Page 208 of Bitten & Burned

Quil came back a few hours later. He had two pheasants and a quail, already cleaned and dressed.

“Breakfast,” he said softly. I couldn’t help but notice they were already drained of blood.

“I’m starving,” I said softly.

Quil met my gaze, but his expression was warm; there was almost a smile on his face as he went to stoke the fire. “Just as soon as I cook these, sweetheart.”

The pheasant took a bit to cook all the way through, withQuil roasting them with a spit over the fire and turning them every so often.

In the time they took to cook, I dressed. I had nothing clean: just my ruined clothing from the night before. It was covered in blood and sweat and who knew what else.

“This is ready,” Quil called, pulling the pheasants from the fire. He began to carve one and handed a drumstick to me. I began to eat and moaned at the food on my lips.

I inhaled deeply, catching the now familiar scent of moss and wet stone that defined the cave’s atmosphere. As I sat back in the furs to eat, beyond the muted roar of the waterfall, I could hear the pelting of thousands of tiny drops on stone outside—different from the constant thunder of the falls. The rain’s rhythm stood out precisely because it wasn’t the usual sound of rushing water.

Just under that, however, came the dull rumble of voices—Dmitri and Quil, speaking in hushed tones near the cave’s entrance. I moved closer to hear them better.

“It’s raining now,” Dmitri was saying. “It’ll be harder for anything to carry our scent. Perfect time to head back to Halemont.”

Quil nodded once, seeming to relent, but unable to stop himself from sharing a caveat. “Of course, itisour home, so I doubt anyone would have to guess where to find us.”

“Halemont is safer. All of us will be there, and, as far as the rest of the Ashbornes go, Silas must have called them back. There hasn’t been a sighting in days. No need for you all to go back to Caer Voss.”

“I’m not sure if that makes me feel better,” Quil replied. “I’d rather know where they are than not.”

The thought of returning to Halemont made me the nearest I’d been to giddy since all this mess had started. I wanted to see all of my vampires. I wanted them to see me—see I was alright. I just wanted to be somewhere familiar. Somewhere safe.

“Still,” Dmitri continued, “five of us are undoubtedly safer than two.”

“Safe is relative,” Quil said flatly.

“Halemont will be armed to the teeth. Literally.”

“Which is why they won’t attack us there again. They’ll lure us out. I know Ashborne tactics, and this is a classic one. It’s not much better here, but they at least don’t know about this place.”

“Yet,” Dmitri added. He continued, “Besides, they might attack us again. We still have Rellin. They’ll be wanting him back.”

Quil scoffed. “Rellin is as disposable as they come. Should have ended him. ItoldVael to end him.”

“I know, but Vael also said to wait and see if we could get anything else out of him.”

“I doubt he knows more than he’s told us. They’re all hopped up on bloodroot and paranoia. It’s going to be difficult to get him to give us anything else.”

“He’s coming down off the bloodroot,” Dmitri said. “He’s making more sense. He might remember more.”

Quil shook his head. “Don’t hold your breath. He’s a waste of air and guts.”

I sniffed, and they both looked at me. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I said, “Don’t you want to know what I think? Or do I not matter in this?”

“Of course you matter,” Dmitri said. Quil turned, his eyes softer as he gazed at me.

“I want to go home,” I said softly. Before, home had been Caer Voss. But now, I realized, that wasn’t true any longer. Something had shifted in the past few weeks. “And Halemont is my home now.”

They were silent for a few moments.

“Alright,” Quil said, taking a few steps toward me. “I suppose we pack and go. It’s a hike from here—not a long one, but a couple of hours—will you be alright?”

“I want to go home. I’ll do anything to get what I want.”