I caught Hunter watching me. “So, no magic then?”
With a small shake of his head, my stomach seemed to fall away. Where did that leave me? The Crescent was out of bounds. Aurora and Solar were run by someone who saw my kind as fodder for an army. A truth settled into my bones. Only one place left, but I wasn’t ready to give in completely. “If you took me to the Riverlands, would you drop me off in a village?”
Hunter moved over to my wolf pelt and dropped to the floor like a stone. Folding his arms over his long legs, he stared into the flames. “I can’t do that,” he whispered. “You wouldn’t last a week.”
No explanation. I flopped down next to him. “Why?”
His throat bobbed visibly. “I can’t show up with no money or record from your trade. There are those in the Hunt, Kesha among them, who already think I’m soft. They wouldn’t take my word for it if I told them you died or escaped. They’d send out other trackers, and when they found you, they’d kill you.”
I sat in mute horror. My future unraveled in front of me. I supposed I should be used to that by now—a lifetime of no options. But before I could accept my fate, I needed something from Hunter. “You never answered my question from earlier.”
Hunter looked at me, bothered and bewildered.
“So do it now, Hunter. Why would you ever be part of this? Prove I can trust your judgment … please.”
He broke eye contact. Air rushed out of him, leaving wisps of white mist behind. “My story won’t justify anything.”
“I told you mine.” I pulled my blanket tighter around me and waited.
It took him a while. “I had nothing growing up,” he started.
That immediately gave me pause. Somehow, I’d never imagined any of the fae being poor.
“I had to hunt to stay alive, and eventually it became second nature. Working for Morgan, joining the pack: it seemed like a good fit.” He rolled his shoulders. “I didn’t think about what we’d be doing. Not really.”
That wasn’t an excuse, I thought. “And now?”
“I think about it all the time.”
“So, why not leave?”
“Once you’re in, it’s for life,” he said, looking drawn. A lengthy pause followed this revelation in which his face inexplicably hardened into granite lines. “Look, I’ve been to the Gauntlet. I’ve seen the poverty and desperation. But in Aldar, my story is rare. There aren’t many who go to bed at night hungry. And while there are occasional cruelties, the slaves don’t starve. If they get sick, their owners make sure they’re healed. It’s not perfect, but from what I’ve seen, it’s still a better kind of life.”
His mouth set in a thin line again. Ever obstinate. Always making excuses.
I didn’t know what to say. At least his story made me understand him a little better.
“Serena?”
“Mm.”
“Can you …”
Holy fire—he looked so vulnerable that I almost reached out to comfort him.
“Can you forgive me?”
Well, damn. My mouth curved into a half-smile.
Hunter responded with his own hesitant grin. “What?”
“This must be another first: a fae asking a human’s forgiveness.”
His smile dropped. I sighed. “Hunter, if you think I will ever condone what you’re doing, you’re wrong.”
His posture and face turned brittle and sad.
Something shifted inside me, enough to admit, “But today you gave me a choice. Not much of one, but I won’t forget that. I know it was a risk.”
Hunter didn’t respond, he just clasped his hands and frowned, thoughtful. “So, what is your choice? Your decision?”
A chill entered my voice. “I suppose you can take me to the Riverlands—to one of Diana’s camps. Although, I still don’t see how it’s going to work. I’m no soldier.”
He moved his hand to rest over mine, and I stared down in a kind of detached shock, watching the shadow and flame from the fire move over them.
“I doubt this means much, but I wish things were different. You deserve better.” My eyes found his. He was smiling, but he looked sad. Resigned. “If I can do anything …”
“Except give me my freedom, you mean?”
He looked crushed. Damn.
He’d drugged me, kidnapped me, and was about to sell me, but I felt sorry for him? Madness. A sly voice that belonged wholly to me slipped in through my confusion. Ah, but he also saved you, it sang in mocking tones.
I bottled that voice and pulled my hand away. We were silent for a long time. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. Whatever he’d done or was about to do, ripping him into even smaller shreds would achieve nothing. “Just promise me you’ll deliver that message to John and Viola.”
He’d been watching the flames; now he was watching me. “Of course. Anything.”
I gave him a tiny nod. “Tell them … thank you. That I’ll never forget what they did for me. They took a lonely, broken girl and threw her a lifeline. And tell them I’m safe …” My throat tightened with the lie. I went on in a hoarse voice. “Tell them not to look for me, and that I won’t be coming back. That I love them. And goodbye.”
Blinking fast, I tried and failed to stop the tears from falling. Hunter’s hand twitched as if he wanted to reach out to comfort me again. That thought provoked a twinge of unease and made me quickly brush salty drops from both cheeks.
“They’ll hear every word,” he vowed.
I bit my lip, nodding. An errant breeze had me smelling myself; it wasn’t pleasant. With a rueful look down at my spoiled dress, I asked, “D’you think you could find me a stream to bathe in tomorrow?”
A whisper of a chuckle. I looked up—he was fighting back a laugh.
“It’s your fault I stink.”
He burst out giggling. I tipped my head, contemplating. There was something so childlike in him. It almost hurt to remind myself of what he was. A slaver.
He sobered up quickly, though, enough to say, “Of course, I’ll take you somewhere to wash. But right now, we should try to sleep. We still have a journey ahead of us, and today has been …”
“A nightmare?” I offered.
He gave me a wan smile. Not giving him an opportunity to agree, I lay down and spread the blanket over my body; I wouldn’t be warm, but neither would I freeze. Still, that didn’t seem good enough for Hunter. Before I could protest, he’d lain down behind me and extended his wing over us.
“What d’you think you’re doing?” I peeked over my shoulder, incredulous.
“Body heat,” he replied.
Such an air of innocence. Pfft.
The light from the fire disappeared as his leathery wing went over us, cocooning us. I was about to bat it away when Hunter said, “Sleep now.”
His breath tickled my hair. I frowned and decided that since I couldn’t force him to move, it might be better to just suffer. He wasn’t touching me—not exactly. And I was so very, very tired. He hummed low, his body sending vibrations into my back. Somehow, his hums soothed away the jagged edges and the horror of the last few hours, enough for me to relax and drift away.
Chapter 9
The Ogre and the Warrior
We were up at dawn, quenching the fire and filling our bellies with food and water. True to his promise, we lingered long enough to find a stream for me to wash. It didn’t stop the dress from smelling, but at least my face and hands were now clean.