Page 38 of A Storm Rises

Avalynn and Selene stayed by the fire and tossed more branches in. The fox inside flamed. The stench from burnt fur turned her queasy stomach. She covered her mouth and nose and faced away from the flames.

Everyone gathered around. “The cave is clear,” announced Finnian.

Mateo tacked on, “For now.”

Was it really? She prayed to the Sun, Moon, and Stars the foxes stayed clear until the sun rose. So far, they had been fortunate, even lucky. Yet Avalynn feared their fortune and luck ran on short supply.

Mateo’s eyes remained fixed past the fire and on the cave’s mouth. Without blinking, he gripped his spear. Those damned foxes were never getting past him again. He should have never let himself get drawn into Avalynn like that. He’d said too much—exposed himself like never before. And never would again. Especially not with her. A highborn. A Stromm. She withheld vital information about the Shadowblood. She could have gotten them all killed.

What else was she hiding?

His grip tightened around the spear’s rough wood. Do not let her get in the way. Who cared if Stormshroud had a thing for her? Or that she smelled so good? Or that she was stunning?

Finnian sat next to him on one side. Avalynn sat on the other side. In front of them, the fire burned but not like before. Eiric and Selene tended it the best they could with the brush and branches they had gathered earlier. Yet their supply dwindled.

The fire’s flames peaked low. The ember’s orange glow faded. Mateo prayed to the Sun, Moon, and Stars they had enough kindling to make it to sunrise. He placed his hand on his pocket, on the cross nestled there, and prayed to his father’s God too.

Selene tossed a handful of leaves onto the smoldering fire and scrunched her face. “I am so tired of this hunt business.” Her complaining had started hours earlier. At first, Eiric appeased her. Now, even he ignored her. She had proven herself unworthy as a hunter and a fae. She should have never been included.

Mateo kept his stare fixed on the darkness beyond the cave’s mouth. He shifted his weight, then noticed a silvery haze. Faint at first, it grew bigger and brighter. A bird chirped, followed by another. A rabbit scampered nearby. Finally, daylight had arrived.

Avalynn exhaled as if relieved. “Thank the Stars, we made it.”

“The Stars?” Pfft. They did nothing. “We fought to make it through the night.” Mateo knew the foxes were still out there, planning another attack. He rose, his legs tingling and stiff. “Now we need to make it through today.” That could be the challenge of a lifetime. Selene was worthless, Eiric was injured, and Avalynn had her own designs. Maybe Finnian had some worth.

With a grunt, Finnian got up and stretched his legs. “So…we resume the hunt as normal, then?”

In a flash, Eiric and Selene darted from the cave’s mouth. Avalynn tumbled to the ground from a push. “Hey!”

Mateo helped her up. What fools. “Forget them. They will not last an hour out there.” He dusted her off. “Let them go, they will–”

“Ahhhh!” A holler echoed from the trees.

Avalynn shot Mateo a wide-eyed look. “Selene.”

They raced from the cave’s mouth with weapons out. A few paces into the trees, they found Eiric, face down and lifeless, one of the spears through his neck. Selene hovered over him. Her hands shook, and tears streamed down her face. “This hunt is cursed!”

Avalynn moved closer to Selene and rested her hand on her shoulder. “This was an accident. Nothing more.”

Studying the scene, Mateo could tell ‘the accident’ was more foolishness than curse. In a mad rush to get ahead of him and the others, Eiric tripped and impaled himself on his own defense barrier. His blundering deprived him of an honorable death. He got what he deserved.

“Do not just stand there!” Selene pleaded. “Do something!”

With Finnian’s help, Mateo flipped over Eirics’s body. His crooked mouth hung open, and he looked pained. His fixed eyes appeared hollow, like an empty nest. Blood drained from his neck wound down his tunic. He was gone. No one spoke for a few long seconds.

“We need to prepare him for the Passing Place,” Selene said between tears.

Prepare him? With the foxes afoot, Mateo saw the danger. “No. There’s no time and it’s too risky.” Eiric did nothing to deserve either a preparation or a ceremony. “Let him be taken the way he is.”

Selene’s voice hardened. “You say that because you are a lowborn with human blood.” She spat toward Mateo. “You have no respect for our customs.”

“Our customs?” Mateo’s blood boiled. “Like I am not one of you!” He was sick of Selene. “I know the customs, and I care for them.” He stabbed his finger toward Eiric’s body. “But someone like him…” He stepped closer to Selene. “And someone like you, for that matter, commands no respect.”

“Stop. Both of you.” Avalynn sidled between them. “We will do it fast, and then we’ll figure out our next move.”

“We? Do you have a maidservant in your pocket?” Mateo crossed his arms. He didn’t care one way or the other that Eiric died or what happened to his body. “I want no part of Eiric Lind of Cuesta and his end-of-life send-off.”

“Why you—” Selene muttered with pursed lips.

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