"Let's go last," I whispered to my friends, and we scooted back, letting the others slip through first. A chill ran down my spine as I stepped through the threshold that separated the Keep from the wild. I felt a tingle of awareness as if someone was watching me. Looking up, I got lost in the deep, dark stare of Corvus.
My intuition was all but screaming at me that Corvus was dangerous, possibly the most dangerous person here. With his inky black hair that was darker than any shade I’d ever seen and the way his eye color seemed to match. He radiated darkness. Uncomfortable from our stare down, I offered a small smile that was met with absolutely no change in his stony expression.
“Come on, Eves,” Isla murmured, looping her arm through mine and pulling me along with them. I broke my stare down with Corvus and turned my focus to the group ahead of us. The trees loomed so high above us that it appeared we would simply disappear within them and be devoured.
A gust of wind barreled through the valley, swirling my hair all around, and with the wind, whispers carried. Corvus’ deep, baritone voice swept over me, the melodic cadence of the words he was speaking, almost like a song.
“Do you hear that?” I said to my friends, stopping and spinning back to the gate we’d crossed through. Liam and Corvus were there, arms crossed, looking out at us when suddenly, another blast of wind came out of nowhere, and the doors to the Keep were slammed shut.
“That sorcerer is creepy as hell,” Riv stated, shaking her head. “Crawled out of some scary children’s book, I’m sure of it.”
“They say he can infiltrate your dreams and turn you madder than a rabid dog,” Isla whispered.
Kael grunted. “I don’t doubt it.” He batted his blond hair away from his eyes. “Where the Goddess is this wind coming from?”
Leaves began descending from the trees from how strong it was. “I don’t know, but we better catch up,” I said, noticing the distance that had grown between the four of us and the rest of our group.
“Oy! Wait up, ya ninnies!” Riv bellowed, catching the attention of the back of the pack. We ran, making up the distance easily.
“Alright, attention, everyone!” one of the guards at the front yelled loud enough that everyone could hear. “Stick together. We’re to head in and continue until we find the stream. That’s where we’ll team up with the royals. There are enough guards to have four to five women to one guard. If you must stop, inform your guard. Do not go off alone. Most of you seem to have already grouped into smaller groups, so if you haven’t yet, get in one. We have about an hour to go until we reach the stream.”
There was a little shuffling around from people deciding what groups they would be in. Nobody else joined us, which was just fine with me.
“Right then! Let’s go,” the guard shouted, which was met with a few excited whoops and a fair amount of nervous laughter. “At least the wind seems to have died down. May the hunt be bountiful and set the bar for this Recurrence!”
Rivka met my eyes and dramatically rolled hers. The wind had dissipated as quickly as it had manifested. Very weird, indeed. No sooner had we all entered the forest, silence descended like a blanket of warning.
“Wait,” I whispered, causing my friends and a few other people to stop in their tracks.
“Wh—” Kael was cut off when a noise shook the very trees.
Not a noise. A roar. An ear-piercing, bone-rattling roar.
Chapter nine
Morethanafewwomen dropped to the forest floor, covering their heads. With wide eyes, I scanned the woods, coming up empty. There was nothing there, nothing that could’ve made such a sound.
"What the fuck was that?" Riv hissed, gripping her blade that never left her body.
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it. I'd never heard a noise like that before, and I'd been on more hunting trips with my father than I could count. We'd hunted all kinds of animals... My mind raced with ideas of what creature could possibly produce a roar like that. "Whatever it was, it's massive."
The sounds of the forest came alive once more. Birds were singing as though nothing had happened. As if there were no threats lurking amongst the trees. That was another well-taught lesson from my father...
"Come, little Evie," Father said, smiling at me fondly. His full cheeks were rosy from the crisp fall air.
"Coming, Daddy," I replied, throwing another flat rock across the small lake and squealing as it skipped three times before disappearing beneath the blue-green surface. I ran to my daddy, slipping my small hand into his. They were always so warm.
"You're getting really good at skipping rocks. You'll be better than me soon," he praised, helping me jump over a fallen tree.
I giggled. "Not for a long time. I've only gotten three skips, and I saw you do ten one time! Ten!"
"One day you'll be big and strong, just like me, and you'll be able to do anything you set your mind to." He squeezed my hand gently before adjusting the quiver of arrows on his back.
"What are we hunting today?"
"Deer or rabbit, we'll see what we run into. With winter coming, I'd love to bag a deer. It would put my mind at ease that we'd have plenty of meat for a good long while."
I frowned. I didn't enjoy the killing part. No matter what, I always cried. I knew it was necessary, and Daddy always made sure his aim was true so the animals wouldn't suffer. But I loved animals, so it made me a bit sad. I loved venison stew though, too. I sighed loudly.
