Alena stilled. She meant the ravenous beasts.
“The Huntress said she’d lend them to you for one day and one night,” the girl babbled, as if speaking of pets rather than deadly creatures. “It won’t be too hard. They’re always hungry, of course, but they’ll eat just about anything. And they love sleeping under the stars. Oh! And theyreallylike belly rubs, but be careful—if you give one too much attention, the others get jealous?—”
Alena’s gaze snapped to a sudden flicker of movement in the bushes.
“Watch out!” she yelled, instincts flaring.
An arrow shot from the trees, hurtling straight towards them. Without hesitation, Alena lunged forward, shoving the little girl to the ground and shielding her with her body. The sharpthudof the arrow embedding in the dirt beside them sent her heart racing.
Rolling to the side, Alena drew a dagger from her belt and cursed under her breath—she’d lost her sword when she was dragged into the forest. The wolves were too busy guarding Phoebe and the Achaeans to come to her aid, and her attempts to summon the South Wind’s magic faltered.
The little girl had vanished without a trace, leaving Alena alone against the approaching threat. But she wasn’t defenceless—she still had her training with Phoebe.
From the shadows, a dozen Rasennan soldiers stepped forward, bows drawn, eyes sharp and fixed on her. A tight knot twisted in her stomach as she took in their numbers. She crouched on one knee, her dagger glinting in the mottled light, ready to strike.
“We’ve been looking for you,” growled one soldier in Rhaetic, broad-shouldered and thick-necked like Pelagios.
Another, with short-cropped hair, kept an arrow nocked, his gaze cold and calculating. “The girl with the Omega Mark.”
Alena clenched her jaw. “Thewoman,” she corrected. “And I’m right here. No need to shoot the little girl.”
“That wasn’t a girl,” muttered a third soldier, unease flickering in his eyes. “That was a nymph. We shouldn’t be here.”
Of course—a nymph. Danaos had warned that the forest belonged to Kallisto, one of the Huntress’ nymphs. The little girl must have been one of them.
Silver threads of magic, now linking her to the hunting hounds, tugged sharply.
Her heart stilled.
Though unseen, the beasts had closed around her. Rough fur brushed against her arm, sending her hair prickling to life.
“Shut it,” the first soldier snapped, eyes narrowing as he scanned the shadowed pines. “Keep your guard up. We grab her fast.”
But before the soldiers could move, the air around Alena shimmered, revealing sleek black coats, gleaming silver eyes, and rows of sharp teeth. The pack of hounds—enormous beasts nearly twice the size of the Freefolk ones—closed in around her, forming a tight circle. Saliva dripped from the nearest beast onto her shoulder, sending a cold shiver racing down her spine.
The hounds snarled in unison, their low growls vibrating through the ground, eyes locked on the soldiers, daring them to advance.
Magic tugged at Alena again, sharper this time. More hounds lingered in the shadows, pressing in from the underbrush, shrouded but ready to strike.
Just how many did the Huntress command?
“Don’t move.” The thick-necked soldier locked eyes with the snarling pack, his stare hard, while the others shifted nervously. The man closest to Alena went pale, his hands trembling at the sight of the beasts baring their teeth.
The bushes stirred, and eerie giggles echoed from every direction, carried on the rustling leaves. Terror flickered in the soldiers’ eyes as they scanned the pines, where shadows seemed to watch and wait.
The nymphs’ sing-song voices floated through the branches, enchanting and mocking:
“Naughty, naughty men, who wander through our wood. A hunter spied our mistress naked—now a stag he stood.”
Two soldiers broke, bolting into the trees in a desperate bid to escape. Another stood frozen, trembling like a leaf, his gaze locked on the hound before him.
The beast licked its chops, silver eyes gleaming with hunger.
Alena didn’t dare move, every muscle taut, as the nymphs’ cruel game played out.
High-pitched laughter erupted from all directions, bouncing off the trunks like a sinister melody.
The sweet, sing-song voice returned, threaded now with something darker:
