Soul Seeker

5: Departure

"Getting to Hati first wouldn't be enough, because Fell will find you and you'll be in as much danger as I am."

"So what could I do?"

"The blood feud between us means that one of us must die. I can't get close enough to him to kill him, and he would be expecting me. If you truly want to go in search of the wolf guardian, you would have to end Fell's life."

Ciara gripped the windowsill. "Me. Kill a man." Allher earlier resolve fell away. There was no question about it – she couldn't doit.

"He would most certainly kill you first if he knew about you. And if he does find Hati, if he comes to Nome in search of me and discovers our connection... I should never have befriended you, Ciara, I've only put you in danger."

The idea that their relationship could have been a mistake made her knees quake. He'd come to her when she felt like she had nothing. When Cali had really started pressing her to stop 'behaving like a child', stop hunting and figure out what real occupation she was going to devote her life to. When her future was a dark, shadowy road and he'd shed some light on it and given her a brief respite from the constant fighting... It had become so intense that fighting was all Ciara knew how to do. But he was so gentle. It had shocked her at first, that someone in an authority position over her could be gentle. It shocked her that her arguments did nothing to him.

She would not, could not, let that go.

"Don't say that! You've helped me so much." She hardly believed what she was saying. "I can do it, I can take him out."

"I could not ask you to do that."

"You've just said my life is in danger either way, right? And..." She swallowed. "Is it that different from hunting for a living?"

"No, it isn't."

Ciara did not want to ask how Darius knew that.

If she found a guardian, she would be worth something, she would have a purpose. The thrill of the chase was already stealing through her, reminding her of her encounter with the wolf that morning. It already felt like lifetimes ago.

"The last time my correspondents sent me news, Fell was in the town of Jost," Darius said.

"That's only a few days west of here by sled."

"Uncomfortably close. Ciara, I can't ask you to..." Darius crossed the room to her and took her hands.

To make his intentions clear, as long as they had known each other, Darius had been careful with touch and never overstepped his boundaries. Ciara hadn't realised quite how much she'd been lacking touch until her heart thrilled as soon as his fingers met hers. She realised how much she meant to him and he to her. And just how frightened she was of losing him as well as Cali.

"Darius," she said firmly. "You've helped me more than you know. You're one of the only people I have left."

"And you are the only one I have left."

Ciara blinked. She had spent almost every day with him in the past year and had never heard him admit to anything like that. She was so moved she could barely speak.

She hadn't been able to save her parents, and Cali was moving beyond her reach.

"I'm going to save you," she said.

*

Ignoring her protests, Darius escorted her home and handed her over to Cali.

"She needs bed rest," he said, "until she's healed up a bit more."

"Did you hear that?" Cali gave Ciara a threatening look. "He said bed rest. That means staying indoors. Off your feet. Are you physically capable of doing that or do I need to start locking doors?"