I burst out laughing, doubled over and trying not to cry from the look of relief that splashes across Kapriel’s face.
“Don’t think I won’t get you both back for this. There will be payback. And it will be brutal.” Kapriel crosses his arms over his chest, scowling.
“Sure, sure, Kap. I’m sure you will.” I lean against Maxen. “That was good. Thank you for playing along, I needed that laugh.”
“Are you three done with your shenanigans, or should we postpone our search for the king until you’ve finished?” Draven’s voice, deeper than one of the caverns of the underworld, rumbles out from behind me, and I can feel my face instantly go from hilarity to scorn. I bite my lower lip to keep from saying something I’d probably regret or that would at least get me in trouble, and clench my jaw before spinning around.
I wave a hand toward the hallway that leads to my father’s office. “Lead the way, Draven.”
I hang back, keeping an eye on the other guards as they follow after Draven like a gaggle of little ducklings following their mom’s lead.
“I will not stab Draven. I will not stab Draven.” I mutter the words under my breath, repeating them a few more times before I can take a step forward and follow the arrogant asshole.
“I heard that, Jin,” Kapriel sing songs, and I growl low.
“Pretend you didn’t. I need you to be my alibi if I murder him.”
“No promises, you murderous cow.”
“Rude.”
I stick out my foot, tripping him, and skip a few steps ahead, whistling innocently as Kapriel curses behind me.
I look to the door of my father’s office, where the group of guards are all standing there, staring at me, their expressions blank. All except Draven whose posture is stiff, his jaw tight. He reminds me of my mother when I got mud all over my dresses before visiting dignitaries arrived.
I fold my arms across my chest, daring him to say something about it. Say something, you big bastard, go ahead. Make my day.
Almost like he can hear my internal thoughts, a smirk curls the corners of his lips, and he shakes his head. “In here.”
I step inside the room I’d spent more time in learning from and bothering my father than probably any other room in Castle Tor. A fire crackles to the left, a fur pelt spread out in front of it. The bookshelves lining the walls are as unkempt as always. Books stacked horizontally right next to those with their spines facing outward. Scrolls and trinkets are shoved in every possible nook and cranny, and toward the back is the giant desk I’d hidden under while he gave briefings and assignments.
The only thing that’s missing from my childhood memories is my father, sitting in the wide leather chair behind the desk, stroking his beard as he reads a report from one of his hunters.
I scan the rest of the room, checking for details and not seeing anything that’s completely out of the ordinary. “What exactly am I looking for here? I was told there were drag marks outside the gates, not in his office.”
Draven strides forward, rounding the rough wooden surface piled high with papers. “Over here.” He points at something in the middle of the workspace.
I close the distance to the desk and peer over it. There’s a note smack dab in the center of it. “You won’t find him in time,” I read the words aloud. “Well, that’s not ominous or anything.”
The note looks too similar to the one that was left on my front door at Karmakazis to be a coincidence. I hadn’t kept the note that I’d received threatening my sister’s life five years ago so I could compare it to this one and the one left on my door, but I would swear that the handwriting was similar to both letters.
“Kap, you have that letter that was left at my apartment? The one I asked you to grab off my fridge?”
“Yeah, I brought it with us. I don’t have it on me though, it’s in my bag.”
“Go get it.”
“On it. Be right back.” Kapriel’s boots pound the cobblestones as he retreats from my father’s office, and I rub at my temples in frustration.
“Care to share what you’re talking about?” Draven asks, his voice low and suspicious.
“It could be nothing, but I’m ninety-five percent sure it’s definitely something.” My mind races with the possibilities as we wait the few minutes for Kapriel to return, the piece of paper fluttering in his hand as he comes to a screeching halt and hands it to me.
“Special delivery,” he jokes before sobering when he gets a look at the note that was left on my father’s desk. “Well, shit.”
I look between the two pieces of paper, checking the handwriting and confirming my suspicions. I thrust the note at Draven and let him put two and two together.
“This isn’t good.” Draven looks up from the paper and appraises me. “When did you get this?”
“It was left for me the night before last. Taped to my door.” I shrug. “I thought it was a prank or one of the skips I’d put away trying to scare me.”
It’s not the whole truth of what I’d thought or what I know at this point, but for now, until I know if this could be the same person whose threats forced me to leave and then found me again and possibly took my father, I’m going to keep my cards close to my chest.
“Who knew who you really are in the human realm?” Maxen asks from behind me.
“No one other than my boss. Not even Kapriel knew until a few hours ago when Wren appeared at my doorstep.” I glance at Kapriel. “Do you think anyone else knew? I know you said you had your suspicions, but you’re the only one who’s worked with me closely.”
Kap shakes his head. “I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head. It’s not like you were forthcoming when people asked you about your abilities or your past.”
“Yeah, for good reason.” I place my hands on my hips and spin around, trying to pick up any other clues in the room. “I’m not seeing anything else in this room that is out of place. Did you notice anything else, Draven?”
“Nothing here. But I figured you’d want to see the note first.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Well, I guess I’d better see the gates, and we can see if Grave and Ambush can pick up a scent from there. And where is Bartol? Wren said my father dismissed him that night? That doesn’t sound like him unless he’s gotten lax since I left.”
“I’ll have someone fetch him. Last I heard, he left for a hunt after your father gave him leave, might be a few days.” He nods to one of his minions, who turns on his heel and walks away without a word. “We’ve already sent a few men out with their hounds, so I’m not sure what yours could find that the others haven’t already.” Draven squares his shoulders, his tone offended.
“That’s good to know. Hopefully not so many that it dilutes any trail that they can follow. We all know they’re the best, so let’s not get all ass hurt about it.” I head for the door, not waiting to see if Draven and his men will follow me, Kapriel at my side, my hounds ahead of us, their ears flopping as they walk along.
“Do you really think they’ll find something the others didn’t?” Kap speaks low, for my ears only, and I wink at him.
“You thought I was good at finding people out in the human realm? Just wait until you see how we work together now that I don’t have to hide who I am and what I can do.”
“Are you going to sprout wings and breathe fire?” Kap jokes, and I chuckle.
“Don’t be silly. Only some of the men have wings. But I can see energy and follow even the faintest of trails like someone is drawing me a map. Then there are the wraiths that live in the forest as well.”
Kapriel stops walking, and I pause with him. “Are you kidding me?”
I frown. “No, why?”
Kapriel rubs his hands together and starts walking again. “Did you use that while we were chasing skips? The energy thing? I know you talk to the dead people already, you freak.”
I punch him in the arm for his comment. “I couldn’t. I was too focused on keeping myself glamoured to be able to use all of my abi
lities. The heightened senses helped though.”
“You could have saved us so much time, Jin.” He opens the doors leading out of the castle ahead of me, shaking his finger in my face. “I blame you for half my injuries.”
I open my mouth to respond, but before I can, a familiar voice calls out my name, and my mood turns from optimistic and light to darker than midnight in the underworlds and gloomy.
“Jinxy, my dear, I’d heard you were back, but I refused to believe the rumors until I confirmed it with my own eyes.” The voice is smooth like butter, but it rolls over me like oil, sticky and uncomfortable. Both Grave and Ambush growl low, as they always had when he was around, and it only confirms that I’d made the right choice all those years ago.
I’d hoped that I could avoid him for longer than this, but gods know my luck isn’t that good. My lips form a thin line of displeasure, and I introduce one of the main reasons I’d left the Wild Hunt to Kapriel, who’s looking between us with a mix of curiosity and trepidation.
“Kapriel, meet Artagant. My ex-fiancé.”
7
“I’m sorry, did you say ex-fiancé?” Kapriel asks, surprise apparent in his tone.
I purse my lips and nod. “Yes, yes I did.”
Kapriel thrusts his hand out to shake hands with Artagant. “Uh, nice to meet you.” Before their hands can connect, I cough while knocking his arm down. Kapriel eyes me but doesn’t try for another handshake. Instead, he smiles his fake people-pleasing smile and stands next to me, his hands shoved in his pockets.
“Well, this was fun. Catch up soon!” I grab a fist full of Kapriel’s shirt and dart around Artagant only to stop short as my ex-best friend, Arianna, steps into my path. “Ugh. You.” I can’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth, but I can’t honestly say that I regret them either.
“Another friend, Jin?” Kapriel asks, amusement thick in his voice.
“Not really.” I step around her as well, determined to avoid both of them for a lot longer than I have already. “We’ve got to go. Bye.” I clip the words out between clenched teeth and stomp away, unable to hide the anger that’s roaring through my veins.
Footsteps hit the dirt beside me, and I see Kapriel’s worried face out of the corner of my eye. How the hells am I supposed to explain this to him? For someone who wasn’t raised as I was, it probably seems trivial. Or like I’d overreacted, but either way, he’s going to have to wait until we’re alone and not being trailed by Draven, Maxen and the other hunters.
I hold up a hand. “Not now.”
“Got it.” Kapriel knows better at this point than to press me for information until I’m ready to share it.
“Thank you,” I whisper, grateful to have a reprieve for a little while, even though the thought of sharing my embarrassment hangs over my head like a guillotine. I thought that I’d forgiven and forgotten to an extent, but clearly I was wrong.
“Not the main gate. This one.” Draven’s voice snaps me out of my pity party, and I refocus my attention to the task at hand and the reason I’m back here in the first place: finding my father.
I follow Draven to the side entrance that most of the hunters prefer to use rather than the main gates. “Odd that they didn’t use the main gates, don’t you think? There would have been less chance of another hunter coming or going from a hunt if they had.”
Draven nods. “I had the same thought.” He crouches low, pointing at the scuff marks on the ground. “This is all that we found. I couldn’t see any other markings on the door or on the other side of the wall.”
“Did anyone check the trees around the clearing for broken branches or claw marks? It isn’t like my father to go quietly. He’s also not a small man, and if he’d been dragged, it’s more than likely that he was drugged. Which means that he was a lot of dead weight for one person to handle.” I search the ground but don’t see any other footprints.
“I checked myself and found nothing on the trees. We picked up the trail by the White Spring, but they clearly knew to walk through the water to hide their trail.” Draven leans against the outer wall, crossing his legs at the ankle. “I couldn’t find any tracks, so I’m not sure how many people took him. One person could do it, but it would be difficult.”
Anyone who grew up around here would know that trick with the spring. It’s the simplest but also most effective way to throw someone off your trail for a small time. I scan the space between this entrance and the White Spring where it meets the trees. “That’s a long distance to go without any sentries catching sight of you. Did you speak to those that were on guard?”
“Of course, they saw nothing.” Draven growls the words, his frustration apparent.
“Of course not. We need to regroup and look at this from a different angle.” I heave a sigh of exasperation before doing something I know will not only annoy Draven but will hopefully get us a lead and one step closer to finding my father and ending this shit show. I point to the scuff marks. “Grave, Ambush, track.”
Both hounds put their noses to the ground and sniff before taking off toward the trees, yipping and barking at each other as they disappear into the forest.
“I don’t know what you think they’ll find that we haven’t already.” Draven stands up, his spine straight as an arrow, squaring his shoulders, and I rest both hands on my hips.
“Anything at this point would be useful since you’ve found nothing.”
Without another word, Draven turns and heads back into the castle, his posture stiff as he strides away.
I look to Maxen and Kapriel, blinking innocently. “Was it something I said?”
They both shake their heads and chuckle.
“So what now?” Kapriel asks as we close the door to the side entrance behind us.
“Now, we comb through everything and try to figure out any similarities between who would want to harm me and harm my father.” I cluck my tongue against my teeth, knowing that it will be a time-consuming task, and sitting on my ass instead of being out there hunting through every inch of my father’s kingdom will be like a form of torture.
“How long is that list of people do you think?” Kap asks.
Maxen whistles low. “Probably longer than any of us would like.”
“Agreed. Unfortunately, power draws enemies like a moth to a flame. And it’s not exactly like I made a lot of friends when I left or while I was in the human realm.”
Kapriel sighs. “So treat everyone like a suspect?”
I shrug. “Pretty much.”
“Guilty until proven innocent. Got it.”
* * *
An elkhorn sounds, shrill in the distance, and I bounce on my toes in excitement. “They’re here.”
“Who’s here?” Kap asks, looking around to find the source of the horn blowing.
“Gerant and Isa.”
Kapriel claps his hands in excitement like a little kid left alone in a candy store, and grabs my arm as he hurries forward. “Hurry up, Jin. I don’t want to miss it.”
His attitude is infectious, and I let him drag me behind him, quickening my pace to match his. We stop at the bottom of the steps leading up to the main doors of the castle and wait.
From here, we can see their caravan approaching. Giant white horses with furry hooves, decorated in the finest metals and cloth, trot at the front of the line, followed quickly by soldiers marching. Each of the Redcap soldiers are as tall as Kapriel but wider.
“They move surprisingly fast for how large they are,” I remark, just to poke fun at Kapriel.
“Shut up. I’m quick too.”
“More like lumbering…” I laugh under my breath when Kapriel waves me off, his attention solely on the arrival of the Redcap Princess, Isa.
The horn sounds again, and the line of three carriages rounds the corner, slowing as they clear the main gates and approach the steps.
Kapriel turns to look at me, his mouth open wide, panic in his eyes. “How do I address her?”
“Brother stealer should
work,” Wren remarks as she comes to stand on the other side of me, crossing her arms, her jaw clenched.
“Uh, better not.” I frown at Wren. “Princess Isa should be fine, Kap. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll love you. I hear she’s super nice.” I’d only met her once, briefly during her stay with us. The same stay that she and my brother had fallen in love and decided they couldn’t live life without each other. But I’d been too busy tracking, training, and dealing with my own duties as a daughter of Gwyn Ap Nudd, the King of the Wild Hunt, to make friends with her, but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to pass my own judgment during this visit.
“Who told you that?” Wren asks, pulling a face at the thought.
“Just through the grapevine in the human realm. I know we’re supposed to hate her for ‘stealing’ Gerant away, but if it were you, Wren, I’d have supported your decision to follow your heart as well.”
Wren scoffs. “I would never betray my family like that. Blood runs thicker.”
That had always been the family motto. Sadly, I’d learned otherwise before I’d left when none of them had supported my decision to leave. I pull her into my side, trying to soften my next words. “Blood runs out if your family turns against you, little sister. Remember that family can also be those you choose, not just those by birth.”
She doesn’t know all the details of the attempts on my life and the rift that had formed between Edern and me that neither of us would admit to, and the fact that she’d been poisoned to get to me, but if I had to get into details to widen her worldview, I would.
Wren looks up at me, searching my face for something, and she must see it, because she nods and her stiff shoulders relax slightly against me. “Sorry, Jinx. I’ll try to be open-minded.”
“That’s all I ask.” I rub my hand up and down her back like I’d done when she was little and find familiar comfort in the gesture.
“She’s here.” Kapriel whispers the words in awe as my brother gets out of the carriage and turns, extending his hand for his wife. Slowly she gets out of the carriage, a hand resting on her extended belly, a long green tunic coming to rest mid-thigh, brown leather pants, a blade strapped to each thigh, and knee-high boots just a shade darker than her pants. Her pearl colored hair is in a French braid, the length of it stopping just above her hip.
A Reluctant Huntress: Tales of the Wild Hunt | Book One Page 5