Page 27 of To Hunt a Demon King

“My clothes are in there,” I said with a frown, turning to face Hunt. His face had grown contemplative, and he was studying me the way he had on our first night in the woods.

“You’ll just have to travel like that then,” he said, rising and stretching so that his head touched the thatched ceiling. My stomach gave a little lurch as a sliver of tanned skin appeared between the top of his trousers and the bottom of his shirt, and I quickly turned my attention back to my empty bowl, feeling my cheeks heat. He turned back to me with a smirk, making my cheeks grow somehow even warmer.

“What is the…” I paused, looking around the tiny room, “…plan for tonight?” I asked. There was only one small mattress by the hearth, and as much as I had enjoyed Hunt sleeping so close to me the previous night, I didn’t think it was wise for it to become a habit. This—acquaintance? Friendship? Deal?—whatever it was, would end sooner rather than later, and I didn’t want to become attached.

“You take the bed,” Hunt said, either not sensing or not acknowledging my sudden inner turmoil. “I’ll be by the door making sure you don’t run off to befriend any more monsters.”

“The rusalka were not my fault,” I said acerbically, glaring at him from where I still sat.

“The leshy was,” he retorted, sitting on the floor in front of the door. He whistled, and Akela padded over to him, offering him a lick on the jaw before snuggling down next to him. “And I have no desire to go running after you to save you from anything else with large teeth and larger appetites.”

“Running after the necklace you mean,” I said, feeling oddly annoyed at his concern. After all, that’s what this was really about. His payment. Pretending otherwise was foolish.

“Of course,” he agreed, leaning his head back against the door and closing his eyes. He sounded suddenly exhausted. “Everything I’ve done, diving into the river after you, bringing you here, stopping you from being eaten, it was all for that. Nothing more.”

I pursed my lips. Was he…hurt? He sounded like he might be.

“I’m sorry,” I said, sounding more defensive than apologetic. “I know I owe you. Again.”

“Hmmm,” he said. His expression cleared and he lifted his head to look at me, a smirk playing at his lips. “If you really want to thank me,” he said, “you’ll share the bed. That looks like a mighty thin nightgown you’re wearing.”

“Ugh, goodnight,” I said, turning as he chuckled darkly behind me.

Chapter 11

After an uncomfortable night on the lumpy mattress, I was feeling extremely irritable. The thing had been filled with spiky straw that had poked me all over, and at one point I almost asked Hunt to swap with me, changing my mind when I considered how much he might make fun of me for it.

On top of that, the magical beasts inside me had been stirring. I felt them coiling around my insides, light and shadow, as if they were rousing from rest. It made me panicky, afraid I might accidentally use my power to hurt Hunt or Akela.

The hedge witch, or the Hag as Hunt had called her, had left my clothes in a neat pile in front of her door, and I dressed quickly under the blankets before Hunt awoke to avoid the embarrassment of asking him to turn around.

I sat on the mattress, studying the huntsman in semi-darkness as I waited for him to wake. His face was more relaxed than usual in sleep, his throat exposed and the strong line of his jaw stark in the early morning light. He was far more pleasing to look at than any of the other mortal men I had met, and I felt myself flush inexplicably as the thought crossed my mind.

As if sensing my attention, Hunt cracked an eye open.

“You’re staring, Red,” he said, giving Akela a scratch on the head to wake him. “Do I have drool on my chin?” He reached up a hand to scrub at his face, and I laughed guiltily, looking around at anything else.

“Do you really think I would tell you, if you did?” I asked, standing and stretching, feeling all of my joints crack at the same time. I winced. Hunt was looking at me with an eyebrow raised.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said, cracking his own neck as he pushed Akela off him to stand. The wolf whined in protest, curling back up into a fuzzy ball. “Lazy creature,” Hunt mumbled.

A screech at the window made us both turn. Artemis was perched there, her bat-like wings splayed out, and she had a small, furry creature in her mouth. She hopped down from the sill, landing to perch in front of me, where she proudly presented the dead mouse.

“Traitor,” Hunt grumbled. “She used to bring me presents in the morning.”

“Oh, is this a…present?” I asked, trying my best not to wince and insult the creature. “Thank you. You can have it for your breakfast though.” The strix cooed, as if to lament at the pickiness of witches, and snatched up the mouse. She swallowed it in a single gulp.

“I’m suddenly no longer hungry for breakfast,” I said, grimacing at the strix, who hooted happily and hopped up to perch on Hunt’s shoulder. He laughed and gave her feathery stomach a gentle stroke, and she hooted again, flapping out the window.

“I don’t know how you’ve managed to enchant my beasts, Red,” he said, giving me a sardonic frown as Akela padded over to me for pets. “But they’re not part of the bargain.” He looked at me like I was something of a puzzle, and I wasn’t really sure what to do with that.

“Shame,” I said, leaning down to cup Akela’s huge furry face in my hands and scratch his jaw. “This one is so loveable.” Hunt rolled his eyes, pushing open the cottage door. The sight of the Bloodwood beyond the spring-enchanted cottage sobered me, and I moved to join him.

“How far?” I asked, following his gaze to the path we would be taking.

“Two more days, I think,” he said, looking down at me with a smirk. “Maybe less, depending on how many new friends you make us along the way. We should arrive in the Darklands on Beltane.”

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