My stomach dropped. “After all that, you’re just making a fire?”
He didn’t respond. Maybe I’d been wrong about him having a shred of decency. He was right about one thing. Now I didn’t have his body heat to rely on, the night air was starting to chap. I rubbed my arms and jogged on the spot to keep the blood flowing.
A fire sparked to life in front of my eyes. I stopped moving and stepped closer, breathing in the smoky scent.
Hunter shoved a fragment of flint back in his pack, which now lay next to him along with his quiver and bow. Then, he set to feeding the fire, poking it fiercely with a stray stick. Surprisingly, he looked thoughtful rather than angry, which I supposed was a small blessing.
He jerked his chin at the pack. “Your hat, gloves, and the wolf pelt are in there.”
A nod. I didn’t bother to say anything; it seemed my words had no effect on him. So I stepped around the fire, bent over, and donned the red scarf and mittens. The wolf pelt came out next. I spread it out next to him and as close to the fire as I dared before I sat down. Crossing my legs, I watched the amber and ruby flames dance, reveling in the heat that soaked and bathed my body.
I felt him watching me. “Serena …” Oh, gods. “I can’t give them back to you.”
Soft, contemplative.
I sighed and met his gaze. “I realize that.”
A crinkle formed between his brows, and he broke our staring contest to consider the flames as they moved like ripples in a pond. The silence went on for a minute or so before he spoke. “But I swear to you, the next time I’m called to the human realm, I’ll let the people you love know you’re safe.”
My heart leaped painfully. “You can’t just walk into a human village and knock on a door.” Although, it was difficult to stop hope from gaining a grip on me.
“I’ll find a way.” He shrugged, so casual. “A note on the doorstep, or something similar. I don’t have a paper or quill, but if you let me know what to say …”
It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing. I nodded.
Hunter bowed his head. His shoulders drooped. He looked relieved and that easily, my frustration returned.
“Hunter, this doesn’t wash out the bad or make up for what you’re doing. You’re still selling me: denying me the freedom to choose what happens next.”
His wings shifted and spread out as if restless or agitated. “What is it you want from me? To leave you here?” He waved at the darkened forest. “Leave you to be defenseless in a realm that you know nothing about?”
“It sounds better than being sold like a calf for the slaughterhouse!”
He made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. “You’re speaking from anger, not reason. Whatever you think of me, I’m not heartless. I chose Diana’s training camps because it was the best place for you.”
I shook my head, despairing. “You chose. What you think is best. I’m not an object, Hunter. I’m not your property. You don’t get to just decide—or at least you shouldn’t.” I gritted my teeth. “Stars, you haven’t even told me anything about this place. You say it’s the best place, but look at me.” My voice went up an octave as I swept a hand down my body in one smooth move. “How can I be a soldier? You heard Kesha. I’ve got no muscles. I’m skin on bone!”
“Serena,” Hunter began lightly, leaning in. “Training camps can be harsh, even brutal.” My stomach churned. “But if you can see it through, you’d gain the skills to defend yourself, and something tells me you crave that more than anything: not to be at the mercy of others. Or am I wrong?”
I remained silent. Of course he wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t telling him that the most secret and desperate desire of my heart was to be free—to never be at the whims of bullies and savages again.
He might’ve guessed though, because he was wearing a sad look, as if he understood that desire. How could he? He was fae.
“Look, if the choice means that much to you, I won’t drag you anywhere kicking and screaming.”
I blinked. “What changed your mind?”
“You did,” he said as if he already regretted his decision. Hunter rubbed a hand through his short hair while gnawing at his lip. “But I don’t doubt you’ll end up agreeing with me.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I didn’t want to irritate him. Not if he was willing to give me a choice … but what choices were those, exactly?
I bit my lip, seeking the right way to persuade him to tell me. “Kesha didn’t want us knowing anything, but you’re not her.” He raised his eyebrows at that. I didn’t want to slow: I went on. “You’ve already told me a lot of things you shouldn’t. And I appreciate that, but I need more. I need you to tell me more about this realm; otherwise, I’m groping round in the dark for the right decision.”
Hunter frowned. My heart thumped painfully.
“I’ll … do my best.”
A sputter of relief.
“Let me think things over. There’s so much I could tell you, but we haven’t got years.” He moved into a kneeling position and plunged into his rucksack. “And you should eat. You haven’t since …” He didn’t bother finishing. The Winged Fiends’ attack already felt like a lifetime ago. “It’s also cold. You’re human—you should wrap up.”
He handed over a sticky bun in the shape of a ring and then threw a thick woolen blanket around my shoulders. I pressed my lips together. The movement felt protective, nurturing. My body tensed; the idea was so foreign to me, almost awkward. I angled my body away, needing some distance.
Hunter noticed. I could see a question form on his lips, so I quickly explained. “Sorry. It’s just if you’d told me a week ago that a male fae would be taking care of me, a human …” I shook my head. It was too strange for words.
“Ah.” His lip quirked upward. “Well, it’s a new experience for me too.”
I didn’t know what to make of that. So I took a huge bite out of the sticky bun and delighted in the rush of sweetness on my tongue. I almost choked when Hunter sprang up like a tightly wound coil.
“What are you doing?” I whipped my head left and right. Was there another fae pack about to attack?
But he wasn’t stringing his bow. Instead, he grabbed a stick off the ground and drew in the earth beside the fire. “I’m giving you a very abridged geography lesson.” A thoughtful frown creased his brow as he drew the Gauntlet to the south, a vast landscape above it and a bridge joining them.
I squashed the rest of the bun in my mouth and watched as he traced lines into the dirt, intrigued.
“There’s your village,” he said, marking the forest floor with his stick.
I moved in for a closer look at his crude map. “I didn’t realize that Tunnock was so close to the divide,” I said while licking the sugar glaze off my fingers.
Ignoring my observation, he went on. “Right now, we’re in what the fae call Hollen, or the in-between. Above us are the four courts of the fae. To the far east is the Riverlands Court, ruled by Queen Diana. That’s where I’d planned on taking you.” He tapped a section of the map with his stick before moving on. “In the center, at the very heart of Aldar is Solar, and to the far west is the Crescent Court. That’s witch territory, and where Kesha has taken Isabel.”
I nodded vaguely. “What’s the land at the top called?”
“Aurora.”
“What can you tell me about the courts? Which are the friendliest to humans?”
“The Riverlands is the most tolerant.”
I bit my lip. “What’s wrong with the others?”
I looked up in time to see him toss the stick and his wings droop.
“Hunter … I need to know these things.”
I got a slow, careful nod in response. “Solar, Aurora, and to a lesser extent, the Crescent, are ruled by a fae-witch named Morgan. The Wild Hunt work for her.”