by Candy Crum
She alternated between internal thoughts and speaking aloud to herself, taking solace in the sound of any voice at all, even if it was only her own. When she realized just how comforting it was to speak, to hear a voice, she realized that had it not been for the rabbit, and even her momentary connection with the raptor bird she'd sent for the berries, she would've been far worse off than she was.
Below, Arryn could see a large area of flat earth. The wind was terrible, the temperatures were still falling, the snow was stinging her face, and she needed to rest. She welcomed the flat area, hoping she could find a protrusion of rock large enough to block the wind.
As she jumped down, the rabbit squeaked, not really enjoying the landing. She reached a hand back and gave him some gentle scratches as she walked through the snow to a place just big enough to give her some relief from the wind.
She used the time to catch her breath and warm herself again. As she was standing there, she heard footsteps in the snow. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily as she silently prayed it was another ram. She needed all the energy she had to finish her journey. She couldn't risk using any on another leopard.
A low growl sounded out, and her heart sank. She reached into her hood and pulled the rabbit free, setting him against the wall on the ground behind her in case she needed to fight. She didn't want to risk his life if the worst were to happen.
The footsteps got closer and closer, and she realized that standing there praying for the best outcome would probably be her downfall if she kept it up. Pulling her daggers free of her cloak, she took a deep breath and jumped out from behind the small wall.
Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening as shock filled her. It wasn’t a leopard at all, or anything else she would have expected.
It was a lycanthrope. A massive, snowy lycanthrope, with a dark muzzle.
His eyes locked on hers, red and full of fury. His lips curled back in a snarl, and his long razor-like teeth glistened with drool. He took one step forward, his body bending slightly as his arms extended to the side, his large clawed hands flexing as he unleashed a loud growl.
Arryn took a defensive stance, wondering how she should take him out. Magic would be the quickest and safest, but it would also be the most draining. Physically fighting wouldn't be much better, and it would also be the most dangerous.
Magic, it is. Well, maybe not entirely.
The lycanthrope lunged for her, and she ducked before tumbling out of the way, swiping with her knife as she did. Blood spurted onto the snow, the blade having sliced across the beast’s thigh.
Rolling to her feet, she turned and threw her dagger as hard as she could before he turned back around. The knife pierced the lycanthrope between the shoulder blades, just out of his reach. He growled loudly again; this time it was almost a roar. She needed to destroy him quickly before his volume brought the snow down on top of them.
The beast was full of rage by then, made even more powerful by the strong emotion. He was so fast as he turned that he almost looked like a blur. He charged her again, but she was ready.
"Today is not the day I die, you son of a bitch."
She turned her palms up before quickly lifting them as though she were flipping a table. The snow burst from the ground, freezing as it did. Several long shards of ice impaled the beast, the life almost immediately going out of his eyes before he collapsed to the ground only a couple feet in front of her.
Arryn sighed heavily and took several deep breaths. "Whew!" she said in relief. "Sir Cuddlepuffs, I really thought we might be dinner."
The rabbit hopped across the snow to her, and she leaned down to pick him up and put him back in the hood of her cloak as she had before. As she stood there, relishing in the warmth of her little friend on the back of her neck, her eyes drifted to the right, where the lycanthrope had come from.
For the first time, she saw dark spots on the snow. They were several feet away and visibility wasn't the best because of the falling snow, but now that things had calmed down, she could see them.
Looking at the beast on the ground, her eyes were once again drawn to that dark muzzle. She took a step forward and leaned down, her eyes widening when she realized his snout hadn't been dark in color at all. The deep color of blood had been masked by the lack of sunshine and heavy snow.
At that moment, two things ran through her mind. The first was that something had been injured but might still be alive, and the second was that it might be dead and she might have fresh meat as opposed to the frozen meat in her pockets.
While she didn't want to expend the energy to hunt for it, she was pretty sure it was close, given the newly frozen blood on the ground. She made her choice and trekked off through the snow, following the trail of blood.
The snow was beginning to fall harder now, and she was about to turn back when she saw it. It was only a little smaller than a medium-sized dog, but it looked broader and thicker.
It was soaked with blood, and she couldn't tell what it was. It was too small to be a mountain goat or ram, though it could've been one of their offspring. It was far too large to be a rabbit.
As she got closer, she saw it move, a sound of pain gargling from its throat. Her heart sank and her jaw dropped when the sound hit her ears. Forgetting about herself, she ran forward. She dropped to her knees in the snow, the rabbit protesting as he was jostled around in the landing.
As much as her heart had broken for the wounded animal when she heard its pain, it broke even more when she saw what it was. It was an animal she'd never seen herself, but had been told about, its beauty unparalleled by any other creature. And here it lay, just a baby, the cub of an even larger and more majestic animal.
A tiger cub, no more than a few months old, its fur as white as the snow around her, but stained with blood. Its little eyes—as crystal blue in color as the ice she’d seen on the mountain—opened and looked at her as if pleading for help.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, the icy wind freezing them and burning her skin. Reaching out, she laid her hands on the cub.
Before she even began, part of her regretted the decision. She would need every ounce of energy she had to survive the storm, so this might kill her, but the guilt would have been worse.
Had it been a full-grown tiger with damage this bad she might have simply drained the rest of the life force from it, but it wasn't. It was an innocent cub, and its mama would be looking for it soon, if she wasn’t already. Arryn couldn't bear the thought of leaving it dead for her to find.
So, against her better judgment, she pushed her magic forward, her eyes glowing bright green as she did so. The cub took a deep breath as her power filled him, and she felt him getting stronger. She could feel his wounds closing under her hands.
She began to feel very weak, and her eyes grew heavy. Several times she blinked, trying to focus, but the falling snow had turned into a blizzard and the wind was almost unbearable.
She pulled her hands away, realizing she no longer had the strength to create enough magic to warm herself again.
How far was the cave? How much longer would she have to walk? Could she make it?
Her chest and belly suddenly felt warm, and she looked down to see the tiger cub nestling up next to her in her lap. Arryn wrapped her arms around him, holding him close and running her fingers through his blood-soaked fur.
"Where's your mama? If we don't get you out of this cold, you won't make it either. You’ll freeze to death. You’re soaked."
A smile had only barely begun to creep across her face when a low growl—far deeper than that of the lycanthrope she'd killed—filled the air around her. She heard the deep rumble of its anger over the wind and snow, over the sound of her teeth chattering and the aching of her body shivering in the cold.
She felt its rage.
Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head to the side, her eyes widening as she saw a very large snowy tiger standing there. Her back was completely straight, her shoulders pinned back, her hea
d lowered in line with her spine. Her ears lay flat against her head, and her beautiful face was contorted in the most hideous of snarls.
Arryn didn't know a lot about such animals, but she knew they were large and she knew they were powerful. Feeling the cub moving in her arms, she also knew she was looking into the eyes of a mother staring at a strange creature she knew nothing about that was covered in her baby's blood.
Her cub was in the arms of something she believed to be his attacker.
Carefully, Arryn placed the cub on the ground in front of her. His eyes wandered to his mother before he pranced off toward her, his little footsteps as carefree as if nothing bad had ever happened to him.
Arryn didn't want to stand, fearing that the tiger might think it was a threat if she did. Instead she began retreating on her knees, moving as slowly as possible.
Unfortunately for her, the tiger didn't care about speed. Given the amount of blood on the cub, she believed he was badly injured. She also believed Arryn was the one who’d caused it.
As the tiger stepped forward, Arryn realized with great anxiety that she had no magic left to soothe the beast. There was no way for her to reach out with her magic and calm her. She had used all she had left to heal the cub.
The wind blew a hard gust at her, and as weak as Arryn was, she tipped over a bit, her hand reaching out to catch herself in the snow.
"I didn't hurt him," Arryn said, her voice smooth, but weak.
She didn't know just how strong her affinity with animals was; if they could naturally understand her, or if she had to connect to each and every one on some small level as she had the raptor bird and the rabbit. All she could hope for was the tiger would understand something.
Without warning, the tiger lunged for her, her massive jaws snapping right in front of Arryn’s face as her large front paws knocked the girl back to the ground. There was a squeal underneath her, and she knew she had just landed on her rabbit friend. He quickly freed himself, sprinting back the way they had come.
"Coward!" she called after him weakly.
The tiger growled in her face again, its jaws wrapping around her throat. Arryn tried to lift her arms, tried to move, but she was too weak, and the snow was making it far worse.
The cold was taking her down faster than she'd imagined it could. Suddenly, she heard the familiar loud squeal again, and another low rumble escaped the tiger on top of her.
Arryn's eyes fluttered open only long enough for her to see the cub running past, chasing something. The last thing she remembered before passing out was the tiger’s jaws tightening around her throat.
CHAPTER TEN
Cathillian was standing at the edge of the Kalt River when he heard a familiar screech ring through the skies, and he wasted no time running back to the village. Echo had returned from her journey north, and he wanted to know if she'd found anything.
It had been a long time since he had run quite so hard, but knowing they might have an idea where Arryn was meant more to him than any exertion.
As his feet hit the bare earth of the village, he slowed down to a jog, his lungs and legs both burning. Echo had perched on the front corner of the Chieftain’s roof, and there was something small in the Chieftain’s hands as he stood below the golden eagle.
"What is it?" Cathillian asked, taking several extra deep breaths as he approached his grandfather. "Did she find something?"
The Chieftain nodded, extending his hand to show Cathillian the objects. They were bandages. Cloth bandages, soaked in blood. Cathillian's brows furrowed as he swallowed hard.
Looking up to meet his grandfather's eyes, he asked, "Is it hers? Is that Arryn's blood?"
The Chieftain nodded slowly. "It’s hard to say, but what lingers feels like her energy. I really think it’s hers."
Cathillian looked up at Echo. "You know her scent. You wouldn't have brought this back if you didn't know for sure, but I have to ask anyway. Is this Arryn's blood?"
Echo screeched. Cathillian reached for information through the bond and Echo complied, consciously remembering what she'd seen so he could see it, too.
Cathillian nodded. "It's hers. There is a cottage up north, just past Cella. Echo could smell the blood. She found it just past the cottage. It looks like those might've been dropped on the way farther north."
Cathillian was angry. Actually, he was far beyond angry. He found himself staring at the ground, unsure of what to do.
"I know your instincts are telling you go after her," the Chieftain began, "but the North is a massive place—especially the Frozen North. Echo found evidence of where Arryn was, not where she is. I think you should allow her to rest and send her back out."
Cathillian looked at him incredulously. "You would have me stay here waiting? Sitting on my ass and doing nothing while she's who-knows-where, potentially being tortured? You'd have me sit here and drink your wine while she might be dead or dying?"
The Chieftain shook his head. "Grandson, you have never been a stupid boy. You always were hyper, relatively childish, and fairly good-humored—something I always loved about you, but you were always smart in many ways. Battle. Friendships. Life. But this? Running off without knowing your destination would be very unwise. And deep down, I think you know as well as I do that Arryn is not dead."
Sighing, Cathillian shook his head as he momentarily turned his back on his grandfather, running stressed hands through his long hair. He faced the Chieftain again, his expression fierce and serious. "What would you have me do?"
The Chieftain stepped toward him. "I would have you stay here, where you're safe. Running off, anything could happen. If things are as you believe, then it's quite possible that Arryn was kept in that cottage, at least briefly. Wouldn't it stand to reason the cottage would be filled with enemies? Do you have any idea who they are? How powerful they are? Would they even know where Arryn was taken after she was out of their care? Seems to me the smart thing would be for Talia to keep her mouth shut about where she was taking Arryn, meaning you would meet with a dead end again."
"But at least I would be doing something. I wouldn't be just sitting here. I can't stand this. I can't stand not having her with me, not knowing if she's safe. I know she's more than capable of taking care of herself. She always has been, but right now she needs help, and I want to be there for her."
"Ye can't be there fer her if yer dead, lad," Samuel called.
Cathillian saw Samuel and Celine coming toward him. Celine gave Cathillian a sad smile. "I know how badly you want to fight for her and how badly you want to save her, and it makes me happy. Makes me happy knowing she has you, and she has all these people who would stop at nothing to keep her safe. They would also stop at nothing to keep you safe. He's right. You risk yourself if you leave and have no idea where you're going."
The Chieftain then said, "Let Echo rest and then send her back out, grandson. I promise you that if Echo finds more, if we get a location, I will send a group of men with you. We will get her back, but not like this. Not recklessly."
Just then, the sound of horses met everyone's ears. Elysia was the first to show on her large Shire horse, Chaos. They stopped and dismounted, Chaos kneeling for Elysia to do so.
The Chieftain smiled and opened his arms. "Welcome back, daughter. It seems that today is the day for news. Do you have any for us?"
Elysia stepped into his expectant arms, giving him a hug before taking a step back and nodding. "The southern section of the forest is all but destroyed. Everything looks as though it has been burnt, but it wasn't fire that destroyed it. It was magic. The trees and other plants cling to life, but only barely. The leaves are all gone, and the trunks are grey and ashy in color. Plant life is wilted. They’ve been there for a while."
The Chieftain sighed. "It was only a matter of time. They started out as a small community—very small. It's been years; by now they would have grown their numbers significantly. They would've run out of resources in the woodland they once lived in, so they need the Dark
Forest—particularly our section of it."
Celine stepped forward, her expression surprisingly angry. "No! I'm tired of the bad guys always winning. I'm sick of them always getting what they want. They've destroyed too much."
Elysia smiled, taking her hand and giving it light squeeze. "Thank you, child, but this isn't your fight. You have a war of your own. This one isn’t yours to worry about, though your fire for our struggle is touching."
Celine yanked her hand away, her brows scrunching further. "That's where you're wrong. This is my fight. Arcadia is my home—it always has been. That's where I stayed, hoping and praying for a day when justice for my sister, my niece, and my brother-in-law would be found. But this is Arryn's home. When we met, she told me about the magic of the Dark Forest. The trees may not have true magic of their own, but now that I've been here and seen it for myself, I know exactly what she meant by magic."
Celine took a deep breath, her hands clenched tight to her sides as she stared at Elysia, who watched her with wide eyes. Cathillian was also rather shocked by the woman's unexpected anger.
When no one said a word, Celine continued, "These trees are taller than any I’ve ever seen, thicker than any I've ever seen. The leaves are greener than I even knew was possible. The fruit is sweeter, and the vegetables are more flavorful. The water is cleaner. The people here are all family, whether they're related by blood or not. Everyone takes care of everyone else. No one is highborn or lowborn. No one is better than anyone else. This might not be my home, but it is Arryn's. That makes this my fight, too."
There was a pause as Elysia studied her. Cathillian's eyes flicked back and forth between the two women, wondering what was about to happen. Though Celine hadn't said anything that Cathillian would deem disrespectful, his mother did look rather shocked, and he had no idea what she would do or say.