Page 33 of Elf Shot

Tor turned her and pointed at the dark mountain in the distance. It was the highest peak in a range surrounded by thick forest, and at least a three-day walk away.

"That's Vestri, one of the four biggest mountains on Svartalfheim, and named after one of the dwarves Odin commanded to hold up Ymir's skull," he explained.

"The big, dark, ominous mountain because of course it is. Why would I expect anything else?" Layla huffed, trying for bravado and ignoring the twisting that was back in her stomach.

Ciara flicked Layla's braid. "Maybe Smaug will be at the top, eh?" she teased.

Layla laughed, but she shared a knowing look with Tor behind her cousin's back. They both knew that what was waiting for them was a hell of a lot worse than a dragon.

14

It took Layla a whole day before she started thinking she had made a terrible mistake. She was reminded with her first pee behind a tree just how much she hated camping.

If she had thought Ciara was insufferable when she hunted through a forest, reading trails and looking for signs, it was nothing compared to both her and Tor doing it at the same time.

Tor was a wolf, so he had an excuse to be weird about touching broken sticks and smelling trees. Ciara was just more interested in what was happening in a forest than she was in anything else. She had a kind of intense hyperfocus when she hunted that Layla only got with a really good book or a bacon sandwich after a night of drinking.

Layla didn't know the names of the trees or wildflowers they passed, and she didn't pay much attention to the different bird songs. It was all just forest to her, and it was good she had them with her because she would have assumed she was walking in circles because it all looked the same.

Just when Layla would start pouting about her feet being sore, she would think about what kind of horrible shit Arne was going through that moment. It was enough for her to keep her mouth shut and keep going.

Would he have done the same for you if you had been the one taken? An annoying as hell voice had been niggling her at the back of her head for two days now. Tor had said she was Arne's mate, but she wasn't sure if she believed it. Yeah, there had always been the buzz of something between them, but a mate? Surely, he would have said something to her. It wasn't as if they were strangers.

Maybe he doesn’t want to claim you, ever think of that? She kind of wished she hadn't, but she did. Despite his insistence to go on a date with her and have her at the summit, he had given her no indication of something more than seeing where their chemistry took them.

Are you forgetting that magical, mystical fuck off mark he put on you when he kissed you? It sounded like the elf equivalent of a dog pissing on a tree.

Layla's teeth ground together. She was going to rescue Arne, and then when they were back safely on Midgard, she was going to kick his ass. And then she would probably kiss his face off. Or the other way around. She didn't care.

She just wanted the sick feeling in her guts to be gone and to have him safely back where he belonged. Where she could see him. And annoy him as much as she liked.

"Earth to Layla? Are you in there?" Ciara asked, waving a hand by her face.

"Yeah? What?" Layla started.

Ciara passed her an energy bar. They tasted like cardboard and fake flavoring, but Layla still took it. She had to remind herself that it wasn't about the taste; it was about the kick it would give her. She really must've been out of it to let Ciara food shop for the trip. It was like she had gone to an army surplus store and got rations. If it wasn't for Tor pointing out edible berries and offering to hunt for them at night, Layla would've probably broken after day one.

"You are spookily quiet, little cousin. I'm worried," Ciara said as they walked and ate.

"We are in enemy territory. It's better if I'm quiet. You taught me that, remember?" Layla replied.

Ciara bumped her shoulder against Layla's. "I did, but you've never actually listened to me before. You're all serious and shit, like you've been hanging around the wolf too long."

"Tor is actually quite hilarious and chatty when you get to know him. You might have found this out if you had bothered to talk to him at all."

"I talk to him."

"You talk at him. There's a difference," Layla scoffed.

"Yeah, well, not all of us can forget our past and training so easily. Up until Bron started fucking Killian, they all were our enemy, Layla. You know I don't see the fae like that now. I love my new fae cousins, but the other creatures…" Ciara hesitated, her hand touching the hilt of a dagger strapped to her thigh. "Sometimes being on guard is an automatic reaction. I don't know how it will stop because most of the time, I don't see the nice ones. I see the feral, cruel, psycho ones that need to be put down."

Layla knew Ciara’s past and could understand the hate, but Tor was different. He was an ally and a friend they had fought with.

"Maybe you need to have a break from hunting occasionally, and then you would have a chance to hang out with the nice ones," Layla suggested.

Ciara sighed. "Once Kenna has trained up more hunters, then maybe I will. No matter what's going on in the world, I feel like there's always going to be something to hunt."

"There probably will be, but that doesn't mean you have to be the one to do it all the time."

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