Page 6 of The Hunter

Damn her eyes, what was wrong with that female? Had she forgotten every lesson she’d learned since awakening in the Pit? Had she forgotten all the times she and her tribemates had been a thread’s breadth away from death? She knew better than to go into the Tangle alone. She fucking knew better.

And he knew better than to be out here without his spear and bag.

Broodmother, show me mercy, but this human has my mind tangled.

If Lacey had been harmed because she’d placed herself in danger… Gods, he hoped she hadn’t been harmed.

Though thin, her scent was present, and he followed it along a winding trail often used by the thornskulls. Clearer still were the tracks left on the ground by her boots, which had tooth-like protrusions on their undersides that were meant to prevent their wearers from slipping.

He paused only once, when a glimmer of red on a branch jutting into the path caught his eye. He moved to it and plucked a few strands of long, red hair from the knobby fork where the twig split in two, twirling them between his fingers.

Telok released a harsh, heavy breath. Not only had Lacey ventured away from Kaldarak alone, without a word to anyone, but she’d made no effort to conceal her trail.

She rarely cared for what Telok had to say, but even if he had to tie her up to hold her attention, she was going to listen to his every word when he found her. Every. Damned. Word.

The waterfall’s roar grew louder as he neared it, and the surrounding greenery thinned. Mist lighted upon his hide, tiny droplets clinging to the fine hairs on his legs. The trail opened on the pool at the base of the waterfall, which was backed by the steep, rocky, overgrown hillside.

This spot was popular amongst the thornskulls both for bathing and swimming, as the water was deeper than in the temple’s pools. Many vrix whose work took them out of Kaldarak stopped here to wash away the grime of their day’s toil before returning to their dens.

But today, no one was here.

Telok moved along the water’s edge. The bank was chaotic, lapped by the gentle waves created by the falling water, the mix of mud and stones both preserving and obscuring Lacey’s tracks. Her trail led onto the rockier ground and ended.

He forced his mandibles apart and raked his gaze over the area. Even the noise of the falls couldn’t overpower the thumping of his hearts, which sped with each passing moment.

This was wrong. All wrong. The sun was high, the sky clear, the air pleasantly warm, and Kaldarak was in good spirits. How could one of his tribemates be missing on a day as beautiful as this? How could Lacey be missing?

A roar welled within his chest. It lodged there, building heat and pressure, making his lungs and throat burn. It was unbearable, and it would surely tear him asunder.

Then he heard it—a small sound, one which should never have pierced the waterfall’s ceaseless noise. A human sound.

An agonized sob.

His hearts halted, and he held his breath, not daring to move anything but his eyes as he strained to listen. The waterfall’s droning pressed in around him. He focused past it, and it faded, faded, faded…

Another cry reached him, soft but unmistakable. Not from a human, but from his human. From Lacey.

Telok’s hearts lurched into thunderous pounding as he hurried toward the sound. He strode into the pool, barely noticing the warmth on his hide. When the deepening water reached his chest, he kicked off the bottom and swam toward the falling water, slitting his eyes against the mist. As soon as his legs could again reach the bottom, he stood and plunged through the waterfall, which briefly blinded him, deafened him, and stopped the flow of air into his lungs.

Telok swept water and loose hair out of his face. His gaze immediately fell upon the small rocky ledge behind the falls, which had been hidden from the shoreline.

Lacey lay atop the ledge with her back toward him, curled up on her side with her arms clamped over her belly, her normally vibrant red hair dull, dark, and limp with wetness. And her cries… There was no watery barrier to muffle them now. They were loud in this small alcove, filling his ears and squeezing his hearts.

Despite the mist flooding his nostrils, he could smell Lacey. But her fragrance didn’t cloud his mind with desire now, because it was tainted by the distinct tang of human blood. That blood scent invaded Telok, scorched through him, heating his insides and sharpening his senses even as it quickened his hearts with dread.

Shaper, unmake me.

Lacey was hurt.

CHAPTER 3

Telok had failed to protect her. He’d failed to keep her safe. If he hadn’t gone out of his way to avoid her, if he hadn’t⁠—

No. Despair will not help her.

He needed to act swiftly and do as Diego would have—identify the wound and staunch the bleeding. Humans had so little blood to lose, and the scrap of wadded cloth and moss lying on the stone near her was already sodden with crimson.

Telok rushed forward. Water sloshed around him, but he couldn’t hear it over his drumming hearts, each beat of which quaked through him faster, louder, and heavier than the last.