“I heard Vann. He knows not to make sound while hunting. He only does so if danger is near. You said he protected you. From what?”
“I, uh… I’m not sure. I wasn’t familiar with it.”
He nodded, accepting this answer, before prompting for more. “What did it look like?”
I took a second to form the words carefully in my head so I didn’t mess up my description. “Like a cat, but bigger. Black fur, long teeth, short tail.”
Surprisingly, Rath paled at my description. Spinning me around, he rushed out a quick ‘stay here’ before hopping offVann’s back. He was quick to tie the animals so they could be brought back, and when he climbed on again, he tightened his grip on me almost to the point of discomfort.
“Hold on.”
My attempt to ask him why was cut off with another yelp as he barked at Vann and we took off through the forest. I’d only ever ridden a few times in my life. My father didn’t care enough to get me lessons and my brothers weren’t interested in teaching me, so I’d never gone so fast before. It made me a little sick to my stomach, but I refused to complain about it. Not after causing trouble like I had. I just held on and squeezed my eyes shut until we came back to the village. Rath was off Vann’s back as soon as he stopped moving, and he plucked me down as well, calling out to a few of his clan brothers.
“Brother? What’s wrong?” Verus asked as he jogged over. He shot me a worried frown, but I couldn’t answer him. I didn’t know what was going on either.
“Shadowstalker. In the forest. It went after Finn. We need to go now.”
Like Rath in the forest, Verus’s face went pale. He spun around and ran, calling out to other hunters as he hurried toward the field with the other horses.
Spinning around, I asked Rath, “What’s going on?”
He put his hands on my shoulders, squeezing gently to show his seriousness. “I need to go. You will stay here. Go to our tent and wait for me. I will be back.”
Worry and fear overwhelmed me, but Rath didn’t have time to stand around and comfort me. He pulled me in for a tight hug, kissed my forehead, then moved me out of the way, mounting Vann again after the other clan members removed his kills from Vann’s back. Once the others joined him, they all raced off again, leaving me standing there alone, my heart in my throat. I should’ve stayed in the tree.
Thirteen
Rath was gone for hours. I did as he asked and went back to the tent to wait, but it felt like time dragged on. I paced the tiny space, worrying my bottom lip with my teeth and twisting my fingers. Every time I heard someone walk past, I peeked out, listening to see if anyone was talking about Rath. A few mentioned the hunting group, but none said anything about him returning.
Supper time came and went. I was certain Rath wouldn’t be mad if I left to get something to eat, but I was too nervous to want to. My stomach churned uncomfortably, the worry eating at me, so I didn't even think about putting anything in it.
Eventually, I had to sit down or risk throwing up. I wrapped my arms around my knees, hugging them tightly, and willed myself not to cry. I berated myself for causing trouble, for putting Rath in danger by luring out a creature that was obviously dangerous. Hours passed with me doing that. I might have dozed here and there, but I was still berating myself when Rath came back. He looked exhausted, and his expression was grim. My stomach sank as I looked up at him, but he didn’t say anything to me. He took off his weapons, leaving them resting bythe bedding, and crawled over me, burying his face in my neck as he held me tight.
“What happened?”
He shook his head, tightening his arms around me. I wanted to keep pushing, but he was obviously exhausted. He’d gotten up with me that morning, done dirty things with me, then spent the morning taking care of me before we were sent on the hunt. Even after his job was done, he had to save me and get me to safety before going back out. He was obviously tired. I couldn’t tell what time it was, but it felt late. Instead of pestering him for information, I hugged his shoulders and stroked his hair, soothing him like he did to me so often.
He fell asleep like that, lying on me like a blanket. For a while, I dozed with him, but I couldn’t seem to settle like normal. That foreboding feeling hadn’t gone away since I saw that creature in the forest. Eventually, I wriggled free of Rath’s hold, my bladder protesting going so long without relief. I thought about waking Rath to go with me, but I didn’t want to cause him more trouble. Instead, I took one of his smaller knives from where he’d left it beside the bed. I carried it with me to the trench, which I still couldn’t get near without flinching, and did my business before heading back.
Another wave of foreboding brushed against my back as I weaved between the tents to Rath’s. I was almost too afraid to look over my shoulder. I was sure it was just my imagination. I picked up my pace a little, only to freeze a second later when a familiar growl filled the air.
This time, the creature didn’t give me a chance to run. I barely had enough time to spin around before it leapt at me. My hands came up automatically to protect myself and I took a step back, tripping over a steak to the nearest tent. Tripping actually ended up saving me, because instead of landing on me as itprobably planned, the creature leapt too far, knocking us both to the ground.
“Rath!” I screamed his name even as I felt the weight of the animal land on me. It let out a pained cry, leaping off me, which was when I noticed that in my attempt to protect myself, I’d lifted the knife I had borrowed from Rath. It didn't kill the creature, but it did injure it, blood dripping from its belly.
I scrambled back to my feet. Unlike when Vann hurt the creature, this time it didn't run when injured. It bared its teeth at me, crouching for another attack. I held the knife in front of me, my hands shaking so intensely, I doubted it’d do much good. Running wouldn’t help either. I was out of ideas.
Just as the creature leapt into the air at me, Rath shouted and tackled the thing. It didn’t even have time to react before he slammed one of his knives into the animal’s gut. The creature let out another yelp of pain, but Rath didn’t let go or jump back. He lifted his head enough to bellow into the creature’s face, jerking the knife hard and slicing through the animal in one quick motion. It went limp just as more clan members showed up to help. Rath shoved to his feet, covered in blood, fury coming off him in waves. He swung around to face me and I had to fight the instinct to flinch or jump back. Rath wouldn’t hurt me. I hoped anyway.
He must have noticed my trepidation because he approached slowly, the hand not holding a knife lifted in a calming gesture. He shushed me, stooping enough to drop his weapon before the other hand came up to do the same. I didn't understand what he was doing or why he was acting like that until he spoke to me.
“You are safe. You are okay.”
My gaze darted around as I tried to figure out why he was saying that. Was there another one? Did they come in groups? Did the whole camp need to move somewhere safer?
Rath’s hand was warm when it wrapped around my wrist. He pried the knife out of my hand, handing it off to someone else, but his eyes never left mine.
“Breathe, Korvash. You are safe.”
