Page 49 of The Bones of the Cursed
I notice Malakai peek over his shoulder towards us. Gods, I hope he can’t hear us.
“What! I don’t blame you,” she whispers. “I think you should climb him and see just how bad he can be.”
My cheeks somehow grow hotter as I smack her shoulder. “Shut up!” I hiss.
“Girl, don’t tell me it didn’t cross your mind.”
I smile at her; she knows me too well.
“Seriously, though, that male looks at you as if you are the answer to all the world’s problems.”
I don’t take my eyes off Malakai’s back. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
She gets up. “All I’m saying is, if anyone looked at me the way he looks at you, I wouldn’t be looking for happily ever after anymore. I would have already found it.”
She moves towards the horses, leaving me there with too many thoughts running rampant through my head.
- MALAKAI -
We’re only a day and a half ride from Percius, and my back is killing me. But having Alanis pressed against my bare skin is heaven, no matter how sweaty I am.
I didn’t have the heart to let her know I heard everything she talked about with Hannah. I felt like a creep eavesdropping on their conversation, but I can’t help my sensitive hearing.
The past few days I have done nothing but think about what she said. They’ve been on a constant loop. When she’s pressed against my back, I can do nothing but remember her reactions to Hannah’s words. Her little gasps, like she was outraged, but I could hear her heart rate pick up in excitement. I dream about those gasps, imagining me as the reason those little noises come from her mouth.
No one who has ever met me has described me as sweet—not even my family. I am apparently a real softy when it comes to Alanis, and it keeps me up at night in my tent, thinking about her when I should be sleeping. I’ll be busy when we get to Percius tomorrow afternoon, yet I can’t help but hope that at least sometimes I’ll be able to see her.
A sound breaks the hush outside the tent and I hold my breath, but hear nothing beyond the breeze and the crickets. I am about to brush off the noise when I hear it again.
Footsteps, large and padded like those of an animal. It’s then I hear the sniffing sound, as if the animal is searching out its next meal.
Slowly, I move to untie the flaps of my tent. I was trained from a young age how to remain unseen, I put those skills to use now, freezing when I step outside. My gaze trains on the snow leopard prowling the grounds.
The animal turns. Its green eyes meet mine.
I move towards the edge of the wood, away from the campsite.
The animal follows.
Once I’m far enough away from camp, I speak: “How kind of you to return.”
I hear a grumble, and when I turn, I’m face to face with themale. He has bruises littering his face and cuts down his chest.
“What the hell happened to you?” I blurt.
A rumble in his chest tells me he isn’t happy. “Fucking ghouls.”
He looks around and then shakes his hair out, which has grown longer and hangs in his face. “Been in animal form for a while?”
He gives me a grim smile. “Since I left for Vrolstead, so about a week and a half. I ran into a friend of mine who took Zephyr back to Percius. He’s getting old, all the travel was catching up to him.”
I nod, avoiding eye contact.
The silence becomes tense. “How is she?”
I release my breath and let him know about the missing soldier we found and my thoughts on who her mother might be. Kailu looks shocked at that little detail.
“I’m worried, Kailu. The longer we go without finding her brother, the more hope she loses. I’m scared she is going to lose herself to grief, and if she goes too far, we might not be able to get her back. You should have seen her when we found the soldier in Bone Valley. It was like she was there physically, but mentally she was somewhere else.”
