Page 47 of A Storm Rises

He chuckled. “No, I am most definitely not.” Mateo had too many villainous tendencies to earn a title like savior. He kissed her lips. “But thank you for thinking so.”

“Well then, you are a messenger of hope.”

His stomach whined like a trapped wolf. Sharp hunger pangs coursed through him. He placed his hand over his grumbling midsection. “I think the only messenger here is my empty stomach.”

Avalynn’s belly joined in on the chorus. “Mine feels the same way.”

With Stormy hunting, they had some time to search for berries. They would need the energy. He ventured out of the cave’s mouth, scanning the thick and thorny brush. “There are berries out here. I know it. But where?”

She pointed to the west and the setting sun. “I saw some mystic moonberries over there. Not too far at all.”

Spears in hand, Mateo followed Avalynn into the oak groves. Fifty paces in, they came across a cluster of bushes filled with sweet white berries. They each grabbed a handful and wasted no time eating them.

“So good.” Mateo couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a mystic moonberry. It tasted better than the food he’d sustained himself on in the Sublands.

Juice squirted from the ripe berry. Syrup dribbled down Avalynn’s chin. “So excellent.” She wiped her berry-stained lips. “But let’s not overdo it. We don’t want to go from empty to achy.”

“Good point.” Mateo wiped his hands on his pants. “We need to return for Stormshroud anyway.”

They were heading back when Mateo detected a rumble underfoot. He stopped and pulled Avalynn closer. “Do you feel that?”

“I do.” Her brows pinched. She squinted and inspected the trees. “Please, not the dragon.”

The rumble grew louder. The force of it vibrated through Mateo’s legs. Soft at first, it grew in intensity. Panic seized him. Stampede!

He grabbed Avalynn, shoved her back against the nearest oak, and shielded her body with his. A frenzied herd of elk streamed past. The ground shook with the drumbeat of a thousand pounding hooves. Avalynn buried her face in the crook of his neck and held on for dear life.

A cacophony of bugling, barking, and whistling mixed with thunderous stomping and branches cracking filled the air. Pushing closer and holding her tighter, his body shook and his teeth chattered. But then Mateo heard something else. A roar. He peered up through the criss-crossing branches and spotted the dragon’s broad, soaring wings. The elk… they were stampeding away from the fire-breathing foe. Avalynn looked up, following his line of sight. Her eyes widened. She spotted it too.

The dragon dove. It swooped down into an open space and snagged a galloping steed with a roar. Avalynn clapped her hands around her ears as the sound battered them. When the roar tempered, a gust of fire sprayed down, trailing the herd. The frightened and furious stampede charged even faster.

Mateo peered over Avalynn's shoulder just in time to spot a speeding elk galloping their way. Heart pounding, he spun Avalynn away from the tree. With the antlers lowered, the mountainous creature barreled into the tree at full speed. Thwack! The oak’s strong trunk shattered. The dragon’s head swiveled toward them.

“Run!” Avalynn hollered.

They jetted into the herd, darting between the crazed elk in search of the cave’s safety. They skirted thudding hooves and edged out swinging antlers. Breaking free of the drove, they zigzagged through the trees and dove through the cave’s mouth as flames shot across like a fire shield.

Laying on the warm dirt floor, Mateo gasped for air. He squeezed Avalynn’s hand. They stayed like that until the melee was over and the danger had passed. “That was close.”

Panting, she squeezed back. “Beyond close.” She sat up and pulled twigs and leaves from her long hair. “But we are still here. So that hope you spoke of is still with us.”

Avalynn had a point, and he took their survival as a good sign. The Passing Place would have to wait another day. Yet the challenge of capturing the Shadowbloods still remained. They needed to nab their prey and be done with it before anything else happened.

Stormshroud trotted toward them with her tail swishing. Two dead rabbits dangled from her drooling jaws. Steam rose from her muzzle as she nudged Mateo. “Hey, Stormy. You missed the elks and the dragon.” She tilted her head. “Never mind,” he said with a pat to her head.

Mateo and Avalynn scrambled to their feet, dusting each other off. While the rabbits’ blood dripped to the ground, Mateo studied the sky’s deepening darkness. “We need to hurry.”

The full moon had begun its slow rise. The temperature had dropped. Time to turn the tides and get their prey before any other creature discovered their cave.

He tugged the kill from Stormshroud’s loosened jaws and looked at Avalynn in the cave’s half-light. “You may want to turn away.”

She moved closer to Stormshroud and faced the trees. “Go ahead.”

With his boot heel lodged against the rabbit’s neck, he jerked and ripped the head from its body. He repeated the exercise with the other one. “Okay, you can come over now.”

With the carcasses, he covered her tunic and pants with warm blood. For the finishing touch, he smeared it across her face. He repeated the process on himself. When there was no blood left, he draped one carcass around Avalynn’s neck and the other around his own. They were ready for a still hunt of the Shadowblood foxes.

“Now what?” she asked.

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