I"d heard from other witches, that sentiment went both ways—they couldn"t understand or work fae magic either.

Which meant I could do nothing to help my soft, vulnerable, almost human lover as she went up against spells that could literally tear her apart. I gripped my bow, waiting for the boogeyman to appear. I might not be able to help Andy with Lovell magic, but I could certainly hit a moving target. And I could use my own magic on anything that wasn"t that cursed book.

The instant the bindings on the bestiary were broken, dark, tantalizing, fearful magic shivered over my skin. I had never met a boogey man before—at least, I"d never encountered a creature who referred to themselves as such. They were supposedly reclusive, good at hiding, and didn"t really have just one set of agreed-up appearance or powers. But the fear…that was one of the few things that all the stories of boogeymen had in common. I tightened my grip on my bow, almost eager for something to hunt. I had been cooped up here, inactive, for far too long.

But the cowardly creature decided to flee instead of fight. I felt the magic drain from the place, leaving behind a group of confused and wary magical beings looking around at the steely gray sky.

Disappointing.

We all headed inside, but I couldn"t help casting one last look back over my shoulder, searching for a threat. The hair stood up on the back of my neck and all my muscles tensed for a fight. But all I saw was the water weaver, wandering at their usual aimless pace behind us as if they were lost in their own world. I faced forward again, trying to shake the feeling of being watched.

"Someone check on me in about fifteen minutes or so and make sure I"m not dead," Andy called out as she headed for the stairs.

I nodded and mentally made note. Fae hunters were the protectors and providers of our clan. But somehow, caregiving felt like an extension of that. I would guard Andy"s wellbeing, even if that meant mothering her a bit to ensure that her body had what it needed to keep her healthy.

That damned curse. I would rip it from her cells myself, if I didn"t think it would kill her. Witches were proud and arrogant people—nearly as proud and arrogant as my own people, if I was being honest. It had to chafe at Andy, knowing that she carried such a human weakness inside her, and one that all her peers were immune to. But my new mate carried this burden the same way she carried all of the bullshit that had been foisted on her thanks to her horrendous family—with a little bit of attitude and almost staggering amounts of stubbornness.

It was almost warriorlike. Made me want to kiss her senseless.

I smiled faintly at my thoughts. When I had emerged from the bestiary, I was full of rage. When I left this place to find that my entire fae clan was long dead and gone, I had been gutted, awash in grief. But then the loneliness had set in. I was adrift. Who was I without a clan to protect and hunt for? A fae"s clan was everything. So, I refused to leave Andy"s home and pledged myself to her for no other reason than I couldn"t figure out what else to do. My clan was gone. And setting out into the world on my own, a world that I hadn"t navigated for several hundred years, and which was drastically changed…. It just felt safer to stay right here.

Taking a tumble between the sheets with the curvy witch had just been a distraction, an added benefit. But I wasn"t stupid. I knew what was happening here. I was falling in love with the stubborn, borderline insane witch a little more every day. The thought called to mind distant memories of past loves, of that telltale softening inside my heart, combined with the intense need to protect.

My shoulders tightened, but I didn"t allow myself to look back as I felt someone—or something staring at me. Never let the predator stalking you know you were afraid. It just made them that much more likely to pounce.

But…that wasn"t right. There wasn"t a predator behind me…because that would make me prey. And a fae hunter was never prey.

I spun, narrowing my eyes at the empty, echoing marble entryway. Everyone else had gone their separate ways. I was completely alone. Not even Andy"s pet rodent was anywhere to be seen, though I studied the vines that trailed along the walls near the window just to be sure.

I turned, stepping over a twisted tree root and making my way past the ancient, crumbling stairs that had once led to the second floor. This ruin had once been a beautiful mansion for some rich magic user, and now it was little more than plant-covered rubble. But I could find some shelter here until dawn. I glanced out what was left of an arched window that was empty of glass, at the rapidly darkening sky, as I pondered whether starting a fire would be worth the risk of calling attention to myself.

Brushing aside the thick leaves of a banana tree, I paused and glanced around again. I could sense the predator that stalked me. It watched me from somewhere nearby, playing with its prey.

I wasn"t prey. I was a skilled and dedicated fae hunter, protector of my people. I had nothing to fear from the night. Or from the wilds.

The wild….

A single, hair-raising, soul-stealing howl rose up in the twilight, echoing off the crumbling walls of my pathetic shelter. I crouched instinctively, trying to make myself smaller, like a rabbit frozen by the approach of a wolf.

Except…I wasn"t being hunted by wolves.

The call sounded again, off to my right this time. Then to my left. Behind me. In front. They had me surrounded in this perfect maze of a crumbling ruin. All the better to chase me. The better to play. To exhaust me and make me beg for death.

I slid a bone-handled blade into my hand as the Wild Hunt sang to the moon, calling for my blood.

I wasn"t a hunter. I was prey. And they would run me into the ground. But I wouldn"t make it easy for them.

I wove through the overgrown plants that had escaped the courtyards and atriums of the place and now grew over the crumbling walls. I climbed the highest tree and perched there with my bow.

My bow.

I wish I had my bow, but I"d lost it, hadn"t I? All I had was this knife. The one I had made myself when I came of age and took my place as a hunter. This knife had been with me since the very beginning.

My knife.

I wish I hadn"t lost it. But I had, hadn"t I? That"s right. My knife was gone.

I crouched in the tree, curling my bare hands around the rough branches as the fae hounds of the dreaded Wild Hunt thundered into the ruined house, the massive, magically strong beasts maddened by the smell of my blood. By the smell of my weakness.

You can"t protect yourself, my little antlered snack. The hound"s voice in my head was a strange fusion of its thoughts and its creator"s will. Couldn"t protect your family. Can"t even protect yourself. Pathetic. They really called you a hunter?

Another hound joined the first one, circling the base of the tree where I hid. Pathetic. Weak. Best jump down here now and let us rid the world of your failure, little morsel.

I hissed, fighting the hold their words had on me, the way they slid into my mind and sabotaged my will with the magic of their dark, unseelie master, whoever they were.

But my thoughts were growing jumbled and cloudy.

Come down, come down, come down, yet another hound taunted, prancing around like an overeager human pet, rather than the terrible, massive beast it was. Its giant paws held claws thicker than my fingers. Glowing bluish saliva dripped from its jaws and hit the plants and broken marble below with an acid hiss.

The tree shook as one of the monsters rammed a broad shoulder into it. Come down and show us how weak your clan"s supposed protector really is.

I slipped, nearly falling, my limbs moving too slow, heavy under the sickening call of the Wild Hunt. I wanted to do as they said. Why stay hidden up here like some frightened bird in the branches? I wanted to fly. To run. To smell the wildness of the wind-swept moors and feel the tingle of the moon"s magic on my bare skin. I wanted my feet on the earth. My senses were alive, pulsing, yearning to hunt. To run. Run, run, run….

The tree shuddered again, but this time I didn"t fight to stay perched where I was. Instead, I stood, pushing up with the powerful muscles of my legs, calling my fae magic up to bubble through my blood, wild and free. I was one with the night. I was the hunt. I was the prey and I had to run.

I leapt off the tree branch, over the heads of the massive, black fae hounds, summersaulting in the air and landing nimbly on my feet like the forest creature I was. Glancing over my shoulder, I smiled. Then I ran.

My surroundings were a blur. I ran fast and hard. I leapt over fallen walls and scrambled through dense, exotic vegetation. I crushed night blooming flowers beneath my feet, and I howled at the moon, even as she called for my death. Blood pounded in my veins. I was alive! My soul sang!

I was flying so high I didn"t feel the impact of the heavy hound body smashing into me from the side. I was still smiling with wild euphoria as my body hit the ground and rolled, my tender, naked flesh scraping over sticks and stones.

But I felt the teeth sink into my skin. The moon shone brightly overhead, still calling to me. The hounds" saliva burned like a thousand angry bees as it seared my flesh, acid and magic. I clawed, and kicked, and howled, scrabbling to defend myself with my bare hands as the pack of ravenous hounds descended on me and tore me to pieces.