Page 79 of The Dead Queen

Hunter catches my eye. “My only defense is that I care for Sienna more than anything else in this world. And, well, I was afraid.”

Tristan lifts an eyebrow. “Afraid of the big bad Wolf?”

Hunter smiles slightly. His cheeks grow pink. “I suppose so.”

Tristan stands, brushes the dirt off his palms, and holds out a hand.

Hunter shakes it. “Can we start over?”

“We can certainly try not to be at each other’s throats constantly.” Tristan leans in, as if I won’t be able to hear them right next to me. “I think it would make the lady happy.”

“Mmm,” I agree. “It’d be nice if you’d stop bickering.”

Hunter chuckles, chagrined. “I’ll try my best.”

Chapter 25

I wake to the sound of the horses whinnying outside. My head is foggy from deep sleep and for a moment, I forget where I am. The rain has stopped and moonlight streams through the holes in the ceiling, casting a spotlight on the wreckage surrounding us. Across the room, the Tree God and the Moon Goddess are haloed in moonlight, as if the goddess herself is trying to tell me something about lovers in the forest.

Outside, Marigold whinnies again, her tone anxious.

Next to me, Hunter stirs. When he sees me getting to my feet, he scrambles up after me. His still-damp blanket falls to the ground near the smoldering fire embers.

“Sienna,” he whispers into the dark. “What are you doing?”

“The horses.” I look toward the door.

Tristan mumbles something in his sleep and pulls his blanket over his head.

Outside, something falls over with a crack. I run to the heavy doors and swing them open, expecting to see the King’s Guard surrounding us. Instead, there’s nothing. Just more moonlight bathing the long-dead city in an ethereal glow. I run over to Marigold and Hunter follows me to help calm Honor.

“Shh …” I grab her bridle. “Calm, now. It was probably just an animal. Nothing to fret over.”

I scan the village as I pet Marigold’s gray neck. Her heart beats wildly beneath my palm, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. The buildings are painted in shades of mist and shadow.

An icy breeze pushes a bundle of leaves down the empty road. I shiver. My clothes are still damp and my fingertips are numb with cold. When we go back, I’ll ask Hunter to get the fire going again. If we can’t dry out, we’ll have bigger problems than the King’s Guard to deal with before long. Hypothermia can kill a man as surely as any blade.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see something dark move inside a doorway. I still. Next to me, Marigold stomps her foot. She saw it too.

“Hunter,” I whisper.

He turns from whispering into Honor’s ear. “What is it?”

I point across the road, toward the half-dilapidated house with no door. “Someone’s there.”

He squints through the darkness. The only sound around us is the wind and the horses’ nervous breathing.

“Are you sure?”

I nod.

“Was it a man, a woman?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. It’s too dark.”

Hunter moves one hand to the sword at his hip as he steps forward. “I’ll investigate.”

I put my hand on his arm. “No, not alone.”