Fairest Son by H.S.J. Williams

Author:H.S.J. Williams [Williams, H. S. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Trillium Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

8

When she woke in the morning, the glowing memories of her triumph and the celebrations of the night before were suddenly stamped out by cruel and bleak reality.

Dohmnal was dead, and she no longer had an excuse to stay. The bear was not her true prey.

Groaning, she rubbed her hands down her face until the skin stretched white before color returned in a blotchy, unflattering red. She didn’t want to think about her true mission. She wanted to think of how perfect last night had felt as the goblins had skinned the bear and stretched out its fur to dry. What a trophy it was to see, filling her with conflicting pride and guilt. In a way, it was sad that such a mighty creature was felled, but at least the mountains were safer now.

Her success had won her the favor of the goblins at last, and the feast they had hosted was something she’d always remember. To Keeva’s relief, they had not eaten Dohmnal. He was too old and extent of his wickedness was considered a curse upon his flesh. The goblins themselves still ate their living jewels, but they had prepared juicy meats and roasted vegetables in such abundance that the majority of it had to be fed to the pets even after Keeva’s stomach was filled to bursting.

But the memory of the warmth and camaraderie she had felt last night was false and fleeting, and the present problem at hand reared its ugly head for attention.

Loss of breath, prick on brow, poison apple, death come now.

The first two were complete, but where on earth up here was she supposed to find an apple? Adoh had not given her any instruction on that, and the best option she could see was journeying back down to the human lands and finding one in the market.

“Huntress?”

Somehow, it never ceased to startle her when he called out to her. It wasn’t only because he had a habit of coming up on her without warning or that his mind-speak was always so close and clear. She always wondered if she’d been found out.

She jumped to her feet and faced him. He stood in the doorway and when she cleared her throat, he took a few steps in. If this was about her needing to leave now that Dohmnal was dealt with, she had no idea how to reply.

“My Lord…”

“I wish you to see me.”

Keeva froze, back stiffening. “That is not necessary, my Lord.”

“It is to me,” he said, and she could hear how husky his breath was even muffled behind the wraps. “You have been my guest, and you are now my friend. I trusted you, and we defeated Dohmnal together. I want you to know that you can trust me. If you need to see my face for that, then so be it.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it. If her words were scarce before, they were non-existent now, and she could do nothing but watch him.

He hesitated. “There is another thing,” he said.

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