Sweet Innocence and Gentle Sin || 𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐑

Chapter 30: Skinning

Like a chicken with a fox, He couldn't win the war with ego

~)(~

I usually enjoyed the warmth of the Summer Court, but we were traveling along the edge of Autumn, which meant a near-constant cover of clouds and soaking, warm rain. It was the worst weather I could ask for. The humidity made even the slightest breeze needed, and the lack of sun did nothing to quell the absolute blistering of heat that made everyone wish for a blizzard.

To avoid the pain of riding a horse for hours, I sat in the medical wagon with Miryam and Anya. It would take under a week to reach the Spring Court, which meant just under a week of absolute hell. This was my punishment for thinking I could run free, wasn't it?

The first day was fine, spent with lots of conversations and joking around with Jurian, who kept his horse in step with our wagon. By day three, though, many of us were over it.

We set up camp in a meadow just off the beaten path south, and I spent the afternoon hunting in the surrounding pine forests. Deer were most commonly found in Autumn, but I held hope that one wandered further west than normal.

I did it to escape the agony of people around me every second of every day—but if I said that, it would make Jurian cry. Maybe it was to avoid the pain of seeing the one person I really wished I could forget. And it was a distraction from the impending doom of returning to the Spring Court for the first time in ten years.

I followed a set of promising tracks, keeping my ears pinned at the slightest change in sound. Even a snapping twig was enough to alert me. I spotted a clearing in the trees where tall, bright green grass stood. It was the perfect place for a group of grazing animals.

Looking through the foliage to avoid any snakes, I settled within a large bush of berries. From the look of the small fruits and the oversized seeds within, they were poisonous. The brambles were annoying, but I ignored the poking and tried to keep myself as still as possible.

There was a movement beyond the brush. I focused on it and could make out the silhouette of a deer. Just what I was looking for. Slowly, with the silence learned over many years, I nocked an arrow and drew it halfway back, resting the bow on my knee. I just needed it a bit closer.

Bright stalks of green rose to the bend of the creature's delicate legs. Her ears flapped to shoo an onslaught of bugs as she dipped her head down to graze. Birds chirped in the distance, echoing from tree to tree across the meadow of flowers budding and barely beginning to open.

From behind, I heard a large snap. Fuck. I stood and spun around, my arrow pulled all the way back and ready to fire. Of course, it wasn't a bear.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, pointing the arrow toward the ground.

The shadowsinger looked completely out of place among the overgrown foliage. "I'm hunting."

"Well, do it somewhere else," I bit, before turning around and kneeling back into my hiding spot. Thankfully, the disturbance didn't alert the deer, and I spotted it grazing closer to the clearing than before.

The branches bent and a warm presence pressed against my side. I peered over with slit eyes at the shadowsinger, who was now kneeling in the brush with me. He glanced over and smirked. Bastard.

I rolled my eyes and returned to watch the doe.

"You know, there are easier ways to do this," I heard him whisper—all too close to me. Gods, I wanted to shoot him instead.