Page 139 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

Most of the masks are formed after predators, but there are the odd outliers. A ram, a monkey and a crow, to name a few. All of them are accessorised with braids that hang down from the sides, ending in feathers or beads, and the eye sockets are rimmed with splashes of gold.

“If you want to learn about the Wild Hunt,” I begin, ignoring her gasp as she whirls and takes in my new appearance. “Go and study the walls. Everything about us is written there.” Rose starts to move as soon as I’ve said it, but I stop her with a hand on her arms. “Whatever you do, do not go near anything with teeth.”

She frowns at me, as if trying to read my expression past my own mask. “But even horses and fae have teeth.”

“I said what I said. Start by the door.”

There. I was helpful.

She hesitates, but does as I say. Her own curiosity is too powerful for her to resist.

The moment she leaves my side, Ogrim approaches me and we clasp arms—well, really, his scarred hand swallows my arm and I do my best to clasp his. “You arrived together.” It’s not a question, so I just grunt in reply.

Of course, the nosy beastmaster uses his grip and his ridiculous strength to flip my arm and stare at the mark on my hand. I yank it back—too late.

The ogre’s grin is enormous. “Congratulations, m’boy!” he booms as I rub the soreness from my muscle. Damned under fae doesn’t know his own strength. “I knew you were meant for great things.”

“Keep it to yourself,” I grumble, and his face falls.

“You don’t seriously plan to keep being in the Guard a secret?”

Maybe it’s because he’s been with me since my first Hunt, or perhaps it’s his constantly jovial aura, but I feel comfortable confiding in him. More than I do my fellow Guards, anyway.

“Cedwyn already had me in his sights,” I mutter, tracking Rose as she walks around the room, barely paying attention to where she’s going as she follows the carvings on the wall. “Now, he’ll conspire against her and make her life more difficult because of who I am.”

“You unseelie and your grudges,” he says, rolling his pink eyes good-naturedly. “Has he not gotten over that yet?”

I raise one brow. “If you think so, go into Calimnel and announce yourself as a member of the host.”

It would be suicide, and he knows it.

“Perhaps not,” he admits.

“Are all of the beasts here?” I can hear the barghests clawing and growling, though the monstrous hounds are blocked from view by the line of horses.

“Aye, and a few of the bitches have whelps. One won’t last the night, but that’s nature for you.”

I raise a brow. “A runt?”

“Be glad it’s just the one. Remember last year? None of the pups survived.”

I grimace, because I remember it too well. It wasn’t just the folk who suffered in the absence of the Nicnevin. The animals struggled too.

“Right. Have you seen Annis?”

“Clucking at the Valravne as normal.”

“She doesn’t need to cluck. They speak perfectly good Fae.” The predatory birds are the best at seeking out the energy of the spirits we hunt, and the barghests track them until they’re caught.

Wait… where is Rose?

“So I guess you’ve not mated her yet?” Ogrim asks, oblivious to the way I’m scanning the room.

“Why do you say that?” I reply, distracted.

She’s not here. Where in Danu’s name has she gone?

Ogrim is smirking. “Because your antlers are on fire.”

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