Faerie Child (Dragons' Reign: Book 1)

Chapter 10

Shadows erupted as the arrow sliced through her.

A laugh echoed on the rocks around him as he readied another arrow.
    

To your left.
    

Sure enough, the Queen reappeared on his left side. Not only could the wolves smell her presence, but it seemed they were just as capable of pinpointing where the dark magic was strongest—where she would appear next.
    

His head slowly turned towards her. "You should know by now that attacking me is futile," she advised with a gentle sigh.
    

The corner of his lips curved into a lopsided grin. He wasn't trying to hit her, only keep her at bay. Distract her. If she was too focused on dodging his arrows her guard would fail her when Tobias attacks her from behind. "Perhaps you should play a little more fairly," he clarified and shrugged nonchalantly. "It would make this far more interesting for both of us."
    

She hummed and pursed her lips in a fake pout, "I suppose so. But then I would be stepping right into your trap."
    

He stiffened. Thinking fast, he raised a brow obliviously. Calm. He needed to remain calm. She could smell fear, sense doubt. If he let her get through to him, then his body language would give her all the proof she needed.
    

This was a test—a test of temptation. He couldn't afford to let himself second guess their plan.
   

 "And just what sort of trap could I possibly be setting?" He sounded bored, unamused. Unimpressed. As if he'd expected her to suspect him of foul play. At least, that's how he wanted to appear to her.
    

She swept her hands through the air to draw attention to their surroundings. "Do you think I am unaware of the High Wolves? I knew them once, and I know full well that they can track magic." Her eyes twinkled at him and she dropped her arms back to her sides. The one clawed hand clinking the metal on her fingertips together. "You're using them to sniff out where I am and where I'm going."
    

Not good.
   

 Don't let her in. Don't let her see...
    

He lifted his chin as a challenge. "That would require some form of communication. Yet you are the only one I have spoken to. You are the only one I've watched. My eyes haven't strayed even for a heartbeat. And you've seen my hands. Have I made any sort of single?"
    

A harsh, cold laugh. "Do not take me for a fool, boy. Humans were once given High Wolves as a gift from the royals. Once that bond is made, the human may communicate with their guardian wolf as simply and as silently as sharing thoughts."
    

His shoulders shrugged, "I remember the tale. And perhaps I do have a guardian hiding among us, keeping track of you and telling me your path. Isn't only fair that I even the odds, no matter how little?"
    

"I suppose so," she agreed with a click of her tongue. "You may do as you please if it helps you feel confident and...comfortable. So long as you don't forget that knowing where I am doesn't give you a win. You still have to hit me, after all."
    

That is what Tobias is for.
    

She could know about the wolves, and that she was being tracked—observed from the shadows. But Tobias was the one part of their plan that he couldn't afford to be revealed. His assassin. The warrior in the shadows. He just needed the right opportunity to strike. And Thelron was going to give it to him.
    

"I'm just a weak human, after all, right?" He said flatly and aimed the next arrow. "I was born to age and die. So all attempts to fight for survival should be pointless."