Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
It took monumental strength to blink back the fog of fury. To halt the murderous shadow just as it reached Aktor’s throat.
The Nhil male stood stock-still, his nostrils flaring. Our eyes locked, and I smiled thinly, gritting my teeth as I yanked my shades back.
I trembled with the effort.
They vanished but not willingly.
My stomach cramped, and my bones ached as if I no longer fit correctly into my body.
Salak huffed and nudged me, letting me know he understood how difficult it was to choose peace instead of bloodshed. With trembling hands, I rested my palm on his powerful shoulder, feeding off the musty heat wafting from his fur.
Doing my best to rein in my anger and settle back into who I was, I swallowed hard and glared at the Nhil leader who’d pushed his way to the front.
I hadn’t expected him to be with the group.
The chief’s place was back with his clan—to guide and watch over—not here. Not here chasing after a missing girl who wasn’t even his blood.
I crossed my arms again, studying him. His chest was daubed with designs made from animal fat and ashes, swirling around his pectorals, and smeared down his taut belly to the bison fur around his hips. He wore his hair in one thick braid with raven feathers woven in the black strands.
Our eyes met.
His lips thinned.
And he tipped his chin as if he knew who I was. “Give us back the girl.” No pleasantries or pleases. Just a curt command given in Firenese.
I bared my teeth as anger churned in my gut.
Salak pressed closer, his large bulk warming my bare waist with his every breath. His lips didn’t drop from a snarl, smelling the clan before us and waiting for the barest sign that they deserved to die.
“We just want her back,” the chief muttered, pushing his spear away from him as if to symbolise his lack of willingness to fight. “Give us the girl, and we’ll remove ourselves from your territory.”
I kept my face unreadable, my voice ice cold as I spoke in the Nhil’s tongue. “There’s no girl here.”
“Don’t lie.” The chief’s forehead furrowed into frustrated tracks. “Our Fire Reader hasn’t woken since they shared a trance. He remains unconscious. He knew the risks and performed the trance anyway, but before he did, he told me about you.” He looked me up and down. “He told me of a man who ran with wolves and shadows. A man who befriended our adoptive daughter.”
“Adoptive daughter?” I smiled tightly. “I wasn’t aware you’d claimed her.”
“Our Fire Reader claimed her the moment she was found by the river. We were merely waiting to make it official once she had a name.” He stepped forward, waving a hand at Aktor, who’d reached for him.
Aktor barked, “Father, don’t—”
Father?
The scum who’d hurt Runa was the chief’s son?
My memory was hazy on that night. I vaguely recalled Aktor boasting that he was next in line, which meant Runa was his responsibility to ensure she wasn’t a threat.
I hadn’t understood then, but now I did.
He deserved to die all over again for using his position of power to intimidate and torment.
My arms dropped.
A coil of darkness appeared.
Salak growled, keeping me in check.
The chief hushed Aktor with a withering stare. “I suggest you keep quiet. Don’t make me give you another twenty lashes.” Breaking off from his hunters, bracing his shoulders with authority, the chief said, “Give us the girl so we may leave.”
Salak growled again, shredding the night with his warnings.
Another wolf barked behind us.
The chief threw a worried look at the bristling pack but kept his chin high. His eyes landed on mine again. “We followed the lynx. Syn is very fond of the girl, and we knew she’d be able to track where she went. When we learned the girl was no longer with Solin, Syn tried to run to find her.” He shrugged as if believing his attempt at conversation would help dampen a bloody fight. “We leashed her and followed where she led. But she broke free just as we came near the trees.” He pointed behind me into the treeline that was the only thing protecting the den and pups beyond. “She ran in there. Let us follow and find the girl and—”
“Give us the girl, you savage,” Aktor hissed, lowering his spear as if he could impale me across the small clearing. “We don’t have time for this. Our Fire Reader is unconscious—”
“Aktor,” the chief shouted. “Get back. Shut up. And don’t say another word.”
The male I would happily kill glowered at his father. “But he deserves to die. He took her. He’s the reason Solin is dead.”
“He’s not dead,” the chief muttered. “But he won’t wake unless we have the girl’s help.”
A tingle on the back of my neck.
A feathering in my spirit that curled around my heart with knowing.