Page 69 of A Hunt So Wicked
He smiled, seeing how he affected me. "I've said what I needed to say, my lady. I'll see you this evening and think of nothing else until then."
He bowed and walked around the desk, straight for the door. His behavior rendered me speechless, so I remained silent and simply watched him slip through the door and out of sight.
"My Goddess," I whispered as I sank into a chair. What sorcery had he just committed against me? My heart was still pounding, and I felt a desperate yearning that I didn't understand.
I felt more confused now than I had the entire time I had been on this damned island. Dair hadn't needed to tell me any of the information he had shared, yet he had. He went out of his way to track me down and tell me what he knew. What reason would he have to lie about it? His words seemed sincere, and I was usually a very good judge of truth and lies. I had to be smart. I owed that to Kael. Throwing my life away and being shipped off would do nothing to avenge his death. In ten years, when the next hunt came around, this cycle would repeat. More innocent women would be slaughtered. I would never be able to bring about change if I ran.
I sank my hands into my dark hair and resisted the urge to yank it all out in frustration. How did I end up here?
Releasing my hair, I stood and smoothed my skirt. Now that I had confirmation that this was nothing but a game, I could choose to either participate willingly, or they would make me do it unwillingly. I needed to change my mindset. The crown was thinking about the here and now, and I was thinking about next week, next month, five years from now. One thing had become clear to me—The Hunt was over, but the game was very much still alive.
And if I also wanted to be alive, I would need to go all in.
Learn the rules. Study the other players.
Only then would I be able to make them pay for what they put us through. What they'd put me through. I would never, ever forget.
*****
"Belinda is telling everyone who will listen that she saved Alasdair's life. That he was unwell, and she revived him," Isla whispered to me when I returned to the table she and Riv were seated at.
I rolled my eyes and swallowed the small pang of jealousy that reared up when I recalled how she had been sitting on him. "She's a fool."
"Aye, agreed. But she's also saying that he ran after you? What happened?" Riv eyed me curiously.
I leaned in and picked up my cup of tea. "I may have learned some things."
Isla's eyes widened. "Oh? Do tell."
I glanced around and saw several of the girls looking my way, and their gazes quickly shifted when they realized they'd been caught. "Not here," I said.
My friends nodded, and Isla stood when Ayla appeared in the courtyard. She had been provided with a cane to ease her walking, but she was still slow moving. The wound hadn't been infected, miraculously. That was thanks to Isla's nursing in the cave.
"Ayla!" Isla shouted, waving at the young woman. "How are you today?"
Ayla smiled. "Getting better. Thank you, again, for your help."
"Nothing to thank me for. I'm just glad it didn't get infected."
Our attention was diverted to the doorway when the sorcerer and head guard appeared. "Good morning, ladies. I am here on behalf of King Ero to inform you that the Choosing Ceremony will be tonight. He has cleared the second ballroom on the top floor of the castle in order for you all to prepare. The servants will assist you in picking a dress and attend to your needs."
It took everything in me to remain seated. I wanted to lunge at them both—to claw their eyes out for what they put us through. Especially Corvus. He'd watched the entire bloody hunt through the eyes of his ravens and kept score. That's how little our lives meant to him, to the crown.
"Thank you, my lord," Belinda said, her voice breathy and fake. "Shall we go there now?"
"That would be appreciated, my lady," the guard replied, not bothering to be discreet with the way his eyes scanned Belinda's body.
She smiled brightly at him, and I felt warmth in my palms. I glanced down and stared at the blood pooling in my hands, the fingernail marks plain as day.
"Better yer hands than their faces," Rivka whispered, tilting her head to my self-inflicted wounds as she handed me a napkin.
One by one, all of the women stood and began leaving the courtyard, following the guard and Corvus. Watching them all, it felt as though I was stuck in my seat, my body refusing to leave it.
"I know it's hard, Evie," Isla said quietly. "But we have to do this. We just have to get through it. We'll do it together, okay?"
My throat was too tight to respond. I didn't know if I would scream or sob if I tried to speak, so I remained silent and simply nodded.
"Together, no matter what," Riv proclaimed, slipping her arm around my waist and her other around Isla.
