“What?” Loren asked, feeling a jab of embarrassment at being on the receiving end of Kae’s smirk.
“Admit it, princess. You only want to investigate the Beastman because Gershwin was suspicious of him.”
“Ah. You’re saying that I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“I am saying that, yes.”
“Well.” Loren huffed. She pouted but broke into a quick laugh. “You’re right.”
The name of the inn was “Hound’s Tooth Gap.” The sign that hung from the roof beams bore the lower jaw of a large hound, swinging from a single string and missing several teeth. The inn itself was as squat as all the other buildings in the town, with very small windows and walls of packed earth. A fire was burning nicely in the hearth, and Cassendir rushed to it immediately once he laid eyes on it. Kaiten took it upon himself to ask the innkeeper for rooms: one for the boys and one for the girls.
The innkeeper, a tall man, thin as a rail with the northern fur tunic hanging off him as if from a pole, didn’t bat an eye. He directed them to their rooms, the boy’s took the first one on the right, the girls had the second one on the left. As the innkeeper turned away, he didn’t notice the fierce blush on Loren’s face. Kaiten paired her with Kae on purpose, she suspected. She had never told him of their sleeping arrangements before they reached the outpost where he was being kept.
Kae shrugged, just thankful for somewhere to put down her pack, and to have a bed to lie in. The huntress headed down the short hall to her’s and Loren’s room on her own, leaving Loren.
“Oh, she left you.” Kaiten mused. The Beastman prince stood beside the princess. They were alone, as Cassendir was busy sitting too close to the fire, and Ma’trii had likewise gone ahead to the boy’s room to sniff around.
“What do you mean by that?” Loren demanded. She hoped her cheeks weren’t burning so obviously.
“Well, she headed off to the room without you.” Kaiten scratched his neck where his mane was coming in. “She was practically hanging off you the entire walk here. Even when you two were sleeping at the outpost, even when you passed out in the snow… You’re very close, aren’t you?”
“We’re…” Loren swallowed dryly. She looked away, her heart racing. The words were out of her mouth before she realized she was lying. “We’re just good friends.”
“Mm-hmm.” The prince scratched at his mane, his face unreadable. “Well, your friend is waving at you.”
“Kae?” Loren looked up immediately. The huntress had peeked out of the room again and was trying to get Loren’s attention.
“The room is clean! Aren’t you coming in, princess?” Kae called. “The bed frame isn’t all caved in like the one at Rhodia, so we’ll be able to get some decent rest this time.”
Loren’s smile was wide. She didn’t spare Kaiten a glance as she set off down the short hall, disappearing into her’s and Kae’s room. She shut the door, and Kaiten smiled.
Chapter Nineteen
Kae was deep in a dream.
She tossed and turned, the rough wool sheets of the inn’s old bed pricked at her bare skin. The huntress was more used to the worn out threads of her bed roll, and preferred that ratty old thing to sleeping in strange inns on the roadside. But her travelling companion, princess Loren of Aldoran, insisted they spend the night indoors as much as possible. She had the gold for it, and Kae never had to pay, so it was a win-win situation.
Kae’s dreams usually involved hunting with her wolf, Ma’trii. She would stalk deer through the forest, or send Ma’trii off through grass as tall as a man to hunt rabbits. Always, she would have her bow drawn, and ears catching every small sound, eyes on the look out for every small movement. They were peaceful dreams, where Kae’s life followed the normal routine of her waking life. It was predictable, comfortable. She was in control. But not this time.
She felt the roar vibrate in her chest, low and loud. Kae lowered her bow, ducking into the grass for cover. Her base instinct told her to hide, run away. Something big was overhead, something dangerous. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the grass around her, trying to see through the tall stalks for whatever would come. The grass was too tall, they seemed to close around her, trapping her in. Kae broke into a run, trampling through the grass, with her heart hammering away in her chest. She whistled for Ma’trii the wolf to come to her, to be her eyes and ears when her human senses were stretched to her limits. The wolf didn’t come and he made no sound, not even a howl to tell the huntress where he was. Kae was alone.
The roar came again just as Kae crashed into a clearing. She nocked an arrow and held her bow at the ready, drawing the string to her chin. She scanned the grass around the clearing, weapon ready but breathing rapidly in a panic. Whatever was out there was big, far bigger than any game Kae had hunted before. She was sure that she was going to die. As Kae turned her bow to the sky, she thought of Loren. If she died here, who would take care of the princess? Who would make sure the princess didn’t go hungry in the wilderness, or lost among the mountains, or captured by bandits? What would happen to Loren, if Kae was gone?
A large shadow flew over the clearing, startling the huntress. It blotted out the sun as it passed, and Kae knew it was no bird. As she turned to train her bow on it, she saw the shimmering glint of iridescent blue and gold scales shining in the
