I weave my way to the cave,purposefully slowing my steps so that I don’t break branches alongthe ground to leave a trail. I am careful not to step into deepmud, or bend fronds of grass over on themselves. They would pointlike a beacon toward my hidden cave. The last thing that I need issomeone else from the House finding my captive.
My eyes struggle to adjust to thedarkness as I slide into the cavern’s mouth. Surprisingly, I findWolf sitting beside the boy, holding a damp rag to his head. “He’sgot a fever, Mynah.”
“Have you been here allnight?” I stare incredulously as Wolf dips his forehead. His jaw ispurple from his fight with Shark, and most of the bandages arecovered in cave filth. Wolf’s shoulders are hunched from exhaustionand possibly a fever of his own. After yesterday’s fight, I wouldnot be surprised if some of his injuries are infected.How on earth has he stayed awake to care for thisboy? He needs totake care of himself!
“His fever spiked duringthe night, and I figured that if you were serious about saving him,he would need a nurse during the night. So, I stayed.” Wolf answersmy unspoken thoughts as if he’d heard them.
“What about your pack,Wolf? What will they do in your absence?” I ask feebly, unable tosay what I truly feel—that I am worried about his wellbeing too.He’s got to be dead on his feet right now, and a pit of guilt formsin my stomach. I should have been the oneto check on the boy last night. I would have found some excuse thatCondor wouldn’t have questioned. That exhausted angel overseeingthis boy should have been me.
Wolf stares at me with his strangeyellow eyes, unwilling to let me look away as he speaks. “Unlikeyour House of Vultures, I trust my people, Mynah. They are free tomake their choices in their day to day lives, and if somethingmajor comes up, my third will keep them in line.”
I feel heat rise to my cheeks underthe mask. “Third? Not second in command?”
Wolf grins at me, and I suspect Ihave, once again, walked right into a trap. “The second is mybeta—you, when you are ready to claim the spot. Think about it,Mynah. Freedom for the rest of your life; you’d answer to no onebut me. Apart from this nonsense with the boy, you’ve always provedyourself sensible. You’d have a long leash in my pack,Mynah.”
Leash. The word reverberates in my skull as if it is the clang of ahammer on steel. Long or not, the very thought is enough to turn mystomach. Going to Wolf’s pack would only trade one master foranother. I cannot stop the quaking of my spine or the chattering ofmy teeth. “Thank you for staying, Wolf. Go get some restnow.”
“Oh no, you don’t get ridof me that easily,” Wolf growls as I approach the opposite side ofthe boy. “I am now as much a part of this as you are. I will beright here every step of the way. Live or die, we face thistogether.”
“But what will you tellthe others?” The idea of him staying terrifies me. Something aboutWolf somehow manages to get under my skin, making me feelself-conscious and small. The thought of him observing me when Ihave no idea what I am doing makes my hands tremble.I don’t want you near me right now,I almost whisper. My tongue only stills when Irealize that I should be grateful for all he has done.
“I’ll say that I amtrading favors with a girl from a lesser House.” Wolf cackles as Iscowl, hand clenching as I daydream about punching that strong jaw.He winces as he catches my fist before I throw a punch, bendingthose fingers that had been dislocated or broken. I find myselfchecking them despite my anger at his words. “Well, it isn’texactly a lie either. It’s the word ‘favor’ that is subjective. Andit will stop my pack from trying to find me. What about you? Whatwill you say?”
As I re-wrap the bandages that need tobe changed from Wolf’s injuries, I tell him about my punishmentdeal with Condor, how I carefully staved off his advances. “Itworked out well actually,” I finish lamely as Wolf glares at therock walls. His mask quivers with his fury, the claws around hisfingernails digging deep grooves into his thighs.
“I’ll rip out his throat,I swear it,” Wolf vows. “If he ever touches you—”
“If he ever touches melike that, you won’t get the chance. I will kill himmyself.”
Wolf smirks at my words, but the ragein his eyes doesn’t disappear. Nor does the look quell with myreassurances. Wolf growls deep in his throat, his fingers grippingan invisible victim. There is a madness in him, a fierceprotectiveness that almost causes him to go insane with fury. I’dnever had any reason to notice it before, but the sight of hisunhinged persona fills me with worry. “Wolf?”
Wolf shudders, awakening himself as iffrom a nightmare, and picks up the rags and bowl from beside theboy. “I will change out the water.”
Grateful to be alone atthis moment, I observe the boy’s injuries, watching his feveredbody shake. Guiltily, I note that in my heart, I am not comfortedto see him living, despite all the efforts being made on hisbehalf. If he were to die of naturalcauses, to succumb to his injuries, I would not feel responsibleanymore. Splitting hairs over his lifeonly fills me with sadness at my own calloused heart.
Suddenly, his uncanny blue-violet eyesflutter open, chest heaving as his heart races. He drifts his gazeover me, not quite seeing where we are.
“What is your name? Whathouse do you belong to?” I beg for answers, laying my hand on hisforehead. His skin is unbearably hot, but the feel of human skin—ahuman face—makes me close my eyes in wonder.
“Antero.”
“Antero?” I repeat, eyeswidening in surprise.
“My name,” he gulps.“Antero.”
For a moment the worldseems to stop moving. My body freezes in stillness, my hand almostclawing into the boy’s forehead. He sharedhis real name.
