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“ I ’m not drinking that,” Lex said, scowling at the clay cup Cora handed him.

Teryn watched their icy standoff with a mixture of amusement and trepidation. They were seated around a modest fire in the middle of a secluded clearing by a stream. He was pretty sure it was the same stream he’d met the woman at the day before, and—from the way Cora brought out cups, flasks, and pots from behind a bush—he assumed it was where she’d made camp for the last several days. They’d trusted her enough to follow her away from the scene of the bloodbath and obeyed her instructions to start a fire, boil water, and soak fresh strips of linen torn from yet another of Teryn’s shirts. She’d told them her name, briefly introduced them to her unicorn companion—much to Lex’s awe and incomprehensible stammering—but that was to the extent that they knew her. Well, that and the fact that she’d poisoned nearly an entire hunting party. Teryn couldn’t blame Lex for his trepidation.

“It will help calm your nerves and ease your pain,” Cora said.

“Yes, being dead certainly puts an end to nerves and pain. No, thank you.”

Cora rolled her eyes. “It’s not poison. It’s tea. Lavender, chamomile, and willow bark.”

Lex gave Teryn a pointed look, drawing Cora’s attention to him as well.

Teryn sighed. “Surely you understand why we wouldn’t want to drink anything you offer.”

She pursed her lips and held his gaze. He only shrugged. “Fine,” she said, setting down the cup and taking Lex’s arm. “Suffer through the pain if that is your wish.”

Lex blanched a little but made no further argument.

“Are the bandages dry yet?” she asked Teryn.

He ran his fingers over a corner of one of the strips of cloth she’d asked him to dry by the fire. “Yes.”

“Bring them here.”

“You make demands like a queen,” he muttered as he gathered the cloth and brought it to her.

“No,” she said as she began untying the blood-soaked bandages from Lex’s arm, “just someone who has no reason to help you but is anyway.”

The unicorn named Valorre tossed his mane. The creature had maintained his distance from Teryn and Lex, keeping to the opposite side of camp. Even so, Teryn caught the unicorn watching him from time to time, likely holding a grudge over the spear incident. Berol, meanwhile, took up post as far from the unicorn as she could get. Every so often, she’d shift in the branch overhead as if to remind both Cora and Valorre that she was watching.

Cora paused her ministrations and looked at Valorre. Then, resuming her removal of the bandages, she said, “Why should I be nice? I don’t see you being warm and cuddly.”

Teryn frowned, eyes darting between the girl and the unicorn. “Did you just…talk to Valorre?”

Her face went slack with surprise. Perhaps she hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud. She quickly covered the expression with a look of nonchalance. “Don’t you talk to your feathered companion? What’s her name? Barrel?”

“Berol,” Teryn corrected. “Like the?—”

Her gaze darted to him. “Like Berolla, the fae queen’s legendary dragon.”

Teryn was surprised she knew. Faerytales were common enough, but he’d only heard about this one from Larylis. When he’d first found the falcon as a hatchling, he knew she needed a fierce name. Part of him thought it would improve her chances of survival. So when Larylis shared the tale of Berolla—the dragon who once ruled the skies in the days of the Elvyn and Faeryn—he knew it was the perfect namesake.

Cora averted her gaze and steeled her expression, as if she regretted showing interest in their conversation. She finished unwrapping the bandages and reached for a flask.

“What’s in that—” Before Lex could finish, Cora poured it over the wound. The smell of strong spirits wafted into the air. Rum. Teryn could only hope it bore no poison.

He watched as she cleaned Lex’s wound and began to stitch it closed with a needle and thread she’d taken from one of the pouches on her belt. When Lex began whimpering, she wordlessly handed him the mug of tea. This time, he accepted it. Her every move was steady and methodical as she continued her work. She’d clearly done this before. After the final stitch was made, she spread a mushy paste over Lex’s arm, its odor pungent.

Lex wrinkled his nose. “This is disgusting. What is it?”

“Herbs,” Cora said, then held out her palm to Teryn.

He stood at her side and handed her the cloth. By the time she was done wrapping his arm, Lex looked as pale as a ghost. His throat bobbed as he cradled his arm against his chest. “Do you have more tea?”

Cora didn’t hide her smirk as she poured him another mug.

Teryn expected Lex to thank her as he accepted the offering, but instead he said, “You must be a witch.”

Cora simply stared back at him.

Teryn stiffened. “Oh,” he said, looking at her in a new light. “You are a witch.” It made sense now. Her knowledge of healing and poison. The fact that she lived in the woods. Except… “I didn’t know witches were real.”

She faced him with a quirked brow. “I didn’t know idiot princes were real, and yet here you both are.”

Teryn bristled. “What did we ever do to you?”

“Do you honestly have to ask?” She stood and planted her hands on her hips. “You tried to kill Valorre?—”

“Yes, remind me why the two of you seem to know each other,” Lex interjected.

“—then you lied to me about who you work for?—”

“I told you,” Teryn said, “I didn’t lie.”

“—then you lied to me when you promised never to come near a unicorn again.”

She had a point about that last part. “I’m…I’m sorry about that. About all of it. It was important that I try…” He ran a hand over his face, his fatigue bone deep. “I’d thought it was important to complete our mission. I’d thought…” He shook his head and returned to his seat on the other side of the fire.

Her brow furrowed as she studied him, her head cocked slightly to the side. After a few moments of silence, her shoulders fell, as if she too were overcome by the same exhaustion Teryn felt. She returned to sitting. “Tell me the truth then. Tell me why you came to hunt unicorns.”

“Or else…” He expected a threat. Why else should he tell her anything? Why else should they do anything but part ways now, knowing not a single thing more about one another? She hated hunters. He was one. Perhaps his intentions weren’t as dark as that of the men she’d poisoned, but she was right. He’d almost tried to kill her unicorn companion. He’d broken his promise—a promise he’d made without any intention of fulfilling it—and targeted another unicorn right after. Had James not planted suspicion in his mind, Teryn might not have been prepared to stop Helios in time. If Helios had taken the unicorn’s horn, Teryn would have shared the responsibility.

His stomach turned at that. All this time, Helios knew. He knew I’d be too soft for the truth . Teryn wasn’t sure if he should feel ashamed about that. It wasn’t like he’d thought they could remove a unicorn’s pelt without killing it. While it had never occurred to him that the horn would need to be taken while the unicorn was alive, he’d always known the creature would have to die. Was that where Teryn drew the line? He could kill, but not make an animal needlessly suffer?

He remembered his hesitation at the stream, how his body had seized up when he’d prepared to throw his spear at Valorre. He’d felt revulsion at the thought of killing the unicorn, a thousand times stronger than any distaste he’d felt during a normal hunt. Something inside him, whether he’d recognized it or not, had known a unicorn was not just another animal. That killing them to appease a spoiled princess’ vanity was wrong.

Which meant Helios had been right. Teryn had always been too soft, right from the start.

Teryn realized Cora was still watching him. There was something discomfiting about her gaze. It was too probing. Too penetrating. He felt as if his heart were made bare, laid across his face in stunning detail like one of the illustrations in Larylis’ books.

“I just…I want to know.” Cora’s voice was softer now. “I came here to rescue the unicorns from the hunters. To keep them from being captured. Now that I know the Beast is involved…” She shook her head. “I need to know more. Do more. And I have a feeling you know more about it than I do.”

Teryn huffed a dark laugh. “You’d be surprised, then. Helios kept us in the dark about almost everything.”

Cora leaned forward. Her expression took on a hint of pleading. It was the first time he’d seen anything close to vulnerability in her eyes. “Please.”

Rubbing his brow, he released a heavy sigh. “It’s called the Heart’s Hunt.”

Teryn told her everything he found pertinent. He kept any information regarding his kingdom’s debt to himself, telling her only that he was engaged to Princess Mareleau Harvallis, but had been slighted at Beltane when she invited other suitors to compete for her hand. She listened with rapt attention as he went on to explain his alliance with Helios and Lex. He told her what little information Helios had shared—how Helios had first come to learn of unicorns, how he’d made a treaty with Vinias to hunt their lands until unicorns could no longer be found north of Khero, how Duke Morkai had taken control over the hunt. He told her of their plan to steal a unicorn from the hunters, how they’d tracked them to the camp.

By the time Teryn was done with his tale, Lex had already retired to his bedroll and was fast asleep.

Cora, however, seemed more energized than ever. She paced before the fire. “Prince Helios said there are more hunting parties.”

Teryn nodded. “I got the impression there were several more. When we arrived at the hunters’ camp tonight, Helios knew exactly which name and location to say.”

She stopped her pacing and faced him. “He showed them a writ as well. I want to see it.”

Teryn’s gaze went to Helios’ horse. It was tethered next to his own, eyes closed. He hadn’t had the heart to leave it at the site of a bloodbath, so he’d brought the mare with them when they’d followed Cora here. Besides, the horse was laden with Helios’ bags, which could be full of any number of useful items for the ride home. But…did his saddlebag contain the writ? Or had he had it on him when the Beast attacked?

“I don’t know if we have it. He could have kept it on him when we joined the hunters.”

Cora started off toward the horses. “He put it back. I saw him.”

Teryn blinked a few times, only realizing now just how unsettling it was that she’d been watching them the entire time. He followed after her and approached the horses. Berol launched from her branch and landed on Quinne’s saddle. She nestled down as if to sleep but peeped an eye open to watch Cora step up beside Helios’ horse. The mare was named Hara, if he remembered correctly. She was sleek and black, larger than Quinne. Cora opened a saddlebag while Teryn went to the one on the opposite side. Hara paid them no heed, for she clearly had a much better temperament than her former master. Teryn glanced over the saddle and realized Cora had to stand on her toes to get a look inside the bags. Meanwhile, his height provided him a clear view of the bag’s contents—several knives, flasks, waterskins, leather pouches of dried meat, articles of clothing. He moved the items around until he found a stack of folded papers.

He took them out and smoothed out the top sheet, angling it so that the fire illuminated it. It was a map of the lower half of Risa, its main focus on the three kingdoms that comprised the land once known as Lela—Khero, Menah, and Selay. The forested areas were marked with either an X or a circle. Most of the X s were written over the southernmost parts of Selay and Menah, with only a circle or two drawn over their northern forests. Within each circle was a number. The ones in Selay and Menah bore ones or twos. Meanwhile, the circles drawn over the forests in Khero were marked with numbers in double digits. Could it possibly be the number of unicorns found in each region?

His eyes moved to northeastern Khero, which was the part of the map that hosted the most notations. There he found marks dividing the forests into regions, with a name next to each. These regions were contained to a radius around Ridine Castle. This must have been the specific area Helios had spoken of. Teryn sought out his current location. They were in northeastern Khero near the southernmost region noted on the map. There he found the word Hammond . Just northwest of there was the word Drass . Teryn remembered that name. That was whose hunting party Helios had pretended they’d come from when Gringe had questioned them.

Teryn gritted his teeth, his anger over Helios’ refusal to share intel still sharp, even after the man’s demise. What else had he been hiding? He moved the map to the back of the stack and studied the next paper.

His breath caught in his throat.

Two dark eyes stared back at him, keen, fierce, and intelligent.

He knew those eyes. They’d watched him from the other side of the fire mere moments ago.

Now they watched him from under the word Wanted .

No wonder Cora had looked familiar when he’d met her on the other side of her blade. It was because he’d seen her before, studied her likeness on the poster he’d found on his father’s desk.

It made sense now why Cora was so well versed in poison. How she’d killed six men without batting an eye.

His gaze dipped to the bottom of the poster, even though he already knew what it would say. For the murders of Queen Linette and Princess Aveline.

He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. When he’d first seen the poster, he hadn’t given the murders much thought, but he remembered the deaths. Remembered how the people mourned, even in his own kingdom. The killer had left no sign of a wound on either body. Poison, it was deemed, but other theories circulated, spoken only in whispers.

A witch , they’d said. A young serving girl who’d dabbled in the dark arts and held a grudge against her royal masters. The queen was known to have been with child when she died, while the princess…

Teryn’s chest felt tight. Princess Aveline had only been a young girl. He’d met her once when they’d both been children. Back when their kingdoms were friendly. Before her parents died in the plague that swept the continent for the better part of a year. At six years old, she’d been brave. Charming. Full of life and wit and beauty. She’d been his very first crush for all of the two weeks she’d spent as a guest at Dermaine Palace with her parents. She’d hardly looked his way the entire time, and yet he’d blushed and hid behind his mother’s skirts whenever she was in the room. Teryn had almost forgotten. Now that he remembered, his heart plummeted with grief.

He stole a glance at Cora, her brows knitted as she read the parchment in her hands, oblivious of the truth he’d discovered.

He may not have learned much about her, but he now knew one thing. She’d killed Princess Aveline Caelan.

His eyes slid back to the poster and settled on the next words.

Reward: 500,000 gold sovas .