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T he next day, they followed the hunters’ tracks until it was clear they’d entered their hunting radius. Which meant today was the day they’d spy on the camp itself. The prospect tied Cora’s stomach in knots, but she tried to focus more on the fact that they were going to get another chance to free the unicorns. So far, she’d only saved two. Unless Valorre counted, which in that case it was three. But the three the Beast had slaughtered…

Cora steeled her resolve as she, Teryn, and Lex tethered their horses in a secluded grove at the far west of the Cambron Pass. Based on the sounds of hunting horns, the group was scouting west today. And if these hunters had similar habits to the previous group, the main party wouldn’t be back until just after sundown. They only had about six hours to find the camp before it would be fully occupied.

They finished securing their horses. Cora could feel the tension radiating from Teryn and Lex, even with her shields in place. Valorre too had grown skittish since gaining so close in proximity to the new camp. He stood stiffly behind the horses, ears twitching back and forth. Even Berol seemed wary. She hadn’t left Teryn’s shoulder for the last hour.

“All right,” she said, her own nerves creeping into her voice to give it a slight tremble, “I’ll leave now and seek out the camp. Valorre will come with me, but he’ll remain out of range once I think I’m close. If I find a decent vantage point to spy on the hunters, I’ll stay. If I don’t, I’ll simply take in the lay of everything?—”

“In what world did you think you were going to spy on their camp alone?” Teryn said.

His tone had her bristling. “In what world did you think I’d seek your permission?”

He shook his head. “We’re coming with you.”

Lex raised his hands, palms forward. “I’d rather stay and watch the horses, thanks.”

Teryn rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’m coming with you.”

Oh, yes, he can come, said Valorre.

“I don’t need you,” Cora said, ignoring Valorre and folding her arms. “I’ve done this before, you know.”

“That’s all well and good, but there’s no way I’m waiting behind while you…endanger yourself alone.”

Ah, he does have a point to be concerned, Valorre said . I don’t like when you endanger yourself either.

Whose side are you on? she shot back.

His, obviously , he said without shame.

Cora furrowed her brow. Was that true concern in Teryn’s eyes? Or something else? Suspicion, perhaps. She let down her shields just enough to sample his emotions. All she felt were conflicting elements. Fear. Trepidation. Something that made her stomach feel warm. With an exhale, she lifted her shields again. “This is the safest part of our plan.”

Lex lifted a finger. “Remind me what this plan is again? Sorry, working together as equals is a foreign concept to me, considering Helios was a royal ass.”

She felt a flash of guilt. They’d told her about what it was like working with Prince Helios. How he’d kept more secrets than he’d shared. Her instincts begged her to keep the boys from getting close to her, begged her to do exactly what Helios had done. She’d only let them come along because Teryn had practically begged her. Still…she’d agreed, for better or worse, which meant she now had to suffer the consequences. Even if that meant collaborating with people she’d sooner leave behind.

Valorre came up beside her and nudged her in the shoulder. Are they not our friends?

No , she conveyed back.

To the boys, she said, “Today, I will scout. Gather information. Study the camp. Valorre will warn me if he senses danger. I’ll try to glean as much as I can about this party’s habits. I’ll report back everything I find, then we’ll form a plan of attack.”

“By attack do you mean…” Lex mimed throwing back a drink and tipping his head to the side, eyes closed, tongue lolling from his mouth. When Cora refused to acknowledge him other than thinning her lips, he whispered, “Poison.”

Her mind filled with a vision of Paul’s prone form at the base of a tree, of James lying by the campfire with blue-tinged lips. The sound of bodies falling, cries of alarm?—

She blinked the memories away, but her pulse had kicked up to a rapid tempo. “I don’t know.”

“Ideally, we’ll avoid bloodshed,” Teryn said. “Which is why I’m coming with you. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. With both of our perspectives, we’ll have a better chance at coming up with a viable plan that puts all of us in the least amount of danger.”

She wanted to roll her eyes. Of course the goodly, dutiful prince wanted to avoid bloodshed. He was a fool if he thought it was possible. Perhaps it was a lesson he’d have to learn on his own. “You can help me form a plan but I’m going to scout alone. That’s final.”

Teryn released a mirthless laugh. He closed the distance between them, his posture mirroring hers until only a foot separated them. Berol ruffled her feathers but remained on his shoulder. Teryn was so much taller than Cora, she had to crane her neck to meet his gaze. “Then I suppose I will too,” he said. Before Cora could argue, he brushed past her, took his sword from his saddle, and left the grove. “We’ll see who gets there first,” he called over his shoulder.

Cora stared after him, jaw hanging on its hinge.

Lex chuckled as he walked over to his horse and took a book and apple from one of his saddlebags. “The two of you are disgusting.”

She whirled to face him. “Excuse me?”

“As if you don’t know.” Lex settled down at the base of a tree, opening his book with one hand and bringing the apple to his mouth with the other. “You must get a kick out of riling him up, making him act all protective like that. It’s cute, I guess. But…ugh, so gross.”

You know what’s gross? Valorre said. Taking an apple from one’s bag without offering me one. I like apples.

Cora stroked Valorre’s neck and glared at Lex. “I promise you, I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

He opened his book and began to read. “We both know he fancies you.”

Cora’s hand froze on Valorre’s soft hide while her heart thudded against her ribcage. No, Lex couldn’t be right. It wasn’t possible. The concept was utterly preposterous.

The only word that left her lips was, “What?”

He took another bite of apple, muffling his next words. “I saw the two of you sneak off last night after your sexy knife play. If that’s what does it for you, I’m happy for you both. Still, I’d rather keep our mission professional.”

Cora’s cheeks burned hotter than ever before. “This arrangement is strictly professional, trust me.”

Lex shrugged and flipped a page. “If you say so. But I must warn you, I’ve come to like Teryn. He’s a good man and a good friend.” His eyes shot from his book to her, simmering with threat. “So if you do anything to hurt him, either body or heart, you’ll have me to contend with.”

She wasn’t sure if she should be amused or impressed. Lex was hardly an intimidating specimen, but it was heartwarming that he’d defend his friend like that. More than anything, she was annoyed. Flustered. Irritated beyond belief. With a huff, she shouldered her bow and quiver and left the grove.

She and Valorre caught up with Teryn not long after. His smug grin was more than enough to make her second-guess not having taken an alternate route, but it seemed he’d already claimed the best path to their destination. She wouldn’t inconvenience herself just because Teryn had a superiority complex.

Or was it more about what Lex had said? Was Teryn’s concern over letting her go alone fueled by…

She couldn’t even think it.

They followed the hunters’ tracks down several different game trails until the wear in the path grew denser, fresher.

I sense them , Valorre said. My brethren. They’re close .

Then this is as far as you can go. Stay out of sight .

Valorre rippled with worry, but he quickly flitted between the trees.

Teryn startled at the sudden movement, then met Cora’s eyes. Up until now, they’d spoken only when necessary and both made a clear effort to keep their distance. “Where did he go?”

“We’re too close now. It isn’t safe for him to come any nearer. He’ll find somewhere to hide where his tracks won’t be easy to follow.”

Teryn gave only a curt nod and they were on their way again.

With only two hours left until sundown, they finally found the camp.

Cora’s palms were slick with sweat as they crept quietly toward the sound of a crackling fire. Once they caught their first glimpse of the clearing, Teryn fed Berol a strip of dried meat and gestured a finger upward. She immediately took off into the sky. Then he pointed at Cora and himself, silently conveying that they should circle the perimeter in opposite directions. She replied with a nod.

Teryn moved first, one slow step at a time. She wanted to mouth at him to be careful, but she kept the warning to herself. She was still a little peeved at how he’d insisted on accompanying her. However, she had to admit she’d come to feel comforted by his company today. Even now, having another person scouting made her feel safer than she had when she was alone. At first, she’d been worried Teryn would have no talent for stealth, but when she watched him take careful steps, prodding the earth with each foot before fully stepping down, she realized he knew what he was doing. She supposed that was one benefit to being a prince. Royal hunts were both a rite of passage and an expected pastime.

Cora circled the camp, pausing now and then to edge a little closer, stealing glances at what was beyond the veil of underbrush she kept to. No matter how many times she looked, she saw the same thing. A quiet camp. Four cages filled with unicorns. A single guard sitting by the fire. When she and Teryn met at the other side of camp—after they’d both startled at the sudden appearance of the other—she gestured for him to follow her away from the clearing.

Once they were well out of earshot, she whispered, “They have a baby unicorn.” Her heart clenched just to say it out loud. She’d nearly stumbled when she’d first caught sight of it. Like the three adult unicorns, the baby was thin and frail. If she had to guess, based on everything she’d seen and overheard and all that Teryn had shared about what he’d learned, the creatures were close to harvest. Either the Beast would come to take them soon or the hunters would carve the horns from the unicorns’ heads while the creatures were still alive.

Torture.

Slaughter.

One of the most inhumane acts of violence Cora could imagine.

They might not have days to continue spying. To brew another decoction of belladonna and establish the best way to infiltrate the camp.

“I saw,” Teryn said. His lips were pulled into a frown, a disgusted look on his face that told her his feelings were much like her own.

She brought her thumbnail between her teeth to keep her hands from shaking. “And there was only one guard.”

“I saw that as well.” His voice held a note of concern. It probably wasn’t hard to guess what she was thinking. “But he was only a boy.”

That too made Cora’s chest feel tight. She’d expected to find someone her own age, like James, if not a more grizzled guard like Paul. Instead, they’d found a boy who looked no older than thirteen. He bore no brand that marked him as a criminal. Had no hard look in his eye that made him seem like he was a mercenary in training. Cora would have thought they’d stumbled upon the wrong camp if it weren’t for the occupied cages. Not to mention the deep reddish-brown stains that marred the earth before them.

“We have to free those unicorns,” she said. “They won’t make it much longer. And this,” she gestured back in the direction of camp, “is too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Teryn’s brow knitted. “Does it not seem too easy, though?”

She had to admit it did seem too good to be true. Still, she’d looked for signs that someone else was waiting out of sight, but there was nothing. No one. Every part of her itched to act. To finally do more than watch and wait. To save the unicorns for the ones she’d failed. Perhaps she was being a bit reckless, and had she been alone, she’d probably have chosen caution. But she wasn’t alone. She had Teryn.

“We have to at least try, don’t we? It’s not yet sundown. The hunters are still far away.” The last hunting horn they’d heard had been distant.

“We can try,” Teryn finally said, “but we aren’t killing the boy. Instead, we do this my way.”