“Finally,” I said. “Nobody will tell me anything about this ridiculous Hunt. I started to think it meantIwas being hunted.”
A devilish grin worked its way onto his dark features. “I apologize for the cloak and daggers, but it’s a tradition our people are very fond of here. A rite of passage, if you will. And we’re not allowed to speak of it to outsiders until they’re ready to be consideredtrueislanders.”
“And how do I be considered atrueislander?”
“You must succeed in hunting the elusive blood stag, found only on the island.”
“Sounds…anticlimactic. What’s the catch?” I asked. Tracking wasn’t exactly a challenge for me—even without my magic, my hunting instincts were strong.
He stopped walking when we reached a tree with a bow and a quiver of arrows leaning against it. About thirty yards ahead of us was another row of trees, with wooden targets painted red staked into the ground in between them.
“You have forty-eight hours to find and kill a blood stag. We’ll leave you alone in the jungles on the eastern side of the island, where it backs up into the mountain range.” As he spoke, I looked to the east, where I could see the far coastal range rising into the clouds. “You can take only what you can carry—including theceremonial bow and arrow you have to use to shoot it. Bring back a piece of its red antler, and you’re an official islander of Mysthelm,” Hector finished, flourishing the end of his walking stick in front of him.
I picked up the bow and slid my fingers along the handle. “And if I don’t catch the stag?”
“You and your family will be cursed to the end of time.” He grinned, and I snorted. “You’ll face some ridicule, but nothing you can’t handle. It’s simply a fun tradition among the islanders. To prove your worth and your place in our world, especially as our future queen.”
“So, no pressure.”
“My brother and I have faith in you, after everything Thorne has told us.” The edge of his lip quirked up, but I ignored what he was implying.
“When does the Hunt start?”
“Tomorrow just after dawn.”
I dropped the bow to my side. “Tomorrow? Fates, you don’t waste any time, do you?”
He shrugged. “It’s tradition. But now you know and can get a little practice in before tomorrow.”
“What makes you think I need any practice?” I teased.
“Maybe you don’t. It wouldn’t surprise me.” He handed me the quiver and gave me a knowing look. “But perhaps I also thought you needed some time to yourself.”
I took the quiver, then looked across the clearing at the targets. The midmorning sun was bright on the green grass, its heat comforting against my skin. It was small, but his gesture meant more to me than he probably realized.
“Thank you, Hector,” I said softly. “There haven’t been many to show me true kindness here. Most of the people are wonderful, sure, but they haven’t really taken the time to get to know me. To care about whatIneed. So, I guess…thank you. For noticing. And for being the only regent to not hate me,” I added with a small huff of laughter.
“That’s not the way we run things here. We don’t care about the rumors and speculation and whatever grudges the rest of them hold against Veridians.” He waved a hand in the air. “That was all in the past. We think this alliance with you is the best decision Mysthelm has made in decades. Besides, it’s impossible for my brother and I to hate a woman our best friend has fallen madly in love with.”
My hand clenched around the bow. I swallowed and forced a nonchalant smile on my face. “Oh, Galen isn’t in love with?—”
“We both know I’m not talking about Galen.”
I bit down on my tongue. “I’m…not sure what you want me to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just shoot straight.” He patted the quiver. “Good luck tomorrow. I’m sure if you follow your heart, it will lead you where you need to go.”
He gave me one last smile and took off in the direction we’d come, his walking stick stomping through the grass and dirt.
I sighed. His words left me feeling so…unsure. Like I was floating aimlessly, an arrow launched toward a target that never found its mark. Like I was standing before the path I’d always known, and a veil had been lifted from my eyes to reveal a second.
I needed to throw sharp objects at something.
And if I was to complete the Hunt, my archerycoulduse some practice. It had been years since I’d shot a bow and arrow. I much preferred the twin daggers I kept strapped to my thighs.
I hadn’t been professionally trained with weapons by any means, but since we’d lived in the underbelly of the capital for most of our lives, Leo and I had grown up knowing basic defense. Our magic could only get us so far in a place like the south sector. And once I’d formed the Sentinels, I knew we’d need to be proficient in using weapons. We trained together for years and were lucky enough to have recruits like Chaz and Horace, who came from backgrounds with more formal combat training, who could teach us. After ayear of working with them, I was able to shoot apples straight off my brother’s head with almost any weapon of choice.
A pang of longing shot through me at the thought of my friends back home. Both the ones waiting for my return, and ones I’d never seen again.
