“Meaning?” Vel asks.
“Meaning we free them all. Every fae in every preserve. If the Nightwild Guard is in one of them, we will find them … and then we will hunt.”
Silence greets my statement. Kaelith and Sorel exchange a look. Vessara is staring at me. Even Vel has gone quiet.
It’s Therin who breaks the quiet. His fist slams down onto the table, he throws back his head and laughs.
“It’s time for the humans to learn the difference between the Wild Hunt and the Nightwild Guard.”
“Where do we start?” Kaelith asks.
Vel studies the map. “The Dell was closest to the kingdom’s capital city. With that gone, Thornwood is the next nearest. I have no doubt they’ll have already sent riders to warn the Huntmaster there.”
“Ivylock is the most remote.” Kaelith points to the furthest black marker. “It’s harder to reach, which would work in our favor.”
“How do we get in?” Sorel asks. “How didyoudo it?”
“I did not lie down and die during the hunt like they expected. I took their preciousMoirthalenand used her blood to get free.” I smile, thinking back to that day, remembering the taste of her blood on my tongue. “I freed her and sent her back to the Dell, where I watched through her eyes, and learned what I needed. Then I slipped in and took them down from the inside.”
Sorel’s eyebrows rise. “What happened to her?”
“She’s the human traveling with us.” There’s a bite to Vel’s tone.
All three of them exchange a look, but they’re all smart enough not to ask. Vel opens her mouth, catches my eye, then closes it again.
I push back from the table. “We’ll continue this tomorrow. It’s been a long day, and we could all use some sleep.”
I’m at the door before Vessara intercepts me. “You tell us to rest, but you haven’t even touched the food.” She holds out a plate and a wine bottle.
My lips twitch. “Thank you, little sister.” I dip my head to press a kiss to her forehead, take her offerings, then leave them and head back along the hallway.
The fire is still burning when I step inside the room. Alleria is curled in one of the chairs by the hearth, her head tilted against the arm, eyes closed. But when the door clicks shut behind me, they fly open and she jumps to her feet.
“You drank my blood!”
I set the plate and bottle on the table. “Good evening to you too.”
“When you broke your collar. But I watched Therin and Vel break the collars on those fae from the wagon. They didn’t drink the guards’ blood. They just used it. Butyoudrankmine.”
She must have been sitting here piecing it together, working through what she knows. A surge of unwilling appreciation goes through me.
Clever female.
I pull the cork from the bottle and pour myself a glass of wine, then take a slow sip.
“Answer me!”
I ignore her, tearing off a piece of bread to eat.
“I know you can hear me. Why did you drink my blood? What did it do?”
Turning, I look at her, taking another sip of wine.
Her face flushes. “Stop ignoring me.”
“I’m not ignoring you. I’m eating. Your question will still be there when I’m done.”
She makes a fascinating sound of frustration, somewhere between a growl and a scream, and for a moment I think she might actually throw something at me. Her eyes dart to the tray with the empty bowl and plate, then back to me.
