Page 36 of A Storm Rises
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.”
Avalynn did not want to disturb Mateo, but at the same time she longed to know what he saw in the crackling fire. The red rocks from his Sublands home seemed the obvious choice. Death from another fox attack made the list. His wolf favoring and coming to her over him seemed most likely.
He patted his pocket, something she had seen him do at least a dozen times. Her mind toyed with what he carried inside that pocket. A coin? A trinket? Maybe a gem? Still, the news that Mateo might be a savior with powers weighed on her mind the most.
The wind whistled through breaches in the cave’s bumpy stone walls. The smell of dewy earth hung thick. She had nudged Stormshroud and directed the wolf to join him. Now they were side by side, Stormy’s head tucked under Mateo’s hand. Avalynn’s heart felt heavy, knowing Mateo’s wolf responded to her like it did. Perhaps she was drawn to the floral rose and jasmine scents that trailed Avalynn. While they were dancing, Mateo responded to that same scent.
The pull between them that night was unmistakable. Still, she had no idea if he felt it now. Withdrawn, his words and actions were as complicated as the cave—a labyrinth leading her down a dark, winding, and secret path. She wanted and needed to know the real Mateo, but did he even know himself? Only time would answer that question. Though it seemed they were running out of that.
Leaves rustled from tall trees swaying outside the cave’s mouth. Frogs called from somewhere out there. She cleared her throat and softened her tone. “I would like to know more about the Sublands, if you would so kindly indulge me.”
“You? Princess of House Stromm?” His voice echoed in the dark cave. He fixed his eyes from the fire to her. “You want to know about the Sublands?” He lifted his chin. “It is the dreaded home of us lowborns—the ones not worthy of breathing the same air as the Stromms.”
Her back stiffened. She and the royals deserved that response. But she didn’t back down. “Why not tell me?” She moved closer. “You are the one who said we share this land, remember?” She would have shared anything with Mateo.
He threw a stick into the fire. “Our night with the Enbarr.” The flames jumped with a crackle and a pop. His eyes followed the dancing sparks, and then his gaze landed on her. “I remember every word I say to you.” He stared deep into her mighty soul. “And every word you say to me.”
Heat flushed her face. It came not from the burning wood but from the waves of intensity from Mateo. His body angled closer to hers. A gust of wind whipped by, and pebbles crumbled from the cave’s mouth. Their knees touched. Such a simple thing while sitting on a log sent a flutter within her. Should she stay or should she go—the eternal question. Her heart pulled in one direction and her duty in another.
“What do you want to know about the Sublands?” Mateo’s relaxed face spoke volumes. The butterflies in her stomach lost their wings. He had dropped his defenses. This was her opportunity.
She wanted to know more about his family. Knowing them would help her understand him. “How about starting with your family? Your mother and father.”
Brows pinched, he shifted away and returned his stare to the fire’s flames. She had struck a troubled nerve. Her instinct said to retreat, but her heart said to stay. “We do not have to talk about them.”
“No. They are important to me.” With clasped hands, he swallowed and sighed. “I am here because of them.”
She put her hand on his knee. His soft, aching tone. The way he leaned forward and clasped his hands together. Something awful must have happened to them. “You can tell me.”
He bowed his head. “Eight years ago…” He drew in a deep breath. “A mysterious ailment came to the Sublands—Dragon’s Bellow. Our healers knew no treatment, let alone a cure. Without enough healing seeds, our village suffered.” His chin quivered. Two teardrops rolled down his cheeks, and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. “It took my mother.”
Seeds. Mateo said the highborns already had all the rewards they needed. He meant those healing seeds. He competed for those. A sickness whirlpooled in her gut, followed by the deepest sadness that soured her insides.
“Her cough grew worse until that morning. She could barely breathe.” He wiped his tear-streaked face. “My father sent me to the healer for whatever seeds she had.” His jawline tightened. He clutched his knees. “I ran so fast.”
Avalynn dreaded how the story ended. Terrified for what was next. She could see a desperate race that was lost.
“I took the healer’s small stash, hurried home, burst through the door, but…” He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “I was too late. She was gone.”
He had lost his mother and blamed himself. Her heart broke. She had never beheld a sadder sight or heard a more sorrowful story. “It’s not your fault.” A pang of sorrow gripped her. No wonder he hated the highborns. She now saw the hunt in a different light. She competed for the Stromm name and for acceptance as the future queen. She hunted for duty and glory. Mateo competed for the prize of providing life-saving seeds. He hunted for life itself.
“Since that day, a fire has burned inside me and I have been running.” He made a fist and pounded his leg. “Running so that I would be faster than any other hunter.” He double-tapped over his heart. “I hunt for the sake of my mother’s memory. I hunt for my father, sister, and other Sublanders who are sick.” He looked up at the sky. “Winning means everything.”
She swallowed the lump of heartache in her throat. Mateo loved his family so completely he risked death for them. And she was responsible for making sure he died. For what? Her father’s approval? A mother who never spoke to her? A crown that would one day be hers if it pleased her father? A dark cloud covered her soul as tears streamed from her eyes. She was no better than her father.
“Hey. Wait.” He wiped those tears with a gentle touch. “Why are you crying?”
She stared at her boots, shaking her head. Her tears fell for their twisted fates, which could not be unraveled without utter destruction. She cried for the person she was and for all the things she must do at her father’s command. “I am sorry about your mother, your father, and your sister. I am sorry for all of it.” She would never forgive herself.
His finger trailed down the side of her face. He lifted her chin. Their eyes locked. His energy spread through her like wildfire. “It’s not your fault. Do not cry for me or my people.”
She wiped her face, feeling worse than before. “I am not normally this emotional, but…”
“But what?” He searched her eyes.
