Page 12 of Fated to the Hunter (Xarc’n Warriors #13)

“So you and Bael’k?” Aanya said with a waggle of her brows. “I’d have never guessed.”

“What? No. It’s nothing like that.”

We sat together in the camp’s mess hall, which had once been a restaurant.

The gingham upholstered chairs and wooden tables with matching tablecloths had been conveniently repurposed.

It was just us ladies: Aanya, who I hadn’t had a chance to catch up with at the market; Katerina, who’d successfully shooed Mo away so we could talk in peace; and Connie, whose mate was off inspecting the training equipment.

I’d just finished the grand tour, hugged everyone I hadn’t seen in months, and even made a few new friends.

Heather was from a settlement called Sanctuary.

Until recently, Sanctuary had been firmly anti-Xarc’n, but a series of events had shifted things, and now they were allies.

She was mated to a hunter named Nov’k, who, along with Bael’k, had traveled down from the Canadian Rockies to join the hunter group here.

Then there was Zoey, the nomad now partnered with Harb’k. I’d met her briefly at the market.

I was floored by what they’d done with the place. Before now, all I’d seen were the first initial photos taken from a hunter’s shuttle.

What used to be a sad little strip mall in the middle-of-nowhere America had been transformed into a scourge-killing fortress.

But it wasn’t just the fences and gates, anti-air artillery, or even the well-thought-out battlefield meant to make fighting the upcoming summer swarm easier that impressed me.

They’d made the place feel warm and welcoming.

Sure, it wasn’t New Franklin, which was a full-on permanent settlement now, but it had heart and plenty of it.

They had warm running water, thanks in part to the large cistern on the roof. And the aquaponics system we’d messaged back and forth about on the forum was doing even better than I thought it would. There was a chicken coop with an indoor-outdoor run that shielded the clucky ladies from the flyers.

They’d even knocked down some of the internal walls so that all the stores linked together from the inside.

And despite the barred windows, the overabundance of metal and concrete, and the fact that the living areas had once been offices, the whole place felt lived in, and almost like this had been its purpose all along.

The random toys scattered everywhere helped.

It was hard to believe that all those toys belonged to one lucky girl.

Mina was Lok’n and Mary’s kid, and I hadn’t seen her since Christmas when Mary had brought her over to New Franklin for the big Christmas bash.

She was just at the age where those little horns started to come in.

She was so freaking adorable that my ovaries decided to completely forget my whole “no serious relationship” rule and demanded I find a hunter and climb him stat.

And then there was Moose. The chipmunk was teeny tiny compared to Tooth, with the cutest racing stripes down his back.

But don’t let his small size fool you; he had just as much personality.

But a lot less survival instincts apparently.

They had to Moose-proof several areas around the camp so he’d have safe places to hang out.

He was currently Velcro-ed to my backpack, humping the miniature stuffed Tooth.

“You two are going on the quest of a lifetime,” Aanya said, bringing my attention back from the X-rated stuffed toy activity.

“Of course it’s like that. He’d never have agreed to it unless you were someone special.

But I have to admit, I never would have placed you as a type to do something so utterly cool, no offense,” she sputtered, trying to walk it back. “I don’t mean that you’re not cool.”

I laughed. “None taken. I understand exactly what you mean. I’m the self-proclaimed bookworm who literally works in the library. I classify and archive old webpages all day long. Up until now, my most exciting trip out of New Franklin had been to a freaking library.”

“We also took you to that rich lady’s house, remember? You know the one with all the romance novels you can’t really get at a normal bookstore?” Connie said. “For which the woman folk of New Franklin will be forever grateful.”

“That too.” I sighed. “If I admit something, will it stay in this room?”

I was met by a table of bobbing heads.

“There might have been a teeny, tiny little misunderstanding.” I pinched my fingers together. “The original plan was to get one of the nomad groups to go on their own. A certain purple somebody jumped in after they rejected the mission and offered to take me himself.”

They all nodded like that was typical Xarc’n behavior.

“And before I could correct him, everyone was already weighing in on it, plans were being made, and everyone got so excited. All the Tech Wizards started making a list of everything they could do to help, and the hunters were contacting their counterparts at the Dead Zone.

“It just got out of hand. And I didn’t want to disappoint anyone.

And plus, I really want to know what’s at the end of the rainbow, so to speak.

One thing led to another, and well, here I am.

It wasn’t even my idea. I’m not brave. I’m terrified.

” I blew out a long breath, glad to finally get it off my chest, even though technically, I’d already come clean with Dottie.

“You know, it’s not too late to walk it back,” Katerina suggested. “No one would fault you.”

Katerina and Aanya were the types who’d totally go on a mission like this. They were constantly throwing themselves out there and bringing back lifesaving foraged goodies. They were the true, strong heroine type. Not me.

But did I really want to back out? Did I want to disappoint everyone? Would I rather this be the mission I almost went on? Somehow, that didn’t feel right to me either.

“I’m not sure. I just wish I were a better fit. You know?”

“What do you mean by that?” Aanya scrunched up her nose in a way that told me I better have a good answer.

“I mean, I’m a liability. Aside from the two scuttlers I brained way back when, before I found New Franklin, I have no experience out there.

What if I get Bael’k trapped? Or killed?

” And suddenly, all the guilty and negative thoughts that had been living rent-free in my head, whispering relentlessly between my ears came to a head.

“He thought I was a Tech Wizard at first. Then, when he found out I wasn’t, he thought my nickname on the forum was a title.

The Keeper of Knowledge!” I buried my face in my hands.

“Umm, Kiera?”

I glanced up at Aanya, who had a look of amusement on her face.

“What?”

“That’s who you are. You’re the Keeper of Knowledge.”

I looked at her incredulously. “It’s a fucking handle!”

Oh yeah, I could feel a total and complete breakdown coming on.

Katerina held up her hand. “Can you fly a drone?” She asked in that Russian accent of hers.

“Yeah.”

“And did you take those marksmanship classes?”

“Everyone had to.”

“Can you fly a shuttle?”

“Yes.” I didn’t have much practice, but I’d helped move shuttles around.

“And fire a ship’s blaster?”

“You know I manned the turrets during the summer swarms.” What was she getting at?

“Good.” Kat nodded solemnly. “Then I do not see a problem.”

“She’s got a point,” Aanya agreed.

“The Tech Wizards wouldn’t back it if they thought it would fail,” Connie said. “And Jorg’k said the Dead Zone hunters wouldn’t agree unless they believed you had a real shot.”

“And we’re your friends,” Aanya added. “We don’t want you in danger. But we also know you can handle yourself. Nothing’s risk-free anymore. A scourge attack could wipe out the whole camp tomorrow.”

“Or a bandit attack.”

“Or from disease.”

Ugh! Why did they have to make so much sense?

“Or hit by lightning.”

“Eaten by the land shark.”

“Turned into a mushroom.”

Aanya and Connie weren’t making much sense anymore, but they were grinning ear to ear, clearly enjoying themselves.

“And sure, the hunters say no help comes in the Dead Zone, but that just means no help from them. Plenty of humans are crazy enough to go in if given the chance. That place is ripe for looting,” Aanya said.

“And not all hunters follow the rules. Case in point, Bael’k. And my Jorg’k’s just as reckless. So don’t give me a reason to come after you, because I will.”

“Me too!” Katerina chimed in. “Can you imagine the loot we’ll find in there?”

Her eyes sparkled like she could see the forageable goodies already. Beside her, Aanya nodded with enthusiasm. Once a forager, always a forager. These two lived to bring back treasures.

It was reassuring to know we wouldn’t be completely alone once we crossed the magical line. And these ladies’ energies were contagious. They almost made me feel like I could do it.

Hell, who said I couldn’t? Maybe this mental image I had of myself was wrong.

What would young me do? Twelve-year-old Kiera had been a tomboy with a fearless, go-forth and conquer attitude.

Then life happened. That younger version of me would jump at this adventure with no hesitation.

Just the idea of being the first to uncover some vital piece of information no one else had would be enough.

I dug deep, searching for that version of Kiera again. She was still there, a tiny flame burning in my heart, buoyed by the support of my friends and lit by the spark of hope. Suddenly, the mission didn’t seem so impossible after all.