“I can tell you’re all really going to miss me,” I said with a laugh.
“If you don’t come back, does that mean I get to be emperor?” Leo asked as he flung an arm over my shoulder. The heat from his cloak made me sweat just thinking about it, but I knew he had to hide his tail somehow. “Go get your prize, big sister,” he said, pulling me into a hug.
The others wished me good luck as Hector and Daelan urged me toward a chariot pulled by a large golden-brown horse. Devora hurriedly stepped up to my side and handed me a second bag, this one full of imperishable foods, a canteen of water, rope, and a fishing hook. I shot her a quick smile of thanks before the roar of the crowd drowned out everything else. A chant worked its way down the street, faint at first, then stronger as more people joined in.
I squinted as I strained to make out the words. “Are they saying?—”
“Bring us blood! Bring us blood!”
Devora and I exchanged a glance. These peoplewerecrazy.
She gave me a wry grin. “Good luck. Don’t die.”
This time, I couldn’t help but snort. “Thanks, Devora. Always helpful.”
I swung the golden bow across my back with the quiver, hooked both bags of supplies over my arm, and grabbed the handle of the chariot.
Two days. I could do this. Honestly, some time away from the secrets and pressure andpeopledidn’t sound too bad.
“Let’s get this over with.”
The chariot driverleft me at a waterfall just west of the entrance to the jungles. He told me someone would check in here every eight hours to see if I was ready for them to take me back to the main village square.
And then he was off.
The sound of rushing water, of birds whistling through the broad leaves and insects chirping along the thick stream mixed with the humidity of the island. It pushed against my skin, making my head buzz.
I took a deep breath of the warm, muggy air and faced east, toward the series of mountaintops in the distance and the canopy of low-hanging trees. I yearned for my Shifter senses—my heightened sight in the shadows, my ability to hear heartbeats in the distance, my speed and reflexes.
This must be what normal people felt like.
As I trekked through the jungle, my boots sloshed against shallow pools of water and vines tangled in my loose braid. I thought the island had been teeming with life back in the main village, buthere…it was bursting. Monkeys swung from branch to branch, barely pausing to give me looks of curiosity as they chittered and picked at the tree trunks for bugs. Colorful birds swept in and out of the leaves with wide wings that came so close, they brushed my cheeks. The occasional snake slithered in the underbrush, and frogs leaped from beneath fronds when I crossed over the streams.
All four territories of Mysthelm were beautiful in their ownways, but this…this was my favorite. The wildness, the colors, the sounds. Knowing I was alone with no one to lead, no one around to see my masks, no hidden agendas lurking around the corner.
Even if my fox half wasn’t here to enjoy it with me, I still pretended I could feel it just under my skin. I imagined claws pressing from my fingertips, felt sharp ears fluttering to every sound, and saw my black nose lifting in the wind.
I turned my eyes to the mountain range in the distance and began the Hunt.
52
Clarissa
Iwent ten hours before catching a single sign of the blood stag.
But then, I found tracks.
At the base of an enormous tree several miles from where I started were two faded hoof marks in the clumpy, wet dirt. I followed them through the underbrush until they disappeared into a thin flow of water in between bushes.
With a groan, I leaned against a nearby tree and took out a piece of dried meat from my rucksack, allowing myself a small capful of water. The sun was beginning to set behind me, highlighting the upcoming mountains in a dark golden glow.
I’d need to find shelter for the night soon. Without my ability to see in the dark, I’d be useless in the next hour or so.
As the sun continued its descent and the stars winked into existence, so did the evening creatures of the island. The cheerful swishing of animals through the leaves became more sinister in the fading light. Each snap of a twig made my muscles jolt; each brush of some unidentifiable object made me suck in a breath.
My fox would be laughing at me right now. Half of me was nocturnal, and here I was, afraid of the dark.
Or what could be hidden in the dark.
