The beast growled. It was deep in his chest, as though he were more frustrated than angry. “What would it take for you to trust I am who I say?”
“Prove to me that you are Prince Aden of Iseldis and I’ll believe it,” Isa challenged him, grateful that Macklin had given her an opportunity to press the beast for information.
“Well, what do you know of my family?” He ran his hand over his forehead. It got caught in the thick fur there, and he yanked it back down to his side. “Or Iseldis, for that matter?”
“You are the one who is supposed to be giving the information here, not me.” Isa crossed her arms. “I am not about to share what I know so that you can use it against me.”
“Then how am I supposed to know what will prove my identity to you? Nothing is holding me here. I can just leave.”
“Then leave.”
The beast started walking down the riverbank. “I’ll alert the villagers on the other side when I find a way across,” he threw back over his shoulder. “Though it will likely be a sennight or more before someone can make their way back to you.”
Isa’s heart thumped uncomfortably as she watched the hulking beast stride away.
She turned to Luca, whose expression mirrored the discomfort she was feeling. Neither of them would sit here and wait for the beast to follow through with what he claimed.
“How long will it take to build the bridge back?” she asked.
“By the end of this greenreign, if we are lucky.”
That was two months away. “I guess we should pack some supplies and start walking south ourselves if that is our only option to get out of here,” she said.
Luca looked at her fully for the first time since they had arrived at the canyon’s edge. “You can’t make that trip.”
Isa instantly felt a flare of anger rise in her chest at his rude remark. But it dissipated a moment later as she realized he was right. She had never spent a night under the stars, much less walked farther than the distance between her home and the library at the Allysian palace—and that was all on a smooth road.
Her shoulders dropped as she exhaled. “I can’t very well stay here.”
“Macklin, Cam, and Blanca will remain here as well. Just do not leave the house as there are clearly strange things lurking in these forests. I should be back in a week.”
The thought of doing nothing while waiting for aid to arrive terrified Isa more than the thought of the beast. “He single-handedly defeated all of us last night. If we split up, we will be even easier to attack. No one can travel south while he—it—while it is loose in the woods.”
Luca gave her a shrewd glance. “Are you implying what I think you are implying?”
Isa nodded, gulping at her own audacity.
“Interesting. It might be the best option.” Luca stroked his chin and turned his eyes toward the retreating figure of the beast.
Macklin looked back and forth between the two of them. “What do you mean? What are you saying?”
“It is not safe for Luca to travel south while we do not know where the beast is. If he attacked Luca, we would never even know it. We would just be sitting at a secluded villa, waiting for help that never comes.” Saying the thought aloud sent cold shivers down her arms. “Then it could return to the villa and attack us at its leisure.”
“The safest course of action would be to invite the beast to the villa while I go for help,” Luca finished, outlining Isa’s plan. “The enemy you can see is better than the enemy you can’t.”
Macklin shook his head.
“This is our best option,” Isa said in response to his unspoken protest. The beast was almost out of sight, and they had to make this decision before he disappeared.
“No,” Macklin interjected vehemently. “No. If we are going to leave you here, Miss Isa, then you should be protected by the best. I failed you last night. I will not fail you again. I will go get help. Luca is stronger and will be a better guard here. Keep her safe.”
Isa found herself touched at his genuine outburst. Perhaps she had been a little too harsh in chewing him out that morning. She turned to Luca.
His face was grim, but he nodded at Macklin.
Isa glanced down the canyon. The farther away the beast got, the more difficult it became to breathe. Being stuck on this side of the canyon, knowing that he was out there and that he knew where they were and how many of them were there...
“This is the plan?” she asked.
