Chapter 15

M ateo shifted his grip on Eiric's legs while Finnian held his limp upper body. Selene led the way through the forest. She weaved her way through the overgrown brush, heading back the way they had come. So far, they avoided the magic boundary and another run-in with the foxes. Perhaps those deadly creatures needed a reprieve too.

Mateo never thought he'd be working with highborns, much less save one as detestable as Eiric Lind. But now, all hunters had a common enemy. What did that mean for the hunt? And for him winning? In order to capture one of the deadly foxes, he needed to survive. The only way to survive? Use the highborns to his advantage. Once he made his kill, they were on their own to figure out last place, death, and banishment of their people.

Even Avalynn.

He glanced over his shoulder at Stormshroud. Usually next to him, she was now trotting along with the princess. What a betrayal, but he could not entirely blame Stormy. If Mateo and Avalynn were not competitors, he would want to be with her too.

"Over here." Selene veered off to an area thick with vegetation, and the cave's mouth came into view.

Mateo had scoured plenty of caves with Stormshroud. They would check it before the others went in. "Stormy, go look." He whistled, and she bounded with a leap and then disappeared inside.

Avalynn approached. "She came all this way to be with you?"

He knew Stromshroud had come for him, but she seemed to stay for Avalynn. "Or you. I can't tell for sure." His wolf had been so eager to join him when he left the Sublands. But now, it was as if Stormy had laid eyes on a beautiful maiden and abandoned all senses.

A smile crept across Avalynn's face. She winked at Mateo. "Your wolf has good taste."

Stormy trotted out of the cave. Selene pointed at the cave's mouth and a dirt floor with plenty of fluffy leaves. "Lay him here." Selene slipped off her satchel and set it under Eiric's head. She looked up at Avalynn with pleading eyes. "What do we do?"

"Um…well…"

Did the highborns know nothing? They were too busy being pampered by maidservants and healers. He took off his satchel and found fruit, flat bread squares, water, and a small rag. It was a start. He took the water and the rag and approached Eiric.

Selene blocked his path. "How do I know you will not hurt him?"

"He is already hurt." Mateo shook his head. He approached with a rag, not a dagger .

"Come on, Selene." Gently, Avalynn pulled her back. "Let him help."

He knelt beside Eiric and pulled the blood-stained collar down. Coagulated blood caked around the bite. A clean water rinse provided a better view. The sharp, precise punctures dotted the skin in a curved line. Fresh blood began seeping from the wound. "He needs stitching. If the wounds are not closed, he will bleed out."

Eiric's eyes opened. "What is happening?" He looked around as if in a daze. "Where am I?"

Selene fell to her knees and wiped his brow. "One of those horrid foxes bit your neck. But you are going to be fine now." She glanced at Mateo. "Right?"

He shrugged, not knowing if the Shadowblood's bite was deadly. They'd know soon enough. "He should survive." He scooted back, then rose to his feet. "But I need something to close up the wound."

Vines, ferns, and moss-covered rock covered the cave's entrance. He walked the perimeter of the cave, searching for spider webs but found none. He'd have to go back into the trees.

Avalynn approached with Stormy, her new best friend, trotting at her side. "What are you looking for?"

"Webbing. For the cut." He shot Stormy a glare and then went outside the cave. He didn't have to walk far to see thin, silky threads stretched between two limbs of a giant oak. He grabbed a handful.

"How do you know about that?" Avalynn followed and observed.

"Because, princess, I am a Sublander and a lowborn. We are survivors. We don't have servants kissing our bruises and mending our wounds."

She grabbed his arm. "Will you stop, please? We are trying to survive this cursed hunt and must work together." She paused as if carefully crafting her next words. "Or we will all end up dead."

There it was. She needed him again. He stepped closer. Her sweet scent of roses and jasmine drifted around him, tempting him like sirens on a dangerous sea, her melodic call drawing him into uncharted depths and possible death. "No matter what we do, princess, one of us will surely end up in the Passing Place. And it won't be me." It couldn't be him. Too many people counted on him.

He went back to Eiric, who was sitting up and leaning against the cave wall. "This webbing will help seal your wound and prevent infection."

With Selene by his side, Eiric nodded. "Thank you." He gulped. "Mateo."

He smirked. Now that a lowborn Sublander could help, he had a name. It figured. He applied the spider threads and pressed them into the wound. When everything looked the way he wanted and the blood stopped spilling out of the bite, he went to the edge of the cave's mouth and inspected the trees. From the length of the shadows filtering through, the sun had passed over. If the Shadowbloods were like regular foxes, they had found a den to hunker down for the remainder of the day. They would come out at night. The cave offered some protection, but not enough.

Avalynn came up next to him, rock in hand. "We need to talk about what happened." She tossed the rock from one hand to the other. "And our next move. I say ‘our' because it's us against those foxes."

"How did they know to work together?" Finnian approached with his satchel. He took out a piece of fruit. "Like they were part of one larger pack. "

Eiric added through labored breaths, "I have neither seen nor heard of anything like it."

"I want to get out of here." Selene opened her satchel. "I never wanted to be in this wretched hunt anyway."

She did not even want to be here? Back home in the Sublands, his people were dying for a chance at the hunt. Mateo studied her foolish, whiny face. "You are the worst of the worst."

Selene recoiled and huffed. "No one cares what you think, lowborn."

"Stop." Avalynn glared at Selene. "Right now, we are not lowborns or highborns." Her voice rose. "We are not even hunters."

Mateo folded his arms. He hated to admit it, but the princess had a point. "You are right. We are now the hunted."

The silence returned like a shadow, dark and menacing. Tired of silence and tired of talking, Mateo wanted action. "We need to get back to being hunters." He drew his dagger. "We need more weapons." If they acted like prey, they would continue being that.

"Spears," Avalynn said. "You can make spears with your dagger."

"You could probably make some with the tip of your arrow too." He pointed to her quiver. "How many do you have?"

"Only three." She kept one, handed one to Finnian, and the other she held out in front of Selene and Eiric. "Who wants to make spears?"

Selene took the arrow. "I will."

"I can fashion a defensive perimeter using whatever you all make," said Eiric.

Now they were getting somewhere. Mateo explained how the branches should be sturdy, straight, and at least eight feet long. Growing up in the Sublands certainly showed its advantages in this moment. And the highborns were actually listening. Survival mode at its finest.

Everyone took to the trees and started breaking branches. When they had about two dozen, they cleared the side branches and began whittling the ends to points. They handed their finished product to Eiric, who placed them around the cave's mouth.

When their hands ached and the sunlight had all but disappeared, they retreated back to the cave. "Now what?" Selene paced, her eyes darting as she scanned the surroundings.

"Now we build a fire, gather logs for seating, and take turns sleeping." He avoided Stormshroud, who stayed close to Avalynn still. "I will take the first watch." He would use the time to think about his next moves.

"I will join you," Avalynn offered right away.

Night fell quickly. Darkness engulfed the cave except for the crackling fire. Eiric and Selene lay close together in one corner. Finnian slept opposite them.

Assuming watch duty, Mateo sat close to the fire. He kept his gaze on the flames, ignoring Avalynn by his side. There was nothing for them to talk about anyway. Despite the fire, the chill air clung to his skin, creating a layer of dampness. It even coated each breath he took. He missed the dry red rocks back home. And he especially missed his family. He patted the cross in his pocket. Please, let them be okay.

Stormshroud moved closer. She nudged her head under his hand. "Now you want to be best friends again," he whispered. He brought her close and stroked her thick fur. No hunter would be alive without Stormy. Her excellence brought back all the times they spent together on Spirit Butte. And thoughts of Spirit Butte pulled his mission to the forefront of his mind as the dancing flames filled his vision. "Everything is on fire," he whispered to himself. His overwhelming need to win and save his father and sister and everyone in the Sublands pulsed within him. "And so am I."