Page 12 of Oath of Revenge

“They think it’ll be around the full moon.”

“That’s next week,” Scarlet murmured. Knox didn’t reply, both of them thinking through the possibilities, analyzing the situation and all the potential outcomes the way her father had taught them.

Scarlet sighed and looked around. A maid with leaves for hair stared at her with wide eyes from the closed glass doors to the garden. When she locked eyes with the girl jerked and turned away, sweeping the stone patio outside.

Scarlet’s head pounded, and she just wanted to get away from the stares and into the peace of the forest. Not that anyone had ever called the Feral Forest peaceful before.

“I’ll go get Grandma. She should be here,” Scarlet said. “Between her, the other druids, and the medicine woman, Eirwyn will be fine.”

Knox sighed, his shoulders lowering. “Thanks, Scarlet. I sure hope so. If anything were to happen to Eirwyn… well, let’s just say that I understand how the queen could’ve cursed us with her grief.”

Scarlet’s jaw clenched. She didn’t know what that worry was like. Since her dad had died years ago and she’d become a mercenary Hunter, she’d tried to shut down most emotions. Except anger and now the need for revenge, since it was what kept the fear at bay. Those drove her forward.

But for her brother, she’d put a pin in those plans. “I’ll restock my supplies and head out at first light. I’ll bring her back before the full moon.”

The weight of responsibility was almost as bad as the weight of the antlers as he stared at her with hope. “Thanks, I owe you one.”

She smirked, trying to lighten the mood as Eirwyn came back through the door. “So, what else is new?”

He chuckled, his eyes lighting up as he saw his wife come back into the room.

Chapter 3

Scarlet frowned and pulled Rain to a stop outside her grandmother’s cottage. Scarlet sat still, her long ears twitching as her eyes meticulously moved from side to side. No matter how long she searched, Grandma wasn’t here.

The weather grew colder, the ground becoming slick with a mix of mud from the horse. The cottage and barn were blanketed in a thick layer of snow, ice clinging to the roofs and trees like a glittering cloak. Not even the animals had ventured outside to disturb its pristine appearance.

The feeling was back, that pit in her stomach that said get ready. It always hit before an ambush or a fight at the tavern. Her dad had always smiled with pride whenever she’d warn him about this feeling. He never doubted her, so she never did, either. It had saved her life more than once.

The stillness in the air was nearly suffocating, like all the Feral Forest waited with bated breath. Scarlet’s heart raced, the emotions threatening to cloud her judgment, even as she stretched her senses as far as they could go.

Grandma wasn’t in the house, the barn, or the garden... but a brilliant blue and gray aura swirled within, barely visible through the walls. Someone else was in the kitchen, someone with two auras.

The swirling blue and gray was like two different auras in one. She saw it on Eirwyn to a degree, with the pregnancy. But this was vastly different. More entwined instead of two separate auras of two different people.

That couldn’t be right. The thick wooden walls of the cottage must be throwing her off. Built into the side of a giant living tree, the roof intermingled with the pine branches above.

The hair on her nape stood up, and her tail swished against the horse’s flank. She watched the house as she led Rain along the outer edge of the clearing to the back side of the barn. Nothing broke the stillness except the crunch of Rain’s hooves on the frozen ground. Not a bird or a squirrel or a rabbit.

Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. The aura hadn’t moved in the house. It was alive, whatever it was, and it was unusual. Most people had a single aura. They came in a variety of colors and strengths, but this one… Being able to penetrate walls with her senses was a new gift.

She scowled and slowly slid off her horse, leading her to the warmth and safety of the barn. No, it wasn’t a fucking gift. It was a curse, one that she intended to end. And if it couldn’t be fixed, there was the matter of how to get revenge on the queen. She’d have to be careful in how she went about it, since she didn’t want to alienate Eirwyn. Her sister-in-law still seemed attached to her childhood friend and brother’s widow.

Eirwyn. Scarlet blinked and sped up her movements. She had to find Grandma and bring her back to help Eirwyn deliver the dragon egg. Maybe the person in the cottage would know where she’d gone. It was probably a Robin from the village.

The aura was all wrong, though. No other Robin looked like that. She’d just left the village that morning, and the villagers and the Robins were the only people who knew where the cottage was.

A Robin, most likely.

Are you trying to convince yourself? What do your instincts tell you?

Her jaw clenched at the echoing memory of her father’s voice in her head. That feeling drove her heart rate up and her stomach twisted in anticipation for a fight.

The stranger was dangerous, perhaps had even hurt Grandma. If she was dead, that would explain her missing aura. The thought sent her into quiet action.

She slid off Rain’s back and led her into a stall with food and water. There was no time to unsaddle; she had to find out if Grandma was safe.

She padded on silent feet across the clearing to the kitchen, the crunch of snow loud in the stillness.

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