Page 49 of Wolf Queen Ruin
He gave a barely perceptible nod.“I can feel it pushing against me.Testing.”
I’d given him the second amulet from Theo, which he wore around his neck, but if the boundary wards were still affecting him so early in our journey, that wasn’t a good sign.
“No, señor,” Eduardo said.“Not testing.Rejecting.Beyond that line, different rules apply.The jungle there belongs to her.The Wolf Queen.”
Eduardo used a long pole to maneuver us closer to the shore, well before the color change.
“This is where I leave you,” he announced, guiding the boat toward a small, muddy embankment.“The old walking path begins here and continues toward the mountains.”He pointed southeast.“Four days on foot to where you want to go, if the jungle permits passage.”
“Wait, what?”I balked.“We paid you to guide us all the way to the crypt’s location.”
Eduardo shook his head.“My agreement was to bring you to the Wolf Queen’s territory.We have arrived.”He gestured to the blue water.“I do not cross that boundary.Ever.No sane person does.”
I opened my mouth to argue further when Damien laid a restraining hand on my arm.Despite his obvious discomfort, his grip was firm.
“He won’t be persuaded,” he said.“And we won’t force him.”
His pragmatism surprised me.I’d expected him to be as furious as me at the change in our arrangement.Instead, he appeared to be calculating our options.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth, turning back to Eduardo.“But we might need the boat when we return.If you hear from us, will you wait for us at this spot?”
Eduardo laughed without humor.“If you return, señorita, I will be here.But prepare yourselves.Those who enter her domain rarely come back as themselves.”
As if to punctuate his warning, a violent splash erupted from about fifteen feet away on the opposite shore.A large crocodile had launched into a death roll to drown its next meal.
Okay, well, here was as good a place as any to get out of the water.I sucked in a shaky breath and scrambled out of the boat.
Chapter fifteen
Luna
Weunloadedourequipmentin tense silence, keeping an eye out for more crocodiles.
Eduardo helped transfer the last of our supplies to shore, then he retreated to his boat with obvious relief.As he prepared to depart, he hesitated, then approached me with something clutched in his fist.
“For luck,” he said, pressing a small object into my palm.“My grandmother was curandera.She made this protection charm from bones of animals that died naturally.No killing, no suffering.The Queen respects such offerings.”
I opened my hand to reveal a small pendant carved from bone, depicting a wolf with its head thrown back in a silent howl.
“Thank you,” I said, forgiving him a little.
For now.
Eduardo nodded once then returned to his boat.The motor sputtered to life, and within moments he had disappeared back the way we’d come, leaving us alone on the muddy bank with our equipment and the watchful silence of the jungle.
“Well,” I said, slipping the bone pendant onto the same cord as Theo’s amulet, “this is a promising start.”
Damien scanned the tree line, his posture tense.Despite his weakened state, there was something undeniably commanding about him, like an ancient predator assessing new territory.
He moved to shoulder both our packs.When I started to protest, he fixed me with a look.“While I still have strength, I’ll use it.That may change soon enough.”
His stark honesty was more alarming than any complaint would have been.
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t waste energy playing the chivalrous pack mule,” I argued, grabbing my own bag before he could stop me.“Save your strength for when we really need it.”
For a moment, he looked like he might argue, but then he sighed.“Fine.”
I blinked.“That’s it?No argument about how you’re three centuries older than me and know better than I do?”
