Dax had loved dogs and they’d loved him back ever since he could walk, I knew that. The only time I’d ever seen him shed a tear was when he’d lost Patrocle, his furry, faithful companion for fifteen years.
But this display of sudden cuteness, the tail wags, the laughing–it should have been impossible.
The wolves didn’t even bother with me beyond a sniff and an uninterested side-eye.
No fear, no ravenous need to sink their teeth into my flesh.
They didn’t know I was The Huntress.
Or they didn’t care.
“They’re supposed to hunt down outsiders,” I mumbled, flustered for overreacting. “They chased me down.”
“This proves I’m more charming than you. Aren’t I?” He snuggled their furry cheeks and kissed their snouts.
Madness.
“Maybe they’re part of the fortress wolves,” I said with no real conviction. Those wolves lived like some kings wished they could and never strayed far from their kennels. They’d also seemed larger when they’d carried our sleds to the edge of the crater.
“Dogs can sense someone’s soul. They know you’re trouble,” he joked. “Don’t be jealous they like me more than you.”
“I am weirdly jealous.” He’d been here for less than an hour and he got tail wags, while I’d gotten chased down. I tilted my head to the side. “I’m also concerned.”
Dax furrowed his brows up at me while the wolves pushed each other out of the way to wiggle themselves into his lap. “Why?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, then at the darkening sky. Mean clouds gathered in the distance. A warning. “Because your presence here defies all the rules this crater should have.”
Chapter 5
Allie
“They raise them big around here.” Dax whistled as we neared the fortress protected by rows upon rows of warriors, his laughter now only a ghost haunting the city’s alleys. “And menacing.”
I huffed out a laugh I didn’t quite feel. I’d thought the same thing so many weeks ago, back when the crater had been nothing but a foreign cage I’d wanted to escape.
Now it was the sanctuary where I’d begun to stitch myself back together, though some pieces were still too fragile to disturb.
“You should see Vylkor.” I squared my shoulders and smoothed my face into one of pure calm and certainty.
The mask I’d worn for almost all of my life back in Aquila.
The one that never cracked.
Why, yes,of courseI’d known my cousin was coming all along.
My doubts and fears would only be whispered to Ryker. At least now I had someone to share them with. Someone who could understand all the parts of myself I’d locked away.
One word from the Commander would have branded Dax as a safe visitor.
Well…as safe as a First Family member in enemy territory could be.
But he wasn’t here right now. So I alone had to shoulder the curious, hostile gazes the warriors were already sending Dax’s way.
Solkar’s Reach had been forced to accept me as their leader’s future bride.
In their eyes, Dax was still sort of a member of the enemy Clan, who hadn’t proven himself to them–or to the outside world.
The people in the crater had at least heard of The Huntress, enough to fear me at first. Dax’s reputation, if it had even reached this remote land, was…lacking. On purpose, yes, but they didn’t–and couldn’t–know that.
