"If you shoot me, I'll have a hard time explaining to those I travel with that a human woman witnessed me fucking up the hunt and then shooting me for my stupidity," the Elven had said as he chuckled before placing his two axes on the ground. "Spare me my ego, I beg you."
Irritation boiled inside me at his comment. "Your ego would be so bruised if you admit a human woman bested you?"
"Not at all. My ego would be bruised because I failed to successfully hunt a reindeer by making a stupid mistake. Your much-justified reaction to shooting me in your anger would be celebrated, fair huntress of the forest," the male said to me, irritating me further.
"Do not mock me," I replied between my teeth.
At that moment, I had truly considered shooting the Elven just to prove to him that I would do it. But he bowed deeply at my words, distracting me for only a moment before he whipped his fingers out toward me in a sharp circle. Bands of shadows from between the trees surrounded me, restraining my limbs into place before I knew what was happening. My arrow remained poised to strike him in the chest, but I couldn't move.
True terror flooded me before he put his hands up in surrender. "I have no wish to harm you, only to bargain with you."
"What do you want?" I had asked, keeping my eyes on him in case he were lying to me.
"Until now, I assume you believed the Elven to be extinct. I wish for my existence to remain in the past, to keep my people safe. In exchange, you will return to your town with the slain reindeer in tow."
With another flickof his long fingers, I watched as the reindeer that had run off in fright was dragged back into the clearing, its throat slashed and leather ties around its corpse in place for me to drag it back to Hallifell. I couldn't believe it; this male was just handing me over the kill.
"Why hunt with your blades if you could have killed it so easily before?" I asked him, my irritation with him lowering a bit as my curiosity rose in an uncontrollable tidal wave.
"Where is the skill in that?" he asked me, humor glinting in his silver eyes.
He had gotten closer to me, and in the growing twilight, the silver in his eyes seemed to churn with the shadows he commanded. He hovered close to me, circling my frozen body like the moon circles the earth, with a fascination that would have annoyed me if it wasn't mirrored in my own watchful gaze.
His deep, bronze skin looked rich from how close he stood, and quickly, I became lost in this Elven male who had dropped into my life as swiftly and suddenly as the rainstorms in Veter.
Abruptly, he had turned from me and walked a few paces away before facing me again, his face more guarded than before.
"Do we have a deal?"
His voice was rhythmic, like a melody that was ready to tell me all his darkest secrets and make them sound beautiful.
I only hesitated for a moment. "Yes, we have a deal."
As suddenly as the shadow bindings had appeared, they vanished, granting me my freedom. If this male hadn't smirked at me before he stooped to grab his axes and turn away to disappear into the forest, I might have chosen a different path. However, the beautiful bastard tipped one side of his supple mouth up in the corner, and the fire that burned so wildly in my veins took control.
I released my arrow, the tip aimed for his thigh, and wreathed in the flames. As soon as the iron point sunk into the corded muscle of his leg, the savage part of my soul cheered. I brought my hand up in a quick swoop, causing a tight circle of flames to flare around him. The Elven grunted as his knees hit the snow that was already starting to melt under my fury. I noticed that my aim was true, and the arrow had not punctured anything important,like a major vessel or ligament, but rather wounded him enough that he would be downed for a few minutes.
"My thanks for the reindeer," I said to him with a mock bow before I winked and grabbed the leather straps to haul the dead animal back to Hallifell.
"You shot me!" The Elven had shouted to me across the clearing, his voice a mix of humor and fury.
"You'll heal," I said over my shoulder.
The iron of my arrowhead slowed him down enough that he didn't retaliate with moregalder, but I thought of him the entire walk home. There are still Elven alive in Ahland, and no one has any idea. And even though I sunk an arrow into the prick's thigh, I hope our paths will cross again, if only so I can have another verbal match with him. He had spoken only a handful of words to me that all antagonized my already short temper, and yet, he still plagues my thoughts.
Over the years, I have learned to control my outbursts, but with him, my anger rose to the surface faster than ever. He was both alluring and aggravating, beautiful and completely foreign. I pray the gods favor me with another meeting.
22
A knock came at the door as Maude finished dressing. The gown she wore was simple: a deep, forest-green velvet dress that hugged her curves to just below her hips and then cascaded to the floor. A long slit ran up the side of her dress, her dagger strapped to her thigh comfortably.
The top of her dress had a modest cut, the thin straps running over her shoulders hidden by the curtain of red hair that paired nicely with the green velvet. Hanging in the wardrobe was a long, black cloak that looked remarkably similar to the cloak Aeric wore. The inside of it was lined with silver fur to match the thin silver diadem that was also conspicuously placed on the vanity.
Maude ignored the diadem but relented her stubbornness a smidge to don the cloak. She was just finishing wrapping the cloak around her when she opened the door to find Gunnar standing proudly on his own.
Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open, and the sight of Gunnar looking remarkably healthy brought tears to her eyes. They stung with unshed emotion as she took in her escort to her father's dinner.
"You look well, my friend," Maude said as she beamed.
