“They’re already gone,” Yvonne says, then rushes to add, “On the run, I mean. Notgonegone. Hopefully.”
Sensing my discomfort, Gem softens her tone. “Gabe’s fine. You saw him yesterday. He can handle himself—probably better than we can, since he’s got those nightstone missiles.”
“What about Twilynn though? And Aruna?” Though I agree with Gem’s assessment of Gabe, I’m less confident about the odds for our two youngest comrades.
“Maybe they’re all together?” she supplies, fidgeting with the hilt of her sheathed poniard. “But we can’t wait around here, hoping they’ll find their way back to us.”
My pitch heightens. “So, we’re just going to abandon them, then?”
“That’s not what?—”
“What if it was me you were leaving behind?”
It’s an unfair question. If I were in Gabe’s shoes right now, and he was here, I’d want them to continue without me. But I know Gem wouldn’t do that. She knows it, too, judging from her silence.
Yvonne waves an arm out in front of herself. “Even if we wanted to find them, how would we do that? Unless Bren shoots off one of those big black beacons, how are we supposed to know where to go?”
“They could’ve gone deeper into the forest,” Demi supplies. “That’s what Aunt Jackie did, before the glowing birds guided her home.”
“Glowing birds?” Kalden asks, deigning to rejoin the conversation.
“Long story,” Yvonne replies, then adds, “If Aruna was doing more than judging your aunt and actually listening to her story, I bet that’s exactly where she is. Probably the others, too.”
“No.”
We all angle towards Kalden, whose back is now turned to us as he peers out at the white-gold dunes.
Arms crossed, I position myself in front of him. “Care to elaborate?”
It takes him a few seconds before he gestures to the open landscape to our right. “Easier to launch a missile out there than in the thick of all those trees. If the chancellor’s son is smart and has any hope of accomplishing his mission, he’ll hang around closer to the forest’s edge.”
Without waiting for our agreement, Kalden strides forward.
“We’ll be too exposed if we stick around the edge,” Gem counters, picking at the leather strap on her scabbard. “Remember the map? The dunes were scattered with black pins.”
Of course I remember. The barren sandy hills are both the perfect stomping grounds for the Sols, who thrive in direct sunlight, and a graveyard for the Huntresses who’ve come before us. And a day ago, I’d likely have agreed that the better strategy would be to tread towards the forest’s depths. A day ago, I thought the chances of defeating a single Sol were slim to nil.
Things have changed. Four Sols have fallen in the past twenty-four hours, thanks to Gabe’s airborne nightstone, Kalden’s experience, and the power dancing beneath my fingertips.
What if the Hunt’s original purpose is no longer a pipe dream?
I voice as much to Gem. “I think Kalden’s right. Gabe believes in the Hunt, what it stands for, and he came prepared.”
“But the map?—”
“Things are different this year.”
“How?” Her tone grows thick. “Three people died today. Tell me how that’s any different from years past.”
“I know,” I admit with a shaky breath, rubbing a hand alongmy upper arm as I replay the screams and visions of three lifeless bodiesin the strewn grass. “But we also killed three Sols today, Gem. And one yesterday. For the first time, we stand an actual chance of eliminating them.”
She claps twice without enthusiasm. “Spoken like a true patriot. Your ex-father-in-law would be proud.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
There’s an intake of breath,either from Demi or Yvonne—maybe both. These two women, who are barely more than strangers to me, know better than to bring up my complicated history with the chancellor.
Yet Gem doubles down.
