Mavka clapped her on the back. “Well done, child. A good clean kill. The Huntress herself would be honoured.” She smiled. “I’m glad you came to your senses earlier. Your banishment would do none of us any good. Especially not the impoverished folk of Littlewatch.”
“I know. I’m needed just as much as the other Chosen Seven.” She resisted the urge to sigh.
“Yet, you are not happy.”
Aloisia pressed her lips together in a thin line. Of course she wasn’t. What if she had missed her chance? What if she could not find the blue flames again? Mavka was right to force her hand. Without her position, she would be limited in what she could do to help. Even so, her mind wandered back to the Dead Woods and what she would have found there if she had followed her instinct.
“Do not be too hard on yourself.” Mavka patted her shoulder and did not press further for any answer from her. Instead, she knelt to help bind the doe’s legs for transport back to their mares.
A low growl sounded to Aloisia’s left, barely audible. She turned, a frown furrowing her brow. Looking to where Kaja and Neiris crouched, binding the legs of their own doe, she shook her head, certain she had imagined it. There was nothing out of place along the treeline.
She finished the fastening and pushed to her feet, dusting off the knees of her breeches. The faint rumble came again and Aloisia peered at the trees. A flash of yellow eyes between the trunks had her reaching for her bow. Mavka rose beside her, trying to see what had alarmed her. She signalled to the other two huntresses to remain still. They froze. Aloisia nocked an arrow, training her aim where the eyes had vanished, and crept towards Kaja and Neiris.
As she approached, the low snarl built into a roar. The yellow orbs glinted again, closer now, a steady gaze which held Aloisia’s. Honing in on those eyes, Aloisia took aim. She was still several feet away from the huntresses when a giant black bear emerged from the trees, lumbering in Kaja’s direction. It let out another roar, stomping its fore feet in a challenge.
Aloisia pulled her bowstring taut and loosed the arrow, sinking into the bear’s hide. It gave a cry as the arrow hit and charged at Kaja.
“No!” she shouted, reaching for another arrow.
Kaja and Neiris scrambled to their feet, panic alight on their faces. The bear leapt forth, and Kaja shoved Neiris out of the way. It knocked her to the ground, its jaw snapping inches from her face. Neiris sprinted for Mavka, pulling her bow from her back.
Aloisia fired on the bear again. It hardly noticed the second arrow plunge into its side. Kaja managed to draw her blade and swiped at the bear, but it did little to deter it. An arrow whistled past Aloisia’s ear, and she turned to see Mavka ready with her own bow as Neiris prepared hers. As she loosed another, the bear turned from Kaja with another roar, focusing now on Aloisia.
The bear rushed at her. Aloisia stood her ground. She released another shot, hitting it square in the chest. Still, the bear did not slow. She drew her bow once more.
“Aloisia move!” Mavka yelled. Another of her arrows caught the bear in the throat and it stumbled, only for a moment.
Still barrelling towards her, the bear snarled. A darkness swirled in the depths of its amber eyes. Aloisia took a breath, settling herself, and aimed. Her arrow buried into the bear’s right socket, just as another hit its left. The bear crashed to the ground with a howl, skidding through the dirt with the momentum until its head lay at her feet.
Dhara approached, lowering her bow. The other arrow was hers. Her chest was heaving from the exertion of sprinting across the meadow.
“Are you crazy?” Dhara shouted. “Why didn’t you move?”
Aloisia stared at her a moment, the reality of the situation crashing on her. “It’s eyes…” she murmured.
Dhara gripped her arm, shaking her. “That thing would have ripped you to shreds! Why didn’t you move?”
“I don’t know.” It was the truth. She couldn’t put words to why she had stood her ground, nor the sense of calm which had washed over her the closer it got.
Dhara released her with a scowl, marching to Kaja. “Are you hurt, girl?”
Neiris was already at her side, helping her to her feet. Aloisia trailed behind Dhara. Though she was a little shaken by how close the bear had been, her concern lay more with Kaja.
“No, I’m all right,” Kaja said.
Aloisia took her hand, steadying her. “It knocked you down quite hard. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or anything?”
“I’m fine, thank the Divines. Might be a bit bruised come morning, but nothing serious.”
Dhara clutched her shoulder and gave the huntress a quick inspection. “Good. That was a close call. For both of you.”
Aloisia wrapped an arm under Kaja’s shoulders and helped her back to the group. She arched a brow at the bear. “How are we getting this back to Littlewatch?”
“We aren’t,” Dhara said. “We leave it for the wolves.”
“It would feed the poor for at least a few days.”
“We are not feeding them bear.” The lead huntress wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. “We have four deer. That is enough.”
