“Barely. Three men didn’t drink. What would you have done if Helios, Lex, and I hadn’t been there to take the fall? To fight them for you?”
She clenched her teeth. “I didn’t need you. Had you not been there, I would have taken them down with my bow one by one.”
“What if you’d been caught?”
“I wasn’t.”
“What. If. Just think about it.”
She did. Her heart raced as she imagined numerous ways her plan could have gone wrong. She could have been spotted. Even more of the men could have abstained from the rum. She could have tried to pick off the survivors and gotten a crossbow bolt to the heart. But that was the risk she’d taken from the start. She knew she was only one person. She knew the odds were against her. That didn’t stop her from trying. It was a risk worth taking if it meant saving the unicorns. Denying the Beast its meal. Destroying whatever dark plans Duke Morkai was brewing. Now that she was no longer with the Forest People, this mission was all she had.
Crossing her arms, she pushed off from the tree, feigning more confidence than she felt. “You won’t stop me. I’m going to find every last one of these hunting parties and wipe them out.”
“When the duke sends men to replace them, what then?”
She startled every time he mentioned the duke. It was strange that he knew Morkai was involved but didn’t show even an ounce of the terror that was due. That was probably because he didn’t know the man was a mage. To him, the duke was just a businessman trying to turn a pretty profit.
Then his words sank in, flooding her with an overwhelming wave of exhaustion. He was right. The duke would send more men to replace the ones she killed. Did that mean there was no end to her efforts? No way to keep the unicorns safe for good?
Her next words came out with far less conviction. “I’ll do whatever I can for as long as I can.”
Teryn’s posture stiffened. She sensed his tangled energy, felt him fighting against the words that were poised on his lips.
She gave him a pointed look. “What?”
He rubbed his jaw, then locked his eyes on hers. “Let me come with you.”
Her face went slack. Surely she hadn’t heard him right. Why would he want to come with her? She’d tried to kill him. She’d threatened his life. It had to be a ploy. Indeed she felt…somethingemanating from him. Some mixture of guilt, trepidation, and fear. It was heavy and cloying. She suddenly felt like they were standing too close, the three feet of space separating them not nearly vast enough.
He must have seen her reaction in her eyes, for he took a step back as if to appease her. “Hear me out,” he slowly said. “Let me travel with you to the next camp. I assume that will be the Cambron Pass, correct? It’s the closest.”
She considered remaining mute on her plans, but she gave him a curt nod.
“Then let me aid your efforts in rescuing the captured unicorns there. That’s all I ask. With my help—Lex’s too, if he’s willing—we could free the creatures, maybe without nearly as much bloodshed. If you find our aid useful, perhaps we can help you further, should you choose.”
“Why? Why would you help me?”
“I owe you a debt. You treated Lex’s arm. You must allow me to repay you.”
“I don’t want you to repay me.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m a prince. Chivalry is my guiding compass.”
She snorted a dark laugh. “It didn’t seem like it when you aimed a spear at me.”
“You tried to stab me first—” He shook his head. “That’s beside the point.”
“No, Your Highness,” she said, tone mocking. “I don’t care about your chivalry or your moral compass.”
“Then care about what I could help you accomplish. Faster. Easier.”
She eyed him through slitted lids. Suspicion prickled the back of her neck. “You’re hiding something. What aren’t you telling me?”
His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he steeled his expression. When he spoke, his words were slow. Careful. “Now that I know what I know, I can’t finish the Heart’s Hunt. But perhaps I can do something worthwhile while I’m here.”
She shook her head, not buying any of that. “What’s in it for you? You may not have won your silly Hunt, but neither did anyone else. You could simply go home and claim your bride’s hand?—”
“I have a duty to my kingdom,” he said, tone firm, “to do the right thing.” He punctuated the last two words. With a deep inhale, she let herself feel his emotions. She sensed only truth.
