Page 32 of A Storm Rises

She was unsure how to make Mateo last place while she came in first but held on to the idea that she would figure it out along the way. “You both can save yourselves the time and trouble. The first-place prize belongs to me.”

Mateo seethed. “You highborns already have the prize.” His voice rose. “You have everything. What more could you want?”

His words shook her awake, although she did not sleep. Already had the prize? She tightened her grip on her bow. He was right. The royals did have everything. What did his people have? Nothing… She must stop thinking about that. It did not matter. And it never would.

Snap! She drew an arrow and swung her bow. A flash of fur zipped by, and she unleashed. Yip! She gulped and stared at the others. Had she done it? Had she struck a Shadowblood?

“No way,” Finnian uttered.

She shrugged. “Let’s go see.”

They raced in the direction of her aim and found the lifeless animal. A regular fox with red fur took its last breath.

With his boot, Finnian nudged the dead fox. “Great aim, wrong beast.”

“This time,” she said. She retrieved her arrow and readjusted her quiver. “We also didn’t see the magic in the air. Remember?”

Mateo scanned the area. “Speaking of magic, where’s the boundary?” He walked around and squinted as he studied the trees. Everyone did the same.

“Is it visible with the naked eye?” Finnian asked.

Before anyone could answer, Mateo called from a cluster of trees. “Over here. I think I see it.”

She and Finnian followed Mateo to the spot. A glint waned in the air, almost like a beam of light struggling to break through the clouds. She pointed. “There. I saw a spark.”

Mateo moved closer. “It won’t hurt us, right?” His brows gathered and bunched. “I don’t trust that red-headed axe wielder of yours.”

“Trust and deception are different matters.” Avalynn folded her arms. “Master Kragar would never say something untrue.”

Stepping forward, Finnian stretched out his arm. “Only one way to find out.”

“I would not do that,” Avalynn cautioned with her hand on her hip.

The thick fae touched the barrier anyway. Zap! He stumbled backward but stayed upright. He examined his buzzed hand. “It definitely hurt, but not too bad.” He rubbed his fingers. “Like dipping your hand in a bucket of bees.”

Even though it wouldn’t kill them, she’d rather avoid being zapped. She held her bow, tip out. “We should hold out our weapons while we walk.”

“Not a bad idea,” Finnian agreed, holding out his spear. Mateo found a long sturdy-looking stick and held it out too but kept his dagger closer.

Avalynn walked with caution, searching for signs of prey. She found two sets of boot prints instead. “We are headed in the same direction as Eiric and Selene. Through the trees and to the Grand Valley.”

Mateo frowned as he bent down. “Those are sprinting footprints. They’re close together, and the pattern is linear.” His gaze darted about, and he pointed. “Those are the Shadowblood tracks.” And he took flight.

“Thunderation!” Avalynn charged after him. Was he going to win after all? Would she be the big loser? She kept him in view, not letting him get too far ahead. She dodged chunks of rocks and jumped over fallen branches. After running a good distance, the trees thinned, and she burst into a small clearing.

Blurs of black fur streaked around in a chaotic circle. Yips and barks filled the air. In the middle of the circle stood Selene and Eiric. Selene’s eyes were wider than a canyon while Eiric jabbed his spear at the nearing foxes. They would be overrun soon.

Avalynn gulped. The Shadowbloods were deadly and smart. But were they smart enough to join forces for an attack? Did her father or Master Kragar or both know they would go after the hunters like this?

Mateo eased toward the frenzy and picked up Selene’s thrown spear that had obviously missed its target. He started backtracking toward Avalynn and Finnian, looking as if he wanted nothing to do with the deadly ambush.

But this was not what she had signed up for. She bit her lip. Eiric and Selene would probably not come to her aid in the same situation. But if she could help it, they would not suffer death by mauling.

She reached for an arrow, but Finnian yanked her arm down. “They will swarm us.”

“But they will die out there.”

“Or we will.” Finnian shook his head as if she endangered them more. “We can’t take that risk.”

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