Page 31 of Corvak's Challenge

Aidy's face is pale, but she nods. "It was nice of them to hunt that for us."

I cut the throat of the animal and sling the corpse to my pack so it can bleed out as we walk. As we do, I mull the idea of my personal army. They will be easy enough to arm with spears, and if that fails, they have claws. They can help with the hunting. The old and the children can hunt for roots or help melt water. The strongest can act as guards. I like this. I like this a lot.

I keep thinking of things to include in my army. Should I teach them maneuvers? Phalanx formations? The possibilities are endless.

I am not sure how Aidy will feel about this, however.

I glance over at my female. Her face is ruddy with cold, her long hair tangling about as the breeze lifts it. "How are your feet?"

She rubs the tip of her pink nose. "They're managing, but I wouldn't say no to a shorter hike today. Do you think we can find someplace safe now that it's getting rocky again?" She points at the distance, where the cliffs rise to even more jagged heights. "I feel like we're going back into the mountains instead of coming back out of them."

"Perhaps we are. I will look for a good shelter so you can rest your feet."

"Is it safe to separate?"

"It will be." I tip my chin at the snow-people trailing behind us. "We have acquired more of them. Did you notice that?"

"We have?" Her face falls. "I don't like that."

"As if we have a choice? Tell them to go away, then." I know she will do no such thing, and smile to take the bite from my words. "You know they will not listen."

"I haven't learned enough of their words yet." She tucks her hair behind her small, rounded ear, and my cock fills with blood. The humming in my chest grows louder, and for a moment, my knees weaken as her scent drifts close. I move closer to her, and when she gazes up at me in surprise, I pull her close and bury my face in her mane. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I keep my face buried in her hair. Her scent is intoxicating, her soft body against mine distracting…and not close enough. I want so much more than just walking at her side. I want to touch her all over, to hear her make the little gasps and sharp inhales the way she did when I touched her feet. The way she did when I touched her between her thighs. For a brief flash, I resent my budding army because they give us no time to be alone.

But that army will keep her safe.

Reluctantly, I let her go. Her face is full of confusion as she gazes up at me, and I lightly rub my knuckles along the curve of her jaw. "I was just wishing that we were alone."

Her pink mouth curves into a smile. "Good wish."

Behind us, the hooting escalates, and I turn to see another one of the snow-people has caught something. He brings it to me, the creature writhing and still alive. I am the official executioner, it seems. I eye Aidy, and there are dark shadows under her eyes today. She seems tired, and I know her feet must be bothering her. So even though I would prefer to be much, much farther away, I make a decision. I point at the rocks in the distance. "We will stop there for the day. The game seems to be plentiful, and we will cook our food and look for a strategic place to claim as our own."

Aidy's smile of relief is telling. "I love that idea."

The distant cliffs are riddled with jagged edges and broken rocks. It is strange to me—I had always pictured that a mountain would be a solid block of stone, to be climbed like something in an obstacle course. What I am learning is that mountains here are made up of steep slopes and uneven stone, rockfalls and deep slices that make impossible-to-scale cliffs. There are crevices that seem to be nothing but ice packed between taller rocks, and snow. So much snow. It hides the sharp, small rocks and the places where footfalls are precarious, and I worry even more for Aidy's delicate feet. I do not climb higher, but instead, follow a new, foul scent that permeates the air, and in the next rocky crevice, there is water, trickling through the rocks.

It is the cause of the stink, but this time I welcome it. The water steams and flows into a bright greenish-blue pool, with jutting tumbles of rocks all around it.

Aidy is thrilled at the sight. She clutches at my arm, not just for balance, but because she is delighted. "Running water! That must be some sort of hot spring. You think it's drinkable?"

I glance over at my army. "We watch them to see."

I find a good place to sit and pull Aidy into my lap. She is stiff at first, and then relaxes, sighing with contentment. The purring in her chest grows so loud it feels as if I can hear nothing else. Her scent surrounds me, and my cock remains hard and aching, flooded with the need for her. Instinctively, I shift her, settling her hips against mine and her back to my front. She sucks in a breath but doesn't move away. She takes one of my arms and loops it around her waist, as if wanting me to hold her closer. I jerk my hips, flexing upward, all so I can press my cock harder against those soft, gloriously scented parts of her.

Her breath catches again.

I bite back a groan.My female. Mine. My Aidy. My?—

"Look," she says.

It takes a moment for her voice to penetrate my hazy thoughts. I force myself to pay attention, to look up as she commands. When I do, I see that the snow-people are moving toward the running stream. There are sticks on the edges of the water, tall reeds of some kind, and they approach carefully. One of the males moves into the lead and carefully skirts the water's edge. Then, he leans over and grabs at the closest reed, hauling it from the water and retreating. As he does, I see there is a flopping, angry blob on the end. It looks like an ugly, rounded fish with giant teeth. The snow-male grabs the end of the reed and bashes the fish against a nearby rock. Then, he looks over at me for approval, just like they have all done every time they have brought me a kill.

The snow-people grab another fish-on-a-reed and bash it, and as we watch, the other reeds retreat, heading to the far side of the pool. Some of the snow-people follow, while others crowd in the now clear area and dip their hands into the warm water to drink.

"Piranhas on a stick," Aidy muses. "Terrifying. I'm glad our friends are showing us the safe way to approach the water."

I grunt, because my army is proving more handy than I realized. "We will stop here and see where we can set up camp, then. If the water is safe, it is a good advantage for us."

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