Page 25 of Outcast Fae
Leave it to males to run straight toward trouble.
“What now?” Daniella asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not going after them. You saw that squid monster. A wolf would be worse.”
“But maybe we should stay together,” she said, sounding unsure.
Another inhuman howl tore through the jungle. The hairs on my arms stood on end.
“We don’t need to go anywhere near that sound,” I said. “It’s nothing good. I feel it in the marrow of my bones.”
Daniella wrung her hands, eyebrows pinched, eyes full of concern. “What if something happens to them and they blame us for not being there to help?”
Would they do that? If there were rules to this game, no one had bothered to explain them to us. In fact, it seemed we had to find out what they were on our own. And if Daniella was right… if something happened to them and we got blamed, somehow…
I sighed, anger and frustration whirling in my chest. “All right, let’s follow them but cautiously.”
Daniella bobbed her head up and down. “Of course. Cautiously.”
Moving at a clipped pace, we reached the edge of the jungle, a mass of thick tree trunks and wild shrubs that looked untouched. Pushing past heavy, broad leaves, we left the clearing behind and began walking with more purpose.
“Which way did they go?” Daniella peered around, holding a branch out of her line of sight.
The path the males had followed was obvious to me. Marked by broken branches and boot prints on the ground, it was impossible to miss. Yet, Daniella saw nothing. How unprepared these humans were. Left by herself, she would not survive this island. Maybe fear of ending up alone was the real reason she wanted to go after Vaughn and the others. Maybe she didn’t trust me to take care of her. I couldn’t blame her. I had tried to leave them all behind, after all, but we saw how well that turned out.
There was definitely strength in numbers. I had to give her that—even if some of those other numbers were halfwits.
Squatting, I pointed to a set of prints on the jungle floor. “See this?”
Daniella nodded, swatting at one of those biting insects.
“It’s easy to track if you know what to look for.”
Her eyes roved around eagerly over the area. “Ooh! They went that way,” she said, pointing in the right direction.
“Good job.” I stood and patted her shoulder.
She beamed up at me, reminding me of one of the children, Arryn, and the way she always fluttered her little wings enthusiastically when I gave her a compliment for a job well done.
I allowed Daniella to lead the way, correcting her path when she deviated from it. We walked cautiously, eyes darting from side to side, pausing every time a new howl pierced the air.
As we moved away from the beach, the vegetation changed. There were fewer palms and more tall trees with sweeping branches and small leaves. Underfoot, the rocky terrain changed to moss-covered soil, teeming with insects, scampering mice, and fungi of different colors.
Even as my heart pounded in fear for what we might encounter ahead, a pang of homesickness hit me. The island reminded me of my home, of its natural beauty and pristine resources, untainted by the excesses of humanity. I missed Alanthyl as much as one might miss a lost parent or lover. My heart ached just thinking of it.
Another howl reverberated through the trees, closer this time. Daniella stopped and hugged her thin arms around her torso.
“What could that be?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“You tell me. I’m not from these parts.”
Daniella swallowed and gave me a sidelong glance. “I don’t know. A banshee or a werewolf, maybe.”
“And thosegòrakidiots ran toward it,” I remarked, giving Daniella a small push. “Let’s be just as foolish and follow them.”
We renewed our careful trudge through the jungle, tracking the footprints. After another minute, a loud snarl and a male scream sounded just a few yards away. Then everything went quiet.
My heart began to pound.
