Page 27 of Blood of the Fallen
“Moons!” Kall exclaimed. “I have the strong suspicion that an owl hooted when every member of that family took their first breath.”
From what I’d learned, owls represent bad omens to the packs. It seemed at least this one lesson had been accurate. I filed that knowledge away in thenot-a-liepile.
Kall clenched his fists. “After what you have been through, you shouldn’t have to—”
“It’s okay. Maybe one day, they’ll come around. Maybe not. Either way, it’s fine.”
“It’s not fair.”
“Well, they don’t seem to be much nicer to others, so why expect them to be nice to me?”
He chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”
“Maybe, I’ll go back to the school building. See how I can help Nadie.”
He nodded. “I have to take care of my own duties. So…” He hooked a finger over his shoulder, looking like he didn’t want to leave.
His emerald eyes sparkled under the sunlight, and his dark hair appeared lighter, including the stubble on his strong jaw. My gaze roved over his face, and I couldn’t help how enthralled I became. I scanned his features as if I would memorize them. His nose, his upturned upper lip, his thick dark eyebrows… Every detail about his face was perfect. Before, I had thought that Val was handsome, but Kall has been right when he said Val was just a boy. Kall, on the other hand, was a man with an incredible aura of power surrounding him.
Suddenly, the urge to trace his sharp jawline assaulted me. The compulsion took me by surprise, especially since my stomach didn’t flip at the thought.
I cleared my throat and walked back toward the school. When I was almost there, I glanced back. My heart fluttered when, as he retreated, he glanced back, too.
CHAPTER 11
ThenextfewdaysI made myself useful helping Nadie and Nosh. With the two of them, I had enough to keep my hands and time occupied.
The day started early, helping Nosh prepare breakfast, which consisted of cornmeal mush and dry fruit. I discovered he had a stash of rare spices that he admitted to purchasing in Augusta—Maine’s capital. He said he tried to travel there at least once a year because eating unseasoned food was simply a crime, and there were certain things he couldn’t trade with the witches, so a trip to anawfulcivilization was required.
I enjoyed helping with the kids the most. They didn’t seem to judge me like the adults did. Like Nirliq, the little ones were affectionate. They weren’t shy about grabbing my hand or wrapping their little arms around my neck. There were no rules about keeping their hands to themselves unless it was related to fighting.
Their touch didn’t bother me at all, which still puzzled me. Maybe it was because of their innocence, or maybe because their hands were small and warm and gentle. I also wondered if some of my phobia stemmed from the fact that physical contact had always been discouraged by the Academy, and hugs and gentle caresses were never something any of the initiates received. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how starved for affection I had been.
On the fourth day at the new camp, I got up early to help Nosh cut deer meat for a dinner stew.
“I do like an early riser,” Nosh greeted me as I approached his work area, a space between two trees that consisted of two stone columns with a couple of wide wooden planks to form a table. He was sitting on a little stool, sharpening knives on a whetstone.
“About the only useful thing I learned from the Academy,” I said with bitterness as I took the knife Nosh offered me.
A large deer hind quarter sat on the table, waiting for me. I got to work right away.
“Woke up in a bad mood?” Nosh asked.
I glanced back, surprised. I hadn’t thought about it, but yes, I felt… tense and restless.
“Have you gone for a good run?”
Cocking my head to one side, I frowned at him. Iwasused to physical exertion and intense weapon training, two things I hadn’t been doing here.
“Our wolves need to get a chance to feel free every day, and I imagine yours more than anyone’s since it was strapped for so long.”
Oh,that was what he’d meant. As it turned out, I hadn’t shifted since that day I spied on Kall. If I was honest with myself, I was concerned about following instincts I wasn’t ready to acknowledge and fully analyze. When I’dseenKall, what felt like something foreign took over me and made me do things I normally wouldn’t do. I even shifted back and forth involuntarily.
“That’s good to know,” I said, slicing off a section of meat as I cut along the bone.
Nosh walked up to the table and began cutting wild onions.
After a few minutes of quiet work, he said, “Try not to be too hard on yourself, Sheela. Hate the Academy, but don’t hate who you were and who you are now. You were at the mercy of your circumstances. What happened to you isn’t your fault. It was done to you. Just remember that.”
