The Hunters

Chaper 21 part 2

Eros

I can barely stop myself from groaning. As tired as I might be, I can't bring myself to sleep without knowing the whereabouts of Alec and Becca. They can hold their own, I know this - however no matter how much I try to rid the thought, something isn't sitting right. Especially not after the events of the day. I know that Alec was in the vicinity; he had informed me of his presence when I extended my senses out. I suppose I was searching for his or Becca's mind in a fashion. Something to confirm that I had backup should we be ambushed. Considering that he was close-by though, it stands to reason that he and his sister should have arrived by now. Even with having to maintain a distance for most of the way, they surely know that we would have reached Darius's home by now, and they can travel much faster than my group could ever wish to without riding on Venus. Unless something has happened.

My stomach twists at the thought.

Yes, they can fight. But can they hold off a bunch of elven folk on their own? Or, I suppose, Roma could have managed by some miracle to find us. That I do doubt, but the behaviour of the townsfolk today was out of sorts. It's not common for anyone to be so confronting with any member of court, let alone a member of the actual monarchy. What of the fact that nobody stopped the man? Should my parents have caught word, everyone present would have been imprisoned, the man most likely executed.

Though, there is time for that.

Not that I'd be the one to tell them.

Often times, the walls have eyes.

It's why we chose the home of a warlock to be our safe house in such a place. My parents themselves would never suspect me of anything and are often too arrogant to listen to the people that would, especially if they are not of high rank. But precautions never hurt. Especially with the new threat of Roma.

Sighing, I pick myself up from the floor, giving up on my quest for sleep. Darius's home is nothing short of empty where entertainment or interesting food is concerned, so I decide to occupy myself with a carrot I find in the fridge, quietly munching out of boredom.

This man really needs some chocolate in his life.

A gentle knock at the door startles me, slightly rousing Kata causing her to fidget slightly before nodding off again.

As silently as possible, I creep to the door, looking through the peep-hole to find one of the causes of my lack of sleep staring off into the hallway.

"Quietly," I whisper as I open the door to Alec. While I'm glad that he is here, his forlorn expression and the missing presence of his sister immediately unsettles me.

"I can't find her anywhere. She was right behind me in the city, she saw everything that happened. I don't understand where she could have got to," he runs his hand through his blond hair, slumping against the door.

Beckoning for him to follow, I find a spot to sit. "Were you being followed?"

"Not to my knowledge," he sighs, "She took up the rear though. She was on my tail up until some point after that man confronted you and Ria."

"Anything suspicious out there now?"

"If I thought there was, I would never have come here. Too risky for that."

I nod in agreement, but I am still far from satisfied. "Something isn't right."

"I'd say so too. This whole trip has been strange," Ria stirs a little, curling up. Alec meets my eyes, pursing his lips. "What are you going to do about Ria?"

"What do you mean, Alec? Isn't it your sister we should be thinking about at the moment?"

"Well yes, but as soon as Ria wakes and realises there's only one of us back there will be a barrage of questions, you know that as well as I. And you can't keep her in the dark about absolutely everything no matter how much you want to."