The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bogdan sees him almost the same moment I do. He silently gets to his feet and holds out his hand to silence me before I get a chance to speak. He crouches down and leans his ear towards the side of the tent. It's in his immortal genes to act as a predator, and even now it shows in true form. Every piece of him is designed as a graceful hunter.

His nostrils flare as he tries to pick up the scent of the traveler, and then he squints in frustration. With his eyes fixed to the side of the tent he leans towards me.

"Stay here. And stay silent."

I nod a single time. Bogdan unzips the door of the tent and steps outside soundlessly. Cold air follows in his wake, sneaking through the small openings of the wool blanket and seeping right into my skin. I wrap it around me tightly and watch Bogdan's shadow disappear from view.

At first it's silent. There's no footsteps or noise. No voices. When a few minutes pass, I start to get anxious. Even if the man was a vampire, it shouldn't take Bogdan this long to catch up with him. Right? Unless...what if the shadow man led Bogdan into the hands of more vampires? What if there is an entire vampire clan that's in the north and we didn't see them?

My mind spins wildly. All the endless possibilities stream through like a carnival of catalysts to nightmares that are yet to be brought to life. If someone gets Bogdan, I will be trapped here without a life vest. How will I save him? How will I –

Shadows interrupt my train of thought. Two shadows this time. I stare at them as they make their way across the side of the tent and to the front. The place where Bogdan unzipped the tent is still open, and I squint against the sun until Bogdan's face pops into view.

I immediately scan his features to try and gauge the situation. He doesn't look hurt. Then again, his face isn't exactly a canvas of human emotions. He leans forward and opens the tent door the rest of the way and pops his head into view. His voice becomes ice as he instructs me to put on a coat and join him outside.

"You have a visitor," he sneers.

A visitor? I frown, searching his gaze for more of an explanation, but he zips the tent closed a moment later. I shrug off the blanket and shuffle through the duffle bag in search of wool pants and my jacket that's two sizes too big. Even before the war it would have been at least a size too big.

Before Bogdan and I left the house in the north, he packed away as many clothes for me as he could find. I was always on the leaner side, but now I've moved to the thin spectrum. I slide my arms through the coat and clutch it to my torso. Out of habit I run my fingers through my hair which is now well past my eyes.

My bones creak with protest when I straighten my spine and unzip the door. I squint against the sunlight and raise my arm over my eyes until I locate the two masculine figures standing a good fifteen feet away from the tent. They're facing one another, and Bogdan is whispering something through pursed lips that is too quiet for me to hear.

I approach the two of them and shiver when a gust of wind dances around my torso. I pull up the hood of my coat and cross my arms over my chest. The man standing beside Bogdan has his hood pulled up as well, his hands stuffed into the front pockets of his sturdy jeans. He stands just a few inches shorter than Bogdan, and it's clear from his slightly slouched posture that he's mortal.

When I reach the two of them, Bogdan's words come to an abrupt halt. His gaze flickers to me for a brief moment before nodding to the man across from him. I take another step towards the man of shadows until I can finally catch a glimpse of the face beneath the hood. And when I do, all thoughts freeze. My breath becomes caught in my throat as I stare into familiar, light eyes.