The others were watering the horses and making surethey ate. The creatures were tired, and I was glad we’d stopped earlier than usual. They deserved a break.
The preliminary work finished, I laced my fingers together and pushed my palms away from me, preparing for the most draining part. My magic began swirling in the air when movement in the forest beyond caught my notice.
Red . . . eyes?
I squinted. The flash of red was gone, but even in its absence, claws raked down my spine. The red had been small and luminous, and I knew one creature who fit that description.
Vampire eyes could turn red. Usually when the bloodsuckers were starving or enraged. But the Red Assassins that came after us in Avaldenn had not been shy to approach. And why should they be? They were highly touted as the best assassins in Isila.
“Neve?” Vale asked from where he worked with the others. “Is something wrong?”
My gaze shifted to find my mate watching me, reins in hand, as he guided a horse away from the stream.
“Someone is in the woods,” I replied.
Vale blinked. “This far from civilization?”
“I guess. Their eyes were red, so they stood out.”
“We need to scout.” He turned, clearly understanding what I did not say. “Caelo and Luccan, Neve saw someone in the woods. Maybe a vampire. Help me look for them?”
“On it!” Luccan handed his reins to Thantrel as Caelo gave his over to Arie.
“Be careful,” I warned, as the males gathered theirweapons and entered the woods. If that had been the assassins, they wouldn’t aim to kill my mate or his friends, just me. But that didn’t mean they would not harm someone who was in the way of them fulfilling their contract.
“We will be,” Vale replied, worry plain in his eyes. “You’d better build the shelter quickly, Force. It’s colder already. Thantrel and Arie will hold watch while you work.”
He was right. The storm approached at an unnatural speed. So, as the cabal members disappeared into the deep woods, I built a shelter to see us through what was sure to be a long night.
“Catch.” Luccan tossed a bit of dried meat at Clemencia, as he had twice already.
She opened her mouth and this time, the meat fell right in.
“That’s my lady!” Luccan cheered, and Clem’s cheeks turned pink with delight.
Next to me, Anna looked happy too, seated by Arie, his cloak covering both her legs and his.
Our evening meal comprised of dried meats and cheese; foods easy to travel with. Now that my belly was full and I was warmer than I’d been all day, I yawned. Last night we’d told stories for hours and hours, but I did not think that was in the nuchi cards tonight.
Outside, the winds howled, and snow fell at a remarkable rate. Everyone raised in Winter’s Realm claimed they’d never seen snow fall so fast and thick. The fire we’d huddledaround for hours was dimming, but I found I did not worry about the storm raging outside. Not when I was safe in my frozen shelter and around friends.
Vale, Caelo, and Luccan hadn’t found a soul around our camp. Not a single footprint in the snow, which a vampire, with all their supernatural strength and speed could not help but make. So it was likely a vampire was not lurking.
My friends had put me seeing red eyes down to being tired, but I disagreed. I was sure I’d seen someone. Maybe something? I didn’t know, but as no one had seen the red eyes since, I allowed myself a modicum of relaxation. Whatever it was had clearly moved on.
“I’ll wake and reinforce the shelter throughout the night, but I’m exhausted, so whomever is on watch will have to wake me when they think it’s needed.” I nudged Vale, who had taken it in turns with Thantrel to funnel the smoke out of the shelter.
“Of course,” Vale said. “We all need to rest well tonight. I hope to make good headway tomorrow, but with the snow falling, we might be slowed again.”
“I’ll take first watch,” Arie offered.
A rotation was quickly established, and finally, I laid down on my cloak. A moment later, Vale cuddled around me and pulled his larger cloak over the pair of us.
The others laid down too, side by side. Arie sat nearest the door, a cloak and woolen blanket pulled around him as he peered outside.
“Good night everyone,” Clemencia called out from where she snuggled with Luccan, her cheeks pink, though I wasn’t sure it was from the chill.
A chorus responded, and I wiggled closer to Vale. I closed my eyes, and sleep came like I was falling off a cliff. Exhaustion pulled me deeper and deeper into a void, and I swore I heard whispers.
