But in the morning, after what had seemed a restful sleep, the prisoner had other ideas.
It was while Kaleb planned their day and Minx prepared to set out for another hunt in search of breakfast that they first realized Alla was missing. Mau, in particular, was the one to sound the alarm. Where's the girl? she asked, plodding around the campsite. Did she just slip away while we had our backs turned?
This, it seemed, was precisely what had happened. Kaleb had been weighing the possibility of another scouting mission later in the day and Mau had been sunning herself in a nearby clearing while Minx had readied her gear for a hunt. None of them had seen Alla get up from her spot near the fire, and none had heard her slip deeper into the woods.
“She can't have gone far!” began Minx, listening for footfalls through the brush or other telltale signs of Alla's whereabouts. “We've got to get ahold of her. Which way do you think she went?”
Kaleb studied the air for a long while, trying to get a fix on Alla's signature scent. He picked up traces of it, but the day's heavy winds and the other smells pouring out of the woods left his senses overwhelmed. “I can't say for sure. I'd have to be close to get a good idea. The wind might carry her scent far from her actual position, spread it around. Makes it confusing when you're in the woods, being bombarded by other smells.”
Maybe we should just let her go, suggested Mau. It's not like she had any valuable information for us. She's a lone wolf trying to get by. Unless you change your mind and go after that hide of hers, what sense is there in keeping her around?
“Not a chance we let her go free,” barked Minx, starting into the woods with bow in hand. She'd scour the entire territory for Alla before letting her escape. “I'm not through with her yet. You know what she put us through? If not for her, the three of us would be much further ahead. She's going to make it all up to us somehow.”
Kaleb branched off to the left. “You and Mau should head that way. I'll cover this leg of the forest. This patch of woods isn't so deep that she could possibly remain hidden for very long. If we hurry, I'm sure we'll run into her. If you find her, bring her back to camp.” Here, he added one additional request with emphatic firmness. “And don't kill her.”
Minx frowned, promptly turning away from him and marching into the thick of it with the Faelyr at her side. No promises, she thought. What do you think, Mau. If we find her, should we just let her have it? If she's backed into a corner, she might shift into a dragon. And if she does, that hide will come in handy. I know Kaleb doesn't want me to, but—
Can Alla even shift? Asked the Faelyr, skulking through the greenery, ears twitching. She's part dragon, but that's no guarantee she can shift like Kaleb can. She may not have a hide worth harvesting. Kaleb, on the other hand...
He's off-limits, Minx quickly replied.
Oh, you like him that well, do you?
Minx said nothing, but teased an arrow from her quiver and held it at the ready.
The cool forest was not particularly overgrown, but it featured many dark nooks where the canopies were thick. The oldest trees in the area had sometimes taken on strange, gnarled growth patterns, which provided good hiding spots for individuals on the run.
Minx was no novice; she was as skilled a hunter as the Fae had ever produced, but even she felt a little daunted at hunting one of her people. Alla was unarmed, so she didn't much fear retaliation, but the fact remained that a fellow Fae possessed great dexterity. The stealthiness of her people was not to be underestimated, and if there was any form of prey she had little experience hunting in the wild, it was her own kind.
It unsettled her, too, thinking that she was on the hunt for a Fae. She had fought many of her own kind in the past, but she'd never set out into the wild in the hopes of hunting one down like an animal. It didn't feel right; a Fae, even one who'd wronged her as seriously as Alla had, deserved a more honorable arrangement than this. Minx tried to make herself feel better by reminding herself that she wasn't actually hunting for a fellow Fae, but rather a Fae-dragon hybrid. Alla isn't even fully Fae. She's part dragon, and they don't call you Dragon Hunter for nothing...
But this argument didn't have the intended effect. Her heart sank at the prospect of killing a dragon, too—despite her want of a hide. Kaleb's a dragon. Is that what I really want to be known for? Killing people like Kaleb?
Mau intruded upon her thoughts. There. You hear that?
Minx quietened her mind and set her ears on the wind. The woods ahead were home to a faint rustling.
Then, powerful footfalls began thudding against the forest floor.
A lone form burst through the mass of trees before them, emerging wide-eyed and panting. It was Alla, her silken locks tangled and face flush. She ran straight for Minx and Mau, hands outstretched toward them as if in an eager embrace. She seemed to be running full-tilt from something—and she feared that something far more than she did the Fae huntress.
“There you are!” said Minx, grabbing Alla's collar and dragging her up against a nearby tree. “Thought you could pull a fast one on us, huh? Didn't we warn you to stay put?”
Alla's cloudy eyes were wide and moist. She struggled to speak, unable to draw in enough breath to form the words. “T-There's... there's someone...” She motioned chaotically at the woods to her back, knees quivering. “Someone out there...”
“Huh?” Minx looked to Mau. “Someone out there, in
