Free Beloved by C.K. Bryant Page B

away, her face scrunched up in concentration. “Perhaps we do have a lot to discuss.” She turned back to face Octavion. “Can you take me to my room? I’d like to see Father and then my kindred spirit and I need some time alone.”
    “Of course.”
    As hopeful as he was that the two of them would work things out, he couldn’t help relish in the possibility that they’re connection with Kira would be stronger and that they’d be able to find her. For the first time in days, things were looking up.
     

 
    Kira woke before sunrise, but Nigel didn’t move until first light. He didn’t hesitate exiting the tree, not even to scan the area to make sure it was safe. Even though the mutts were gone, Kira still paused on the bottom branch, uncertain.
    “Won’t they come back?”
    No.
    “How can you be sure?” She hopped down, taking her quiver of arrows and bow from the bundle of supplies that lay on the ground—something she could have used the night before to take out a couple of the mutts. She turned to face Nigel for his answer.
    Fear. Sun.
    “So they only come out at night?”
    Yes.
    That was the sum of their conversation that morning. The rest of the day was spent traveling by foot, only stopping to teach Kira which bushes held berries she could eat and which were poisonous. One bush, though obviously dangerous with all its gnarly thorns and neon green berries, could kill with only a scratch. She made a mental note to watch out for those and made sure Mahli knew as well.
    Mahli. She leaned down and rubbed the cub behind her ears. So far she’d stuck by Kira’s side and not wandered, not even for food or to chase a rodent. “You’re doing awesome, girl. I’m proud of you.” Mahli leaned into her.
    Nigel motioned for them to continue, so she fell in step behind him.
    “Will we be to Lairdor before sunset?”
    He turned to look over his shoulder and nodded, not missing a step.
    “Good, not sure I want to sleep in a tree again tonight. Mahli nearly pushed me out of my bed while stretching.”
    This time he gave no response. Nor did he slow down for what seemed like hours, in spite of his leg wound and obvious limp. Several times she had to run to catch up to him and Mahli seemed to be constantly lagging behind.
    “Nigel. Can we rest for a—”
    He stopped suddenly, pulling her in behind him to protect her. He turned to face her and put a finger to his lips. Quiet.
    They stood motionless for several seconds, listening to the strange sounds of the forest. To the average person, it may have appeared still and silent, but with Kira’s keen senses it was a medley of tall, black pines creaking in the warm breeze, dark shadows morphing into imagined creatures and whispers of things unseen.
    Nigel cupped his hands and blew into them, making a high-pitched trill that filled the air. A few seconds passed and a similar sound echoed back to them.
    “What’s happening?” Kira whispered.
    Wait.
    Frustrated, tired, and a little impatient, Kira crouched next to Mahli and buried her fingers in the cub’s fur. “Stay close girl. Someone’s coming.” She sensed more than heard him—the way the branches creaked and swayed in the distance. The snap of his whip as it released one branch and looped around another. The unmistakable odor of wood smoke and hot metal.
    And then she saw him—all attitude and confidence as he swung through the air and landed true on a flimsy branch that barely held his slim form. He couldn’t have been much older than Kira—late teens at most—but his cocky behavior made him seem much younger. His long legs had been poured into a pair of black leather pants; his lean, muscular torso—bare and tanned—glistened with sweat. Wet tendrils of black hair flopped over his yellow eyes. He brushed his hair aside and grinned, all full of himself.
    “Need a ride?” He winked at Kira who suddenly felt an attitude of her own coming on.
    She stood. “No, actually. I prefer to walk.”
    He jumped