“You’re welcome.” I carry our plates to the kitchen. “Thanks, Hector. It was great, as always.” He just nods, but I’m used to that from him. When I get back to the main room, Farrah’s already gone. I stare at the table for a moment and then look at Auri and force a smile. “All right. What should we do now?”
“I’m kind of tired. Can we just go back to the room?” Her voice is subdued and quiet, so unlike her. I don’t like it, but I’m not in a great mood myself. “Sure thing.” I bend over and pick her up. It takes a lot of effort to get her back upstairs to the room we’re sharing. After I help her settle on the bed, I escape into the bathroom to catch my breath. Frustration burns through me, and my chest aches. I pace the bathroom, feeling amped up and needing a release. An idea hits me, and I reach out to Red.Hey, you want to go hunting with me?
She responds immediately.Thought you’d never ask.
I leave the bathroom and walk over to Auri’s side of the bed. Already, her eyes are almost closed. “Hey, I’m going to be with Redara while you’re resting. I’ll have Farrah check on you, okay?”
She gives me a sleepy nod, and I pull the fur up over her body. I slip out of the room quietly and stride towards Farrah and Rysden’s room, where I think she escaped to. I knock on the door. Farrah opens it a moment later, and her eyes look suspiciously red. It takes me by surprise because Kinsley is much more emotional than Farrah. I’m not used to it from Farrah. “What’s wrong?” I immediately ask.
“Nothing,” she says quickly.
I frown, but when she says nothing more, I don’t push. I don’t want to fight with her again. “I’m going to go with Red for a while. Do you mind keeping an eye on Auri? I think she’ll sleep for a while; she’s exhausted from yesterday.” I don’t really give her a chance to say no. “Thank you!” I turn and stride down the hallway and jog down the steps. I head right to Rysden’s armory and sheath as many knives as I can on my person. I don’t bother with a bow. It’s too hard to maneuver while riding Redara. I stride towards the door.
I’m here.
Good. I’m coming out now,I tell her. A little of my tension soothes at seeing her.
Are we heading to the Jaguar Kingdom?She asks as I get settled on her back.
Yes. I take it you heard my conversation with Farrah?
Every word.
Are you up to the challenge?I ask.
Am I up to taking down those terrible creatures who are wreaking havoc instead of sitting around and waiting for my mate to show up? Yes.
Same.
It’s a pretty silent ride. My mind is stuck back at the table at Rysden and Farrah’s. There’s a bunch of things I wished I’d said or done differently. I hated the fact that I made Farrah cry; that was not on my agenda today. I don’t even know what I said, but I know I say stupid stuff all the time. I’m not good with words or with having friends, never have been.
The trip goes so much faster on Red, and I’m surprised whenwe reach the portal to the Jaguar Kingdom. The guards on duty recognize Red and I but still stop us. “What’s your business in the Jaguar Kingdom?”
“We’re going guivre hunting.”
One of the males smirks. “Be our guest.”
Once we’re through the portal and in the Jaguar Kingdom, Redara takes to the sky again. We make it through the stretch of land between the portal and the kingdom. It’s a pretty silent ride; that is until we start getting close to the Jaguar Kingdom. I hear the terrible screeches before I see them. We round a corner, and I see them. There are three of them. That surprises me; I’ve never seen more than two at a time. I don’t say anything, knowing that Redara likes to make her own calls at times like this. I learned that the hard way.
She flies right at the three guivres. I tighten my legs and pull out a knife. She lets loose a stream of her fire. The first guivre disintegrates, but now the other two know we’re here. They spin around and shoot out answering fire. Red dives, and I hold on for dear life. She twists in the air and comes at them again. This time, when she spits fire, the guivres both duck. But the second one turns and blasts us again. Redara drops suddenly, keeping us out of its line of fire. She nosedives and we fly under one of them. I reach up and plunge my knife into his heart and twist. I learned that move from Kaldar. Red’s already moving as the guivre starts to fall, screeching as it does. Her sights are set on the last one. The only good thing about fighting guivres is that they’re blind. They rely solely on sound, so Red and I don’t make a sound as we track our prey. She gives commands as she moves,so I know which way to lean. It doesn’t take long for us to take out the third one. As soon as it drops, she levels out.
Anything?I ask.
More up ahead.She barely sends me the warning before she shoots ahead. She blasts two of them with her dragon fire, but then the others know that we’re here. She shouts commands in my head, so I know how to lean. But it’s hard and fast, and I can barely keep my seat. There are at least seven or more. One comes at us from the side.
Drop!I shout through our bond, even as I throw a knife. It hits its target—right in his eye. It lets out a terrible shriek and drops. I don’t even watch that one fall as the next two come at us. I lean forward as Red nosedives. A guivre comes soaring over us, nearly knocking me from Red’s back. Reflex has me lift my knife; it rips through the underbelly of the guivre. I jerk my head to the side as blood splatters on my face.Ew!A guivre hits us, and I scramble to keep my seat.You good?
I’m fine,she practically snarls at me right before she tears her teeth into the neck of a guivre.
Well, that’s one way to do it.She doesn’t respond, but I’m nearly launched off her back a moment later. I'm pretty sure that was payback for my comment. Two more guivres fly towards us. Redara takes out one, and I get the other with another knife to the heart. Redara takes care of the last two, and then the skies are clear...for now anyway.
Do you want to keep hunting or head back?
I search the area for a moment.Let’s get back. I feel bad for leaving Auri; we’ve already been gone longer than I anticipated. Wecan plan to come back tomorrow, and maybe I can say hi to Kinsley then.Redara doesn’t say anything, but I feel her acceptance of the plan. We start making our way to the portal that will take us to the Wolf Kingdom. We take down three more as we fly towards the portal. By the time we get through the portal and enter the Wolf Kingdom, we’re both worn out. Or at least, I am. I feel her tension mount as we get closer to the walls.What is it? More guivres?
No.
She doesn’t say anything more than that, and honestly, I’m too tired to press for answers. It’s not until we land in Rysden and Farrah’s front yard that I figure out why.Oh. Noxlyn is here.Which means Rauk is here. And right on cue, the front door opens.You could have warned me,I send to Redara.
