Lex shrugged and flipped a page. “If you say so. But I must warn you, I’ve come to like Teryn. He’s a good man and a good friend.” His eyes shot from his book to her, simmering with threat. “So if you do anything to hurt him, either body or heart, you’ll have me to contend with.”
She wasn’t sure if she should be amused or impressed. Lex was hardly an intimidating specimen, but it was heartwarming that he’d defend his friend like that. More than anything, she was annoyed. Flustered. Irritated beyond belief. With a huff, she shouldered her bow and quiver and left the grove.
* * *
She and Valorrecaught up with Teryn not long after. His smug grin was more than enough to make her second-guess not having taken an alternate route, but it seemed he’d already claimed the best path to their destination. She wouldn’t inconvenience herself just because Teryn had a superiority complex.
Or was it more about what Lex had said? Was Teryn’s concern over letting her go alone fueled by…
She couldn’t even think it.
They followed the hunters’ tracks down several different game trails until the wear in the path grew denser, fresher.
I sense them, Valorre said.My brethren. They’re close.
Then this is as far as you can go. Stay out of sight.
Valorre rippled with worry, but he quickly flitted between the trees.
Teryn startled at the sudden movement, then met Cora’s eyes. Up until now, they’d spoken only when necessary and both made a clear effort to keep their distance. “Where did he go?”
“We’re too close now. It isn’t safe for him to come any nearer. He’ll find somewhere to hide where his tracks won’t be easy to follow.”
Teryn gave only a curt nod and they were on their way again.
* * *
With only twohours left until sundown, they finally found the camp.
Cora’s palms were slick with sweat as they crept quietly toward the sound of a crackling fire. Once they caught their first glimpse of the clearing, Teryn fed Berol a strip of dried meat and gestured a finger upward. She immediately took off into the sky. Then he pointed at Cora and himself, silently conveying that they should circle the perimeter in opposite directions. She replied with a nod.
Teryn moved first, one slow step at a time. She wanted to mouth at him to be careful, but she kept the warning to herself. She was still a little peeved at how he’d insisted on accompanying her. However, she had to admit she’d come to feel comforted by his company today. Even now, having another person scouting made her feel safer than she had when she was alone. At first, she’d been worried Teryn would have no talent for stealth, but when she watched him take careful steps, prodding the earth with each foot before fully stepping down, she realized he knew what he was doing. She supposed that was one benefit to being a prince. Royal hunts were both a rite of passage and an expected pastime.
Cora circled the camp, pausing now and then to edge a little closer, stealing glances at what was beyond the veil of underbrush she kept to. No matter how many times she looked, she saw the same thing. A quiet camp. Four cages filled with unicorns. A single guard sitting by the fire. When she and Teryn met at the other side of camp—after they’d both startled at the sudden appearance of the other—she gestured for him to follow her away from the clearing.
Once they were well out of earshot, she whispered, “They have a baby unicorn.” Her heart clenched just to say it out loud. She’d nearly stumbled when she’d first caught sight of it. Like the three adult unicorns, the baby was thin and frail. If she had to guess, based on everything she’d seen and overheard and all that Teryn had shared about what he’d learned, the creatures were close to harvest. Either the Beast would come to take them soon or the hunters would carve the horns from the unicorns’ heads while the creatures were still alive.
Torture.
Slaughter.
One of the most inhumane acts of violence Cora could imagine.
They might not have days to continue spying. To brew another decoction of belladonna and establish the best way to infiltrate the camp.
“I saw,” Teryn said. His lips were pulled into a frown, a disgusted look on his face that told her his feelings were much like her own.
She brought her thumbnail between her teeth to keep her hands from shaking. “And there was only one guard.”
“I saw that as well.” His voice held a note of concern. It probably wasn’t hard to guess what she was thinking. “But he was only a boy.”
That too made Cora’s chest feel tight. She’d expected to find someone her own age, like James, if not a more grizzled guard like Paul. Instead, they’d found a boy who looked no older than thirteen. He bore no brand that marked him as a criminal. Had no hard look in his eye that made him seem like he was a mercenary in training. Cora would have thought they’d stumbled upon the wrong camp if it weren’t for the occupied cages. Not to mention the deep reddish-brown stains that marred the earth before them.
“We have to free those unicorns,” she said. “They won’t make it much longer. And this,” she gestured back in the direction of camp, “is too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
Teryn’s brow knitted. “Does it not seemtooeasy, though?”
She had to admit it did seem too good to be true. Still, she’d looked for signs that someone else was waiting out of sight, but there was nothing. No one. Every part of her itched to act. To finally do more than watch and wait. To save the unicorns for the ones she’d failed. Perhaps she was being a bit reckless, and had she been alone, she’d probably have chosen caution. But she wasn’t alone. She had Teryn.
