Chapter 20

T heir passion-fueled day stretched into the night, a symphony of shared desires and whispered promises. And when they had no more to give, they drifted into a peaceful slumber beneath the stars. But as the first rays of dawn pierced the forest canopy, their harsh reality set in.

The hunt awaited them.

"I don't want this to end," Avalynn moaned into his neck.

"I don't either," he said, tracing her silky-smooth skin as she snuggled closer.

His fingertips moved from her neck, down her back, and up again in a circular pattern. Being with her was everything, but at the same time it was terrifying. She was a Stromm. A highborn. He was a lowborn from the Sublands. What would become of them after this? He had no idea. But he was sure of one thing. Nothing would ever be the same again, but they would always have the Green Falls.

They must re-enter the hunt. They would each capture a Shadowblood without being killed. There was also the dragon to worry about. Not to mention Avalynn's villainous High King father. What would he or his witch do when they crossed that finish line together? His stomach twisted into knots. He had no way of knowing how any of it would unfold.

He stopped his tracing motion. Avalynn glanced up at him. "What is it?"

His hand caressed her jawline. So beautiful. So brave. So strong. He could do anything with her by his side. "We must finish this thing."

She leaned in and kissed his lips. "Let's do it."

They dressed in a hurry, climbed down their boulder, and joined the Enbarr. Once again on the magical beast, they snuggled in for the journey back to the hunt. They raced with the wind, the fresh air enveloping them as they dashed toward the cave. Her arms were wrapped around his waist. The pair of them melded and rode the regal horse as one. Her touch had new meaning. They spoke no words. Everything had been said on that boulder.

Mateo's memory turned to Rhyka in the carriage ride to Stromm Palace. She warned him that she had foreseen that he and the hunter from House Stromm would be linked in the hunt. She had threaded her fingers and folded them into a joined fist and spoke the prophetic words, " Two destinies tied, making one future. " Now he knew what she meant. Her premonition had come true. His future would always be tied to Avalynn Stromm. The Green Falls ensured that. Now all they needed to do was survive the hunt, and step over that finish line together.

In what seemed like no time, they arrived back at the cave. Stormshroud circled them, jumping and wagging her tail. Avalynn slipped off the horse, knelt, and rubbed Stormy behind the ears. The wolf replied with a thick lick across her face that nearly toppled her. "I missed you too, girl."

Mateo crossed his arms. "What about me?" Stormshroud lifted herself up on her hind legs and placed her paws on his shoulders. "So, you do remember me." All was not lost with his trusty wolf.

Leaving them, Avalynn approached the Enbarr. She rested her head against its front flank and stroked its gleaming white and silver mane. "Thank you for helping me."

The majestic beast snorted and sauntered into the trees with a flick of its long tail.

Time to focus. Mateo turned his attention to the new mission. With the sun already dipping, the bright blue expanse morphed into muted purples. He did not mean to leave the Green Falls so late, and now they were running low on daylight. But there was still plenty of time to prepare if they hurried.

"We need weapons." He spotted the makeshift spears they had whittled earlier. He kept one and gave Avalynn two.

She tightened her hands around the wood. "I have an idea." Her gaze remained distant.

"What is it" Anything she offered would have been welcomed.

She circled the cave's mouth. "Master Kragar prepared me for the prey beforehand, as you know." She flashed him an apologetic look. "He showed me how the Shadowbloods disappear. I had never seen such a thing and wondered how such a creature could be hunted." She stopped circling and faced him. "He claimed he had told me the answer already, but I never figured it out."

"A clue…" Mateo raised his eyebrows. He nodded, and his voice grew louder. "The madman gave you a clue."

"He must have." She scrunched her face and scratched her head. "Though at the time, I could not decipher it in his words."

"What exactly did he say to you?" Two minds focused on the same purpose were always better than one. "Leave nothing out."

Avalynn paced with her finger on her lip. "They're from the far north. They're cunning and devious. They disappear in the shadows. They can inject a deadly toxin with their claws." She paused, closed her eyes, and then exhaled. "They're vampiric, feed on small animals, and their favorite meal is rabbit."

"Their favorite?" The answer came to Mateo in a flash of inspired genius. "That dwarf Kragar did give you the answer." It was obvious to any experienced hunter.

"He did?" Her head tilted sideways, and she squinted. "Perhaps I'm not seeing what you do."

Mateo knew exactly what Kragar meant with that sly piece of information—Rabbit could be bait. "If they love rabbits, we can use their cravings against them. Instead of tracking the Shadowblood, we will summon the creatures. All we need is a rabbit or two."

Her brows furrowed. "What do you mean by summon?"

He, Lirien, and Gareth had used still hunting before. Messy yet effective, it worked well against intelligent prey. "We smear rabbit blood on our bodies. If we wear the pelts, the Shadowbloods will think we are rabbits and come close, and then we will attack them."

She closed her eyes and swallowed. "That's what I thought you meant."

He glanced at the darkening sky, then set his spear on the ground. "Stormshroud will hunt for rabbits. We will stay here." He lowered himself in front of Stormy. He held his hands to his head with the backs of his hands facing out. Then he raised his middle and index fingers and twitched like rabbit ears. "Rabbits. Fetch."

His wolf knew this routine well and excelled at the task. She barked and then darted from the cave's mouth.

"How do you know how to communicate with your hands like that?"

"My friend back home, Gareth, is mute and speaks with his hands. Over the years, I have learned and taught Stormshroud. It is most effective in hunting when silence is needed."

"That is actually quite amazing. I hope to meet this Gareth one day."

He wanted to believe she would have that chance. "I hope so too." Again, he glanced at the sky. "We should spread out sticks and leaves so we can hear the foxes approaching."

"Good idea."

They gathered armfuls of kindling and spread their haul over the cave's floor like a rug. He glanced at the remnants of the fire they had burned with the other hunters. Eiric and Finnian were dead, and Selene had most likely joined them. He and Avalynn could suffer the same fate. His empty stomach grumbled as he suspected they would. His gloomy thoughts remained hidden from view. As a lowborn Sublander, life had trained him to hope for the best yet expect the worst. The Summit Range Hunt would be no different.

Avalynn leaned into him. Her floral scent delivered him from his morbid thoughts. "What is in your pocket? You keep touching it. "

His hand clutched his outer pocket, holding the cross within. How long had he been doing that? He loosened his grip, slipped his fingers inside, and removed his wooden cross. He placed it on his palm.

"It's a cross. My father made it for me when I was a child." He dismissed all notions of anyone else being his father. He belonged to Manny and Faeryn. Their beliefs belonged to him, too. "It is a symbol of my father's human religion."

"May I hold it?" Avalynn held out her hand.

He passed it to her. "Of course."

She brought it closer and studied it, rubbing her thumb and forefinger over the smooth surface. "Such a simple thing. Does it hold any power?"

"No. It is only a shape, but wielded by a believer, it symbolizes the greatest power of all." His father explained his religion once a week for all the years of his young life. When Mateo grew to the age where he would account for his own actions, his father's teachings ceased.

At this moment, here with Avalynn in the cave, he regretted not learning more from his father. Yet he remembered every lesson. "The cross represents the sacrifice of a savior from the human realm. One with great power. This symbol is a sign of hope and love."

"Really?" Her eyes widened as she turned the wood over in her hand. "A savior with power?" She handed the cross back. "Do you touch it hoping it will provide you that power?"

"I touch it for hope." Everything about his life as a lowborn and his place in the hunt had him feeling powerless. But he kept his fears hidden and slipped the cross back where it belonged.

"Do we need hope? "

"We all need hope. It inspires courage. My father says faith is a warrior." Without being killed, they needed to capture two Shadowbloods and cross the finish line together. Hope was important, especially now. "Hope ignites resilience and influences destinies. In times of total darkness, hope is that small sliver of light visible only when you look hard enough."

"Faith is a warrior." Her lips curled with a smile. "You are a savior like that. You bring hope."

He chuckled. "No, I am most definitely not." Mateo had too many villainous tendencies to earn a title like savior. He kissed her lips. "But thank you for thinking so."

"Well then, you are a messenger of hope."

His stomach whined like a trapped wolf. Sharp hunger pangs coursed through him. He placed his hand over his grumbling midsection. "I think the only messenger here is my empty stomach."

Avalynn's belly joined in on the chorus. "Mine feels the same way."

With Stormy hunting, they had some time to search for berries. They would need the energy. He ventured out of the cave's mouth, scanning the thick and thorny brush. "There are berries out here. I know it. But where?"

She pointed to the west and the setting sun. "I saw some mystic moonberries over there. Not too far at all."

Spears in hand, Mateo followed Avalynn into the oak groves. Fifty paces in, they came across a cluster of bushes filled with sweet white berries. They each grabbed a handful and wasted no time eating them.

" So good." Mateo couldn't remember the last time he'd had a mystic moonberry. It tasted better than the food he'd sustained himself on in the Sublands.

Juice squirted from the ripe berry. Syrup dribbled down Avalynn's chin. "So excellent." She wiped her berry-stained lips. "But let's not overdo it. We don't want to go from empty to achy."

"Good point." Mateo wiped his hands on his pants. "We need to return for Stormshroud anyway."

They were heading back when Mateo detected a rumble underfoot. He stopped and pulled Avalynn closer. "Do you feel that?"

"I do." Her brows pinched. She squinted and inspected the trees. "Please, not the dragon."

The rumble grew louder. The force of it vibrated through Mateo's legs. Soft at first, it grew in intensity. Panic seized him. Stampede!

He grabbed Avalynn, shoved her back against the nearest oak, and shielded her body with his. A frenzied herd of elk streamed past. The ground shook with the drumbeat of a thousand pounding hooves. Avalynn buried her face in the crook of his neck and held on for dear life.

A cacophony of bugling, barking, and whistling mixed with thunderous stomping and branches cracking filled the air. Pushing closer and holding her tighter, his body shook and his teeth chattered. But then Mateo heard something else. A roar. He peered up through the criss-crossing branches and spotted the dragon's broad, soaring wings. The elk… they were stampeding away from the fire-breathing foe. Avalynn looked up, following his line of sight. Her eyes widened. She spotted it too.

The dragon dove. It swooped down into an open space and snagged a galloping steed with a roar. Avalynn clapped her hands around her ears as the sound battered them. When the roar tempered, a gust of fire sprayed down, trailing the herd. The frightened and furious stampede charged even faster .

Mateo peered over Avalynn's shoulder just in time to spot a speeding elk galloping their way. Heart pounding, he spun Avalynn away from the tree. With the antlers lowered, the mountainous creature barreled into the tree at full speed. Thwack! The oak's strong trunk shattered. The dragon's head swiveled toward them.

"Run!" Avalynn hollered.

They jetted into the herd, darting between the crazed elk in search of the cave's safety. They skirted thudding hooves and edged out swinging antlers. Breaking free of the drove, they zigzagged through the trees and dove through the cave's mouth as flames shot across like a fire shield.

Laying on the warm dirt floor, Mateo gasped for air. He squeezed Avalynn's hand. They stayed like that until the melee was over and the danger had passed. "That was close."

Panting, she squeezed back. "Beyond close." She sat up and pulled twigs and leaves from her long hair. "But we are still here. So that hope you spoke of is still with us."

Avalynn had a point, and he took their survival as a good sign. The Passing Place would have to wait another day. Yet the challenge of capturing the Shadowbloods still remained. They needed to nab their prey and be done with it before anything else happened.