Chapter 166: The Hunt

Nyx’s POV

By the time Draegan finally showed us the Lykae hunting grounds, I had already decided that I wanted to stay in his kingdom for at least another month. The palace itself had been enough to make me forget that we were supposed to be moving on soon.

It was enormous without feeling crowded, built directly into the mountains and surrounded by forests so old that some of the trees had grown through the outer walls instead of being cut down.

There were Lykaes everywhere. Some walked upright in their human forms, broad shoulders and sharp eyes making them impossible to mistake for ordinary people while others moved on four enormous paws through the palace grounds, their claws clicking against the stone as they passed.

I had seen shapeshifters before. I had seen creatures capable of becoming wolves. The Lykaes were different. There was something almost unsettling about how naturally they moved between man and beast as though neither form was a disguise and both were equally real.

Draegan had noticed me staring at one particularly enormous black wolf for almost a full minute before he finally spoke.

“You’ve been watching him since we left the east wing,” he said, his hands tucked into the pockets of his dark coat as he walked beside me. “If you’re trying to determine whether he’s dangerous, the answer is yes.”

“I wasn’t wondering if he’s dangerous,” I replied, still watching the wolf disappear between two stone pillars. “I was wondering how something that large gets through a doorway.”

Draegan’s mouth moved slightly. It wasn’t quite a smile but I had learned that with him even a tiny change in his expression counted as one.

“He doesn’t.”

I turned toward him. “He lives outside?”

“He has a very large room.”

“That is somehow worse.”

Caelan laughed behind us. I looked over my shoulder and found him walking with his hands clasped behind his back, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

He had been doing that all morning, watching me discover every new thing in the palace with an expression that he probably thought was subtle. It wasn’t.

I had caught him smiling at me at least six times and once when he thought I wasn’t looking, his expression had softened so much that I had almost stopped walking just to stare at him. He caught me looking now and lifted one eyebrow.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

His mouth curved. “That sounded suspicious.”

“I was just thinking that you’re enjoying this.”

“I am enjoying the palace.”

I gave him a look. He sighed then reached for my hand and laced our fingers together as though the argument had never been worth having in the first place.

“I like watching you enjoy things,” he admitted quietly.

Something warm settled in my chest. Draegan glanced at our joined hands, then looked away with the resigned expression of a man who had accepted that travelling with us was going to involve far more affection than he had anticipated.

“You’re both exhausting,” he muttered.

I smiled. “You like me.”

“I tolerate you.”

“You brought us to the palace yourself.”

“You were already coming.”

“You showed me the private gardens.”

“You asked.”

“You let me feed the baby wolves.”

“They were going to eat regardless.”

I turned toward him with a grin. “You like me.”

Draegan stared ahead. After several seconds, he said, “Unfortunately.”

Caelan squeezed my hand. “Don’t encourage him,” he murmured.

“You’re jealous because Draegan likes me.”

“I am not jealous of Draegan.”

I opened my mouth. He immediately leaned down and kissed the tip of my ear. My entire thought disappeared.

It was unfair. He knew exactly what he was doing. He had discovered weeks ago that kissing the pointed tip of my ear made my entire body react before my mind could catch up and he had developed an irritating fondness for doing it whenever I was about to become too smug.

I shivered and turned my head toward him. His eyes were already amused.

“You’re terrible,” I whispered.

“I know.”

Draegan glanced back at us. “You realize I can see you.”

Caelan looked completely unbothered. “Then keep walking.”

Draegan’s expression became profoundly tired. I laughed again and leaned against Caelan’s arm as we continued toward the forest. That was when the sound reached us. Like a howl.

It came from somewhere deep beyond the trees. Low at first, almost too deep to be called a howl and then another answered from farther away. Then another. Within seconds, the entire forest seemed to be waking up around us.

“The Moon Hunt,” he said.

My eyes widened. “Tonight?”

“Yes.”

“You’re having a hunt tonight?”

“Every full moon.”

I looked toward the forest again.

There were Lykaes gathering at the edge of the palace grounds now. Some were already shifted, others were still human, removing coats and boots, stretching their shoulders and rolling their necks as though preparing for something physical.

“What exactly happens?”

Draegan watched the gathering with an expression that had become slightly more serious. “The hunt begins at moonrise. No weapons or magic. The first stage is tracking. The second is pursuit. The third is the kill.”

My excitement faltered slightly. “You actually kill something?”

“If the hunter catches it.”

“What are they hunting?”

Draegan looked toward the forest. “Tonight, the prey will be chosen by the elders.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It is not intended to be.”

Caelan had become quieter beside me. I felt his fingers tighten around mine. I looked at him. His eyes were on the forest.

“You’re thinking about letting her participate,” Draegan said.

“I know what the physicians predicted,” he finally said. “I also know what has not happened.”