The afternoon draws to a close, and the wind picks up speed as Akari and I lather ourselves in mud. I can’t say it’s an overly enjoyable task. The mud reeks. So bad. Akari dry retches a few times before she evidently gets used to the smell.
The pixies giggle and gag as they watch us.
As we finish the final touches to our impromptu mud baths, a dull, loud, and lingering horn sounds through the forest. Everything stills, from usand the pixies, to the river and the storm. Then the air is charged in anticipation, and the first strike of lightning splits the sky.
“The Hunt has begun,” Pixel says urgently, eyes wide. “Quickly, now. Get to the rock circle. Hurry!”
Akari and I break into a run. I don’t know why. There was no way the fae could get to us so quickly, what with the camp being so far away. I realize how stupid the thought is when I remember their incredible powers. Some will undoubtedly portal into the forest. Others have incredible speed. Some would fly. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if some could fucking teleport.
“Thank you!” I call back to the pixies, as I realize they haven’t followed us. “We owe you one!”
“Good luck!” Pixel calls, then they all zip off into the tree tops to watch. I have no doubt they will stay close by. More so for the entertainment factor, but I strongly believed that at least Pixel had started to sympathize with us. I hoped I would see her again. With Akari and I outlasting the fae, preferably.
Akari crawls quickly through the opening in the rock circle while I make quick work at covering our tracks with a branch I had prepared earlier. I sweep away our prints before ducking into the rock circle as well. Akari pushes the petal into place as soon as I am inside, and I help her with stacking rocks and leaning a stick against the top of it to keep it firmly in place.
Once we are sure it is secured, we collapse on opposite sides of the circle, panting like we’ve just completed a marathon.
Akari looks at me. I look at her.
We blink. We nod.
We’ve got this.
Chapter Eighteen
Hours pass. Rain drills relentlessly at our fragile roof. It is a wonder that the ferocious winds have not ripped any of the umbrella petals free yet. We have a few leaks, but we huddle together, chattering teeth and goose-bumped flesh, away from the puddling water. Every boom of thunder has us jumping ten inches off the ground, and every zap of lightning illuminates the terror-filled whites of our eyes. Every rustling leaf, snapping branch, and whispering blade of grass has us clutching one another tighter.
It’s fucking terrifying.
A part of me is relentlessly insisting I leave the stone circle. Wondering through the dark and stormy forest would have to be better than sitting and waiting and shitting myself at every sound. Perhaps I’d head out for a bit, just to burn this nervous energy sizzling beneath my skin.
But another part of me, the coward, screams for me to stay. The fae are not the worst creatures out there. Not by far. And they would all be looking for us.Huntingus.
I also couldn’t possibly leave Akari alone. She’d probably die of heart failure before her searching males even had a chance of finding her.
Some hours later, the storm relents. The wind eases, and the thunder and lightning make no reappearance. The rain remains, but it’s a gentle pitter-patter. The full moon must make its appearance known, too, as our hidingspace lightens infinitesimally. I can just make Akari’s features in the dim red glow that the umbrella petals create in the moonlight.
A branch snaps. Close. Akari’s nails dig into my skin, and we stare at each other intensely. I raise a finger to my mouth, my lips pouting to form a silent ‘shhh!’ Not that I needed to. There was no way Akari was going to make a sound. Unless a startled fart escapes. On that thought, I clench my ass cheeks, just in case. I could just see my downfall coming by from the squeak of a stinking fart.
The clenching unintentionally intensifies when a deep and humored laugh echoes through the stones.
Fuck. Someone was out there. Perhaps it was the High Lord of Light.
I smother a hiss as Akari ’s nails break through my skin. I cringe at the thought of all that mud that coated my skin, sinking into my bloodstream. If I survived tonight, I would be fighting a nasty infection, what with all my other open wounds already soaking in the disgusting dirt.
“Come out, come out, little humans,” a husky male voice croons. I instantly know it’s not Draekoh. “Come and play.”
Akari whimpers, and I tighten the arm I have wrapped around her shoulders. I have to save her. I have to. My very nature insists on it.
“Would you rather I come in instead?” The male asks with a laugh in his voice. “I’d much prefer for you to join me out here, though. More room toplay.” The sadistic fucker has my hackles rising. When we make no move, he sighs. “Look, I only want the feisty one. The cowering one can stay.”
With that, I make my decision.
I turn to Akari.
“I’m going out there.” She whimpers and clutches me harder, head shaking so fast I worry her brain might dislodge. “He only wants me. You will be safe. Just stay inside. I will lead him away. And then I will come back. I promise.”
Akari bursts into tears, and I hug her tightly. Then I take a deep breath and move.
