The hum under my skin did something traitorous.
The tracking module met in a clearing where the forest pressed close and the ground held prints.
Ash stood at the center, looking like himself — messy hair, easy grin, energy that made you think everything would work out. He caught my eye and gave me a tiny nod.
Don't blow my cover.
His grin widened.
"Alright, listen up." He clapped his hands. "Tracking isn't about following footprints. Any idiot can follow prints in fresh snow. Tracking is reading a story. What passed through? How long ago? Running or walking? Hunting or hunted?"
He crouched by a disturbance in the leaves. "See this? Something moved through recently. Look at depth, spacing, direction of scatter."
The group leaned in. James had materialized at my shoulder. I stepped sideways.
"Today we practice with trails I've laid," Ash continued. "Tomorrow, animal tracking. By week's end, you should follow a cold trail for a mile."
A mile. I'd need to track across glaciers where wind erased signs in minutes.
But a mile was a start.
"Partner up," Ash said. "Two per trail."
Ivy grabbed my arm. "Partners."
"Obviously."
"Good, because Cowboy was about to ask."
I glanced back. James had paired with Charlie. He caught my eye and shrugged.Next time.
We worked until the light failed, following trails through underbrush and across clearings. I was good at it. Seven years of practice clicking into place.
"You've done this before," Ash said quietly, falling into step beside me as the group headed back.
"Some."
"Some." He snorted. "Rae said you'd been practicing. Didn't mention you'd gotten this good. She worries about you."
"Rae worries too much."
"She worries the right amount." He was quiet for a beat. "We all do."
I didn't answer. There wasn't anything to say that we hadn't already said a hundred times.
"Just be careful." He glanced at me sideways. "That's all."
"Always am."
"Liar." But he said it fondly, the way family does.
He jogged ahead to catch up with the group, leaving me with the fading light and the feeling of being watched.
James caught my eye across the clearing. Smiled.
I looked away first.
Chapter four
