Page 21 of Unleashed

Quietly, she returned the food to her bag and closed it. Vortok groaned.

Aduun crouched before her and held up the stalks in his hand. “Do you know what this is?”

Nina looked at Aduun first, then turned her eyes to the plant. “Yes. Moonweed.”

“You know how it is used?”

“I do.”

He nodded and handed her one of the stalks while biting a piece off another.

She took the plant and bit a chunk from the tip. Aduun chewed along with her. The moonweed was tough and bitter, but when made into a paste, it aided in healing wounds and preventing infection. When steeped in water and drank, it helped reduce fevers. Orishok had taught her about it when she was young. His people had used it often, and Orishok had used it to tend to her numerous times when she’d fallen ill as a child.

Aduun reached into his mouth, offering her a glimpse of his fangs, and removed a pasty wad of moonweed. He lifted the stalk to his mouth for another bite as he dabbed the paste over the claw marks on her left shoulder. Nina flinched, hissing through her teeth. His fingers were surprisingly gentle, but the paste stung like hell, and her wounds were tender.

They alternated chewing the moonweed and using it to cover her wounds one at a time, and before long, her attention had shifted almost entirely to him. The depth of his amber eyes was astonishing; even the complex emotions coming from Balir and Vortok couldn’t drag her away from being swallowed by Aduun’s gaze.

“Thank you,” she said when he rubbed the paste over the last of the cuts on her leg.

He acknowledged her thanks with a low grunt and held the remaining moonweed to her. “Take these so we may tend your wounds as needed.”

Nina pulled a spare cloth out of her bag and used it to wrap the stalks before tucking them away. Aduun’s thoughtfulness touched her. Though he didn’t trust her, he’d gone out of his way to retrieve the plant and took the time to administer it.

Aduun stood up and looked at the other valos. “I do not know how Kelsharn made this place, but its sun is setting. We must continue on and find a suitable site to camp before dark.”

Nina rose and buckled her belt around her waist, adjusting the position of her sheathed dagger so it was at her right hip. She slung her bag over her head, resting the strap over one shoulder. Though its weight pulled the skin of her claw wounds taut, the discomfort was minimal compared to what it had been before being treated by the moonweed.

They crossed the stream and continued deeper into the woods. Though she was still tired, the cool water had rejuvenated her, and the gradual decline they seemed to be moving down helped conserve her newfound energy.

The chittering calls of various small creatures both on the ground and in the branches sounded from all around. Just as it had begun to feel like the sounds were part of Kelsharn’s tricks, meant to give the illusion of life, the group spotted small animals scurrying across the fallen leaves. The sighting offered some hope of a warm meal before night fell.

Conversation was sparse but seemed to flow easily between the valos when it came despite their tensions with one another. Though Nina consciously avoided delving into their minds, she saw occasional glimpses — brief scenes of pain or suffering and tiny flashes of happiness and contentment, much of it from before they’d been made into valos.

The quality of the light altered as time passed; soon, the orange stain of late afternoon deepened toward the red-orange of evening. Balir and Aduun split up and moved ahead to scout, leaving Nina and Vortok alone for a little while. They passed the time continuing steadily forward, gathering suitable wood for a fire as they went.

When Balir and Aduun returned, they announced that they’d discovered a good place to camp.

Preparations at the campsite occurred with little outward communication. Despite having been caged for so long, the valos fell into their old ways easily, each taking on necessary tasks without the need to be told. They constructed a simple but effective shelter of sticks and leaves before gathering brambly undergrowth to create a low defensive wall around their camp.

Nina busied herself by arranging the wood she’d collected and igniting it with her fire starter. There was no reason to worry about its heat drawing hungry beasts tonight — she’d be sleeping alongside predators that were likely more dangerous than anything out there. When Aduun left to hunt, Nina helped finish the shelter.

By the time darkness fell, the shelter was complete, they had sufficient fuel to maintain the fire through the night, and Aduun had returned with fresh kills.

Soon, the mouthwatering aroma of roasting meat filled the air. Nina’s stomach growled as she watched the food cook over the open flames, sizzling and dripping juices. She devoured her share when it was ready, eating just as ravenously as the others.

The food in her stomach had barely settled when her exhaustion reintroduced itself. Her body ached, her limbs felt clumsy and heavy, and her eyes burned. But her weariness wasn’t limited to the physical; her mental strain was even more taxing.

She yawned so deeply that she nearly collapsed beside the fire.

Something moved nearby; she turned her head to see Vortok open her bag and withdraw her blanket. He draped it over her lap, and before her sleep-deprived mind could guess what he meant to do, he scooped her up into his huge arms.

“Vortok?” she asked, confused. Her eyelids resisted the command to stay open. Rather than fight, she rested her head against Vortok’s shoulder, allowing the gentle motion of his steps to lull her toward sleep. His fur provided a thin layer of softness over his rock-solid muscles, and he was so warm…

“Rest, Nina.” His voice was deep and soothing as he laid her down beneath the shelter.

Nina hummed in assent and let sleep claim her.

Vortok walkedfrom the shelter to the fireside, his heavy footfalls crunching fallen leaves. “She’s asleep,” he said as he eased himself into a sitting position.

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