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*****

~ HARTH ~

It must have rained overnight. When they’d been back, closer to the valley where the gaps between the trees were larger and the wind reached the ground, the trail had been very faint. Harth had had to stop to cast around and find it again twice—once when the tigers had leaped straight up and over a boulder, and once when they’d found a creek and followed it for a minute.

Harth was frustrated by the slow start, but glad when the trail connected a deer trail, winding between rocks and trees as the ground began to climb into the foothills and overhung by the mountain’s rocky sides above.

And suddenly the trail was stronger. Much fresher than she’d thought.

So fresh, Harth slowed, pausing to peer carefully around curves in the rocky mountainside before advancing.

She was only minutes from where she’d left Tarkyn, yet she would have sworn that she was also only minutes from the sources of this trail.

Sasha’s scent was definitely among them, though thinner than the others and Harth couldn’t figure out why. If she was walking with them, why would their scents be stronger than hers?

.....

Harth had a mental image then of Sasha not walking but being carried in some way, and her stomach turned over.

Pushing away the frightening thoughts, Harth continued to creep carefully down the trail, even going as far as to slip into the crags and rocks above it as the scents became fresher still.

Surely they couldn’t be this close? Surely they hadn’t been right here this whole time?

Or perhaps they were moving really quickly and the trail had been sheltered here in the overhang…

Harth rolled her eyes at herself. It didn’t matter. What mattered was finding them.

‘Tarkyn, are you there?’

She tried to ignore the flutter of nerves in her stomach when he didn’t answer. But she knew he was fine. There was no way the Tigers or Bears were down there… yet.

Surely not?

‘Tarkyn?’ She needed him to know how close they might be. She needed him to get himself surrounded by—

Harth froze as a shadow moved between trees below her on the mountainside. She ducked below the shrub and rock at her feet, heart pounding.

They really were here. Right here. Just minutes away. But how many of them?

Harth was positioned on the side of the mountain, just above a deer trail that wound around the rocks below and then back down towards the valley.

There was an area below that was almost flat, a wide bowl in the foot of the mountain, full of trees and underbrush. But this was obviously the way they’d accessed it. She’d only had to climb for a few minutes, yet they were completely out of sight of the Valley of the Drums because of the trees—it had to be only minutes away as the owls would fly. And yet, just as they’d found in the lagoon, the air flows seemed to run almost straight up the mountainside here, broken only by the trees.

As Harth crouched she reached out for Tarkyn again. Why was it taking so long for him to come back to himself so she could reach him?

Was she close enough to link with the other wo—?

A strange thunk sounded nearby and she froze. Was that an arrow flying into a tree? A rock dropping onto hollow earth?

A small cry rose below and Harth barely breathed as she peered with only one eye around the boulders… then crept oh-so-slowly forward, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of what was going on in that copse of trees.

But the undergrowth was too thick, and the trees too tall. Very effective guardians over their evil wards.

Harth wanted to growl.

Instead she reached out through the link, stretching to find any wolf with whom she was familiar. But then a breeze rose, rippling up the side of the mountain and bringing with it a wash of scents and snippets of voices below.

She caught the scents of tigers, raw meat, and something she couldn’t identify—a creature? The voices weren’t intelligible, half-words and a patter of laughter. But it made Harth’s skin go cold.

The Tigers were here. They were right here. Right above the Valley. Even if they were out of sight and scent, she could have traveled there in less than half an hour in her wolf.

That meant they could do the same.

Tarkyn needed to know. They all needed to know.

‘Tarkyn! Please!’

‘I’m here. I’m here.’

‘Thank the Creator, Tarkyn, listen to me, the tigers are right here. Only minutes away!’

‘They’re… what?’

‘When you reach where we were, it took me only ten minutes to find them.’

‘WHAT?! Harth, get out of there!’

‘I will. But I wanted to make sure Sasha’s here and this isn’t just a group of them traveling—her scent is fainter than the rest. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s older or… something else. I need to know if she’s here, or if it’s just them, because if they don’t have her, we shouldn’t let them know we know they’re here, right?’ She sent him an image then of what she could see—which was virtually nothing. She showed him the flash of movement she’d seen below, but then nothing. ‘We need to know what we’re dealing with—and if you have too many people come up this trail when they’re so close, it might raise the alarm. As it is, if they travel the deer trail they’re going to scent me.’

Tarkyn growled, then was silent in the bond for a moment, but she could feel him there, nervous and thinking hard.

‘Harth… you’re right,’ he said reluctantly. ‘But I don’t want you to get any closer to them.’

‘Tarkyn, I have to. I can’t see them from up here.’

He hesitated again. She had the sense of that quick, efficient way he moved and spoke when he was taking charge. He must be informing the others, getting things ready. But they wouldn’t know what to do unless she told them who was here!

‘Tarkyn—’

‘I’ve told them what you’ve found so far. We’re getting some owls prepared, we’ll see if they can fly up and catch a glimpse.’

‘Don’t let them fly straight up the mountain, Tarkyn! They need to go around and up high, then circle back down—if they skim the trees the Tigers might shoot them down! The trees aren’t that tall here—they just look it because they’re on the mountainside.’

He growled again. ‘I do not like this, Harth. Not one bit.’

‘I know, I know,’ she said softly. ‘But imagine, Tarkyn. Imagine if we can get her back this quickly? Imagine if we can find out where Rika is too? Just… give me a few minutes. I’ll circle down as quietly as I can and try to get a better view.’

Tarkyn cursed, but she felt him waver. ‘Please, Harth, be so very careful.’

‘I will. I’m coming home to you, Tarkyn. To our tree. I promise.’

*****

~ TARKYN ~

As the wolves around him rushed to form fists, and Gar growled for everyone to move even faster, Tarkyn closed his eyes. That simple statement from his mate made him want to weep.

I’m coming home to you, Tarkyn. To our tree. I promise.

She’d called it theirs… his home was her home. Fuck that, she was his home. But he knew what she meant. They’d so enjoyed being in that space last night without an immediate threat. How was it possible they were already here?

He answered questions and barked orders, striding through the ranks of those that would travel on foot the moment they knew what they were facing—or where they needed to avoid. The owls, and a few Ibex who could scale a more direct route up the mountain sides if needed—were gathering just beyond the wolves and lions—because Tarkyn had insisted the Anima and Chimera spread themselves evenly on both teams.

No matter who they saved, no matter who they fought, they would fight together, and save each other.

He nodded with grim satisfaction as he walked the ranks, checking for their marks and seeing that most already had the henna crosses.

‘Harth?’ he sent. If he’d been speaking his voice would have shaken.

‘I’m just moving. I’m going really slow, Tarkyn.’

She was tense. Frightened. And determined. God, he loved her so much. Don’t let her be taken. Don’t let her be harmed.

‘Tarkyn! There! Look!’

He stopped mid-step as his mind’s eye was flooded suddenly—a copse of trees on the mountainside, the low dirt and grass underneath flattened by feet. Glimpses of a tent or two, and at least one fire.

This was a camp—and one that still had people in it.

‘She’s there!’ Harth hissed through the bond, as if she could be overheard. ‘Sasha’s there! I can see her!’

She sent an image of the human woman—Tarkyn assumed it was Sasha. He couldn’t see her face. Was seeing her from behind and above, her dark hair messy, clothing dirty. She was seated at the base of one of the trees. Her hands bound behind her, and vines circling her, keeping her pinned to its trunk.

‘Send them, Tarkyn. She’s here. I don’t see Rika, but Sasha is here! And who knows who’s in the tents?’

‘Well done, love,’ he sent back quickly, giving a gesture to Gar to let him know to set the soldiers at the ready to move. ‘Now please… get out of there.’

‘I can’t move without risking being seen. I’ll just hide here until you all arrive.’

‘Harth—’

‘Please, Tarkyn. I don’t want to argue. Just get here, quickly. Please.’

There was tension in her voice—true fear. He sighed heavily. ‘Stay flat on the ground. Don’t move a muscle. Don’t risk anything else. We’re coming.’

‘I love you, Tarkyn,’ she said, whispering again as if she could be heard. ‘I love you so much.’

He hated the darkness in her voice, the fear, but he kept himself strong, teeth gritted. ‘I love you too. Now… don’t move!’