Partner?
That word lingered. The closest explanation to the shared burden resting on both of our shoulders, though it lacked all the passion simmering through my veins.
It swayed my thoughts like waves. As if Ryker was the moon, commanding them closer to him, when I least expected it.
It was a strange sensation, and it did nothing to help that pulse at the back of my skull, dull and insistent, which only increased the closer we got to the fortress.
“You know, for a frozen city secluded from the rest of the world, these buildings look very uninviting. Grey as their sky,” Dax murmured, clearly in a mood as sour as the weather. “Those eaves look sturdy enough to hang from in an emergency, though.”
“Always looking for escape routes.” I shook my head. “You need to see them from the front, they’re much more beautiful.The civilians hang twigs and ribbons in their windows to ward off evil spirits.”
“That’s one way to keep unwanted visitors away.” Dax raised his snow-flecked brow. “Is there a chance I won’t be allowed inside the fortress?”
I hesitated for only a moment. “No. The Commander gave me full rein to do whatever I want, and–”
I froze as the sound of paws and claws thumped through the hiss of the wind.
I whirled around only to see two of those massive wolves tracking us. Noses high as they sniffed out scents. Mouths open to show off their fangs.
Just like Dax had jumped in front of me when the wings had unfurled, I positioned my body between him and the wolves.
My city, my responsibility to protect–even if I still felt like a guest myself.
The memory of these predators chasing Nadya and me down sunk into the back of my head, sliding down my shoulders and tensing every muscle in its wake.
“Two houses up ahead, we take a sharp left, then a right, and run until we reach the fortress,” I whispered, skin crawling as the wolves came closer. Their paws glided easily over the frozen cobblestone, ready to strike.
Where was the purple light to scare them off when you needed it?
“Are you serious?” Dax asked.
“Yes,” I hissed, taking a cautious, calculated step back. “These beasts hate strangers and attack–”
“You’re The Huntress. I am staring at your bow.”
“I’m not going tokillthem.”
I simply didn’t want them to kill me. Their brethren from the fancy kennels beside the fortress might’ve been trained totolerate Nadya and I, but these ones kept sniffing at the air in a way I didn’t like.
“On the count of three,” I said. “We run.”
The wind hissed through the houses, billowing our coats.
“Hold on.” Dax crouched low on the ground, trying to give me a heart attack.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, terrified and already calling on my power. From that low position, the wolves could sink their fangs into his neck without any effort.
Dax clicked his tongue and reached out his open palm. “Making friends.”
To my amazement, the two massive beasts waddled up to him, wet noses snorting as they slid along his fingers.
As my blue tendrils wound around my wrists, ready to scare, the wolves’ tails began wagging.
Before I knew it, one had put its front paws on Dax’s shoulders, almost toppling him over, while the other licked his face.
“Yes, such vicious beasts.” Dax laughed, petting their heads as if those fangs couldn’t rip his face off. “Someone save me, they might cuddle me to death.”
My hands fell to my sides.
