Page 30 of To Hunt a Demon King

“I’m twenty-five,” I said with a shrug, handing him back the water.

He raised his brows at me in surprise. “Really?” he asked. “I thought you were much younger.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, irritation rising. Hunt shrugged, smirking a little.

“You just seem very…” he paused, considering his next word.

“Interesting?” I cut in.

“Sheltered,” he amended. “It explains a lot, actually.”

I chose to ignore this comment. “You met me on my birthday,” I added, not sure why I was telling him this.

“I did?” he asked, frowning. “You fled for your life on your birthday?”

“It’s a long story,” I said.

“We have a long walk,” he replied, still smirking at me. My stomach did a little flip as he echoed my own words back at me, and I felt myself flush.

“You still haven’t told me about the hedge witch,” I countered.

“Hmm,” he said, “I see you haven’t learned your lesson about the game of truths.” I rolled my eyes, feeling my irritation rising.

“Fine,” I said icily, trying to channel how Mama acted around my grandmother. “You were the one who wanted me to talk to you, but I’m happy to return to silence.”

“I’mteasing, Red,” Hunt said, rolling his eyes dramatically. He leaned forward, flicking my braid from my shoulder. “A truth for a truth. For real this time.”

I pursed my lips, trying to scowl harder than I had ever scowled. I was annoyed when he laughed.

“I’ll even go first,” he said, stamping out the fire and plunging us into darkness. “Here.”

“Here what?” I asked, unable to make out much as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I heard him shift and felt him reach for my hand.

“You’ve no cloak, and no fire,” he said impatiently, as if annoyed that I hadn't read his mind. “Come here so you don’t freeze, and I’ll tell you the damn story.”

“Fine,” I said suspiciously, letting him take my hand. He pulled me toward him, and I shifted ungracefully until I was sitting next to him, back propped against a tree. I felt him reach his arm around me, and I stiffened.

“Relax, Red,” he said, as if trying to soothe a frightened animal. “It doesn’t serve my purposes for you to freeze. I won’t do anything ungentlemanly.”

“I’ll make Akela bite you if you do,” I promised, letting him settle me beneath his cloak. It was warm, and the scent of evergreens enveloped me. I had to remind myself that his kindness meant nothing, beyond fulfilling our deal.

“Better?” He asked, settling his arm more firmly around my shoulders. I nodded, feeling embarrassed and uncertain. This was the closest I had ever been to a man, and Akela’s warm weight settling on my knee did nothing to reassure me.

“You really haven’t been with anyone, have you?” Hunt asked, his voice an odd mix of teasing and surprise.

“I told you I hadn’t,” I said, annoyed that he truly hadn’t believed me.

“I officially believe you,” he said, his voice a rumble next to me. “Do you still want to know about the Hag?”

I nodded, giving Akela a scratch on the head for comfort. Artemis was nowhere in sight, but Hunt had repeatedly reassured me that she could fend for herself.

“It was my first trip into the Bloodwood, actually,” Hunt said. He sounded like he was speaking of a time long ago, and again I wondered how old he was. “I was badly injured and stumbled upon her cottage. She found me and fixed me up.”

“And then bled you?” I asked.

Hunt chuckled, squeezing his arm around me unconsciously. “Not that first time,” he said. I looked up as I saw him staring ahead into the trees, his profile faintly visible in the waning moonlight. “She didn’t start charging me until I came back asking for magical favors.”

“Why were you injured?” I asked, trying to imagine a younger version of Hunt. Whatever it was must have been powerful to injure him gravely enough that he would need magical help. He seemed practically invincible, although I knew as a mortal he was not.

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