Page 392 of Hunters and Prey

“Up. Now. We have to leave.”

The urgency in his tone had me on my feet, strapped up, and ready to go. This time, we ran. Branches whipped past, lashing at my face and tangling in my hair as if attempting to hold me back.

“What are we running from?”

“Judgment.”

Judgment? What kind of judgment would frighten a Dreki? We ran for what felt like forever before Vesper slowed his pace. He glanced up at the trees.

“Okay, we’re out of pixie territory.”

“Is that what it was? A pixie?”

I’d heard about the tiny creatures that inhabited the Wilds. Out of all the beings that called the forest home, pixies were meant to be the tamest.

“I don’t get it. I thought they weren’t dangerous.”

“They’re not. But harm one, or in this case, kill one, and they turn rabid. They don’t follow Oberon’s law. They’re a people unto themselves, and they have their own court. If they catch us, they will kill us. Stupid fuckers like to practice transmutation for fun. This one just happened to go rabbit at the wrong time.”

Pixies in general were around the size of your palm; the idea of a rabid one was hardly alarming. “But ... they’re tiny.”

Vesper ducked under a low-hanging branch, his body more at ease now that we were apparently out of the danger zone. “And there are thousands of them, and they can shift to be even smaller. Imagine being attacked by a swarm of wasps. Imagine each taking a bite.”

A shudder ripped up my spine, because big, furry monsters were one thing, but insects were another thing entirely, and wasps ... Urgh.

“Wait, you said kill us. I didn’t do anything.”

“You’re guilty by association.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

He threw me a sharp glance over his shoulder. “Feel free to head back and see what happens.”

Okay, maybe not. “So, what happens now?”

“We keep moving. We get onto the outskirts of the Wilds and then we find a nook to rest in for a couple of hours.”

Bone-weary and gut-gnawingly hungry, I followed Vesper, the pixie killer, toward the edge of the Wilds.

So, this was a nook—a hollow in a huge tree—and this was how I was supposed to rest, with his chest pressed to my back and his chin tucked into the crook of my shoulder. It was intimate and invasive, warm and cozy. Damn, I hated that this felt good, too good. While I lay there, every nerve ending alive with the knowledge that a delectable Dreki male was pressed up against me, he was snoring softly in my ear.

God, could I get any more unattractive?

His earlier proposition had obviously either been a joke or a desperate need to scratch an itch. Who knew how long he’d been held prisoner by the Bloods. Who was I kidding, I would never be one of the females that stiffened a man’s cock, unless it was in fear. Hah. That I could do. That had always been enough. But then there was Dante. The way he looked at me, had looked at me before he’d left, made me feel ... wanted. Although what had Vesper said to him before I’d regained consciousness? Oh, yes. Something about me reminding him of someone else. Another female? Maybe an old lover? So, I was a nostalgic piece, and that was all.

My eyelids fluttered closed. Where was all this frivolous crap coming from? What did it matter if males wanted me? When had it ever mattered? All that mattered was what I could do and what I could achieve. Feeling powerful and being in control were my goals, and when it came to the opposite sex, there was only failure. Best to focus on the things that were in my power. The possibility of preparing the Dreki for this Jotunn attack that was on the horizon was the biggest goal. By doing that, I’d be protecting my family. These were the things that mattered. What mattered was the sword, the axe, and the blade.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, go to sleep.” Vesper’s voice was hot in my ear. “You’re thinking so hard it’s hurting my brain.”

“You heard my thoughts?”

He sighed. “No, just the pressure of them. It’s distracting.” He pulled me closer, as if it were the most natural thing to do, as if we’d lain like this on many occasions. “Nice,” he muttered, and then his breathing evened out and he fell back into slumber.

Sleep didn’t visit me straight away. Instead, waking dreams flitted before my open eyes—Dad’s face when I returned home, the kids running up the path to greet me, Helgi’s crazy grin to see me alive, and the far away Furtherlands where we would build our new home.

In a few hours, this dream would come true.

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