I think about what she said. How I could enter the Shadowthorn to hunt like she suggested, but I'm not sure she's right in her assessment of my father and his ability to hold grudges. Especially of late. With everything going on, from managing the Hunt, to capturing the humans who infiltrated our dungeon, to hearing about the possibility of an attack from the Shadow Crusade, he’s been even more prickly than—
The Shadow Crusade.
When I mentioned the Shadow Crusade, Fox didn’t confirm their presence in the Shadowthorn, but she didn’t deny it either. Who else could possibly be able to aid her once she entered the forest? After all, it was the Crusaders who trained in Nigh to enter that very same forest back when it was overrun with demons and plagued by the Blight.
And now hundreds of noctis roam those woods, and not a single one of them know that Crusaders could be lurking about.
Not even my friends.
Ursulette’s scream rings in my thoughts again. It might already be too late.
I have to warn them.
Tugging my sleeve up, I expose the red tattoo on my wrist. “Caz! Caz! The woods aren’t safe! You have to get yourself and the others out of there.”
With my breath hitched in my lungs, I stare at my blood oath and await his response.
“I know,” he says at long last. “They already killed Rhain.”
23
PISSED OFF NOCTIS
"Rhain!"
The noctis behind us shrieks, her voice as sharp as a thousand crystal glasses shattering, the shrapnel flying through the air. There's an unspoken promise in her agony. A vow of vengeance that makes my skin clammy and cold.
"Who did this! Who did this!"
With one glance at each other, Mira and I start running. We set out once more, racing through the doomed forest, eager to put as much distance between us and the scene of our crime as we can.
But it's not enough.
In a matter of seconds, the female noctis is charging after us. I can hear her gaining speed as she thrashes, twigs snapping beneath her feet as loud as bones popping.
"I'll find you, you worthless wretch! I'll kill you for this!"
Whipping through the trees, I glance behind me and spy her. A silhouette of black with a snow-white river streaming down her head and back. Another Devonshire.Of fucking course it is. As if the realm didn't have enough of them.
She's carrying something heavy, the black thing dangling from her grip as she bursts through the forest. Something silverglintsfrom one side of it and it takes me a moment to remember I saw her the day I was captured. She was the one who took Sable from me. And she’s holding onto her now.
My feet stagger, the temptation to face her and fight for my crossbow strong in my blood. The victory under my wing emboldens me. We’ve already defeated one noctis. Between the two of us, I’m sure we can take her down too.
But Mira crashes into my shoulder, nearly toppling the both of us over.
"Mira! What are you—"
I cut myself off when I see the mountain of a man barreling at us from the other direction. If the patchwork of jagged scars or the peppered beard that hasn't been groomed in a decade wasn't enough for me to recognize him, the rust-colored eyepatch is unmistakable.
He’s the noctis I remember most from that day. His menacing glare. The seething hatred that exuded from him like noxious gas. I even recall his name because how could I ever forget the name of a man who glared at me like he was imagining ripping my entire fucking head from my spine.
Harland.
And Mira had every right to throw us out of his path because he is like a raging bull that can only see red.
Catching our footing, we dart deeper into the Shadowthorn—against my better judgment, but for now we have no choice. Engaging either of them would be suicide. A grieving brother and I’m assuming a grieving widow, and I’ve had a hand in causing both of their pains. They'd eat us alive, quite literally.
But we can't just keep running either. Even if we could, I have to get Sable back.
