Page 49

Remembering the journals Aeric had given Bryn when she was in stasis, Maude cut across the room to one of the boxes that held her mother's secrets.

She and Bryn had perused most of them in the days before they went to rescue Herrick and found most of the contents were from her childhood and early teen years.

A youngling who wrote down all of her coherent thoughts until they rambled together into gibberish.

The last box held a handful of journals whose covers seemed more cared for even when the pages were soft from frequent handling.

Maude eyed the gown she had picked for dinner before snagging one of the journals on top of the pile and settling into the window seat that overlooked the Elven city of night with a silken robe wrapped around her.

The first entry was from when her deception had begun, right before she left for Hallifell.

The loneliness in Sylvi's words brought tears to Maude's eyes as she read them by the light of the moon.

The days grow shorter as I continue my preparations for my departure on the new moon.

Alva has become so occupied with her duties that even when I am in her company, she is distracted.

Having lived at the Palace of Ocean and Clay for most of my adult life, I have few friends whom I can call trustworthy.

Court politics frustrate me to no end, and Alva is the only person who appreciates my frankness, so most of my days are now spent alone.

At first, I was thrilled with the idea of a new adventure because this mission was paramount to my kingdom's survival.

Now, I worry that my departure will only be the first step in a long line of mistakes to come.

My instincts tell me that I am making the right choice; my fate has already been laid out by the gods for me.

But in the darker parts of my mind, I second guess the gods' plan for me.

What if they are wrong? What if I am being led to disaster?

Alva is no help when I bring up the matter; her duty is her fate, and she will not step out of line for even a moment to consider if this is what she really wants out of her life.

So, I am alone not only in flesh but in spirit as well.

Then the next entry, dated a few days later, made Maude laugh as she kept reading, holding onto the last connection to the mother she hadn't really known:

I still stink of horse and sweat.

The journey to Hallifell was an arduous one, but I arrived last night.

The town is small, nestled up against a raging river that seems never to sleep, but the lodgings that Alva has found for me are more than comfortable in the freezing temperatures.

Alongside trunks ladened with jewels and silks I never dreamed of owning, my ruse as a noblewoman passing through town on the way to Logi begins.

I have spent the day acclimating to my new role, going over the rules of court that I had not been privy to before.

Tomorrow, I will enter the small town and start to lay the groundwork for being discovered by Flame Patrols.

I know what I will have to do in order to gain their attention fast, but I would like to avoid burning the town to a crisp if I can.

From what I have seen so far, it's a charming place.

The snow sits heavy on the ground due to its location so far north, but my fire has always kept me warm.

The trees of the Lamenting Woods are a protective barrier that I am familiar with, but the openness of the western plains beyond leaves a certain vulnerability that makes me uncomfortable.

The more she read, the more she wished to sit in this window all night, reading her mother's journals and getting lost in the past. But as the moon continued her trek across the sky, Maude had to put down the journal to join everyone at the dinner her father was hosting.

As she dressed, Maude thought back on the last journal entry she had read with a secret smile:

Despite my disguise as a noblewoman, I have enjoyed going hunting with the other townspeople.

Even nobles are taught the same basic hunting skills, so I thought it would be safe to drop my guise— if only for a moment— so I could be free of the manners and etiquette I spent most of my adolescence avoiding in Veter.

The taut pull of my bow and the sharp edge of my knife are a language that I understand well.

Today, as I ventured out past the previous borders of the old Kingdom of Shadows, I discovered quite a surprise.

I had become separated from my hunting group, just east of the river where it bends south and disappears into the Lamenting Woods, when I came across another hunter. And gods above, what a sight this hunter was.

Creeping between the overgrown and wild brushes that lie on the outskirts of the woods, I was huddled next to the river as I tracked a large male reindeer that had separated from his herd, which was why I hadn't heard him sneak up.

One moment, I was alone, about to make a kill that would supply the town for a few days, and the next, this hunter was facing me on the opposite side of the clearing.

His step that alerted me to his presence also alerted the reindeer, which took off into the woods, where I lost sight of him.

The stranger entered the clearing, his peculiar eyes on me even as I hid in the brush.

So I stepped into the clearing, an unfamiliar blanket of safety warming me as I faced this person who had ruined my hunt.

Even garbed in the thick furs and cloak, I could see that this man was a warrior.

His hair was the deepest shade of black that seemed to shine like the moon itself in the dying sunlight.

He had tied it back into a knot so that his silver eyes and strong jaw were on display.

On the side of his neck, almost hidden by his hairline, he had a long scar that stretched from behind his ear to the back of his neck.

I noticed right away that his broad chest, narrow waist, and strong legs made him seem like the gods themselves had sculpted him. He carried two axes, one in each hand, and no other weapons except a serrated hunting knife that was secured behind his lower back.

But the most remarkable thing about this stranger was not his ethereal beauty but rather his pointed ears that gave away his heritage before anything else.

My shock only incapacitated me for a moment before I had my arrow pointed at the center of his chest.

"If you shoot me, I'll have a hard time explaining to those I travel with that a human woman witnessed me fucking up the hunt and then shooting me for my stupidity," the Elven had said as he chuckled before placing his two axes on the ground. "Spare me my ego, I beg you."

Irritation boiled inside me at his comment. "Your ego would be so bruised if you admit a human woman bested you?"

"Not at all. My ego would be bruised because I failed to successfully hunt a reindeer by making a stupid mistake. Your much-justified reaction to shooting me in your anger would be celebrated, fair huntress of the forest," the male said to me, irritating me further.

"Do not mock me," I replied between my teeth.

At that moment, I had truly considered shooting the Elven just to prove to him that I would do it.

But he bowed deeply at my words, distracting me for only a moment before he whipped his fingers out toward me in a sharp circle.

Bands of shadows from between the trees surrounded me, restraining my limbs into place before I knew what was happening.

My arrow remained poised to strike him in the chest, but I couldn't move.

True terror flooded me before he put his hands up in surrender. "I have no wish to harm you, only to bargain with you."

"What do you want?" I had asked, keeping my eyes on him in case he were lying to me.

"Until now, I assume you believed the Elven to be extinct. I wish for my existence to remain in the past, to keep my people safe. In exchange, you will return to your town with the slain reindeer in tow."

With another flick of his long fingers, I watched as the reindeer that had run off in fright was dragged back into the clearing, its throat slashed and leather ties around its corpse in place for me to drag it back to Hallifell. I couldn't believe it; this male was just handing me over the kill.

"Why hunt with your blades if you could have killed it so easily before?" I asked him, my irritation with him lowering a bit as my curiosity rose in an uncontrollable tidal wave.

"Where is the skill in that?" he asked me, humor glinting in his silver eyes.

He had gotten closer to me, and in the growing twilight, the silver in his eyes seemed to churn with the shadows he commanded.

He hovered close to me, circling my frozen body like the moon circles the earth, with a fascination that would have annoyed me if it wasn't mirrored in my own watchful gaze.

His deep, bronze skin looked rich from how close he stood, and quickly, I became lost in this Elven male who had dropped into my life as swiftly and suddenly as the rainstorms in Veter.

Abruptly, he had turned from me and walked a few paces away before facing me again, his face more guarded than before.

"Do we have a deal?"

His voice was rhythmic, like a melody that was ready to tell me all his darkest secrets and make them sound beautiful.

I only hesitated for a moment. "Yes, we have a deal."

As suddenly as the shadow bindings had appeared, they vanished, granting me my freedom.

If this male hadn't smirked at me before he stooped to grab his axes and turn away to disappear into the forest, I might have chosen a different path.

However, the beautiful bastard tipped one side of his supple mouth up in the corner, and the fire that burned so wildly in my veins took control.

I released my arrow, the tip aimed for his thigh, and wreathed in the flames.

As soon as the iron point sunk into the corded muscle of his leg, the savage part of my soul cheered.

I brought my hand up in a quick swoop, causing a tight circle of flames to flare around him.

The Elven grunted as his knees hit the snow that was already starting to melt under my fury.

I noticed that my aim was true, and the arrow had not punctured anything important, like a major vessel or ligament, but rather wounded him enough that he would be downed for a few minutes.

"My thanks for the reindeer," I said to him with a mock bow before I winked and grabbed the leather straps to haul the dead animal back to Hallifell.

"You shot me!" The Elven had shouted to me across the clearing, his voice a mix of humor and fury.

"You'll heal," I said over my shoulder.

The iron of my arrowhead slowed him down enough that he didn't retaliate with more galder , but I thought of him the entire walk home.

There are still Elven alive in Ahland, and no one has any idea.

And even though I sunk an arrow into the prick's thigh, I hope our paths will cross again, if only so I can have another verbal match with him.

He had spoken only a handful of words to me that all antagonized my already short temper, and yet, he still plagues my thoughts.

Over the years, I have learned to control my outbursts, but with him, my anger rose to the surface faster than ever. He was both alluring and aggravating, beautiful and completely foreign. I pray the gods favor me with another meeting.