Trial by Fae (Dragon's Gift The Dark Fae #1) - Linsey Hall Page 0,43
tore at my hair when I reached the top, so strong that it nearly bowled me over. I tucked myself deeper into my short leather jacket and tried to ignore the chill.
From up there, I could see the entire glen. Almost immediately, my gaze landed on a huge stone circle, right next to a thick patch of trees.
“There it is.” I pointed.
The wolf rumbled low in his throat, agreeing.
I looked down at him. “What should I call you?”
He just stared at me.
“Bruce?”
He shook his head.
“Pete?”
He shook again.
A word popped into my head. Burnthistle. “Is your name Burnthistle?”
His tongue lolled out in a smile.
“That’s a mouthful. But okay, Burnthistle is cool. “Strange but cool. You do you, doggo.”
He woofed.
“But it really is a mouthful. Would you want to be Burn for short?”
He woofed again.
“Let’s call that a yes.”
His tongue lolled out in a smile.
“Let’s get moving, then.” I climbed back down the hill and jumped over the broken walls to take a shortcut.
It didn’t take long to reach the stone circle, which was constructed of thirteen towering stones that were decorated with the same pockmarks and concentric circles that I’d seen earlier on the flat stone that Burn had led me to. The diameter of the circle was probably about thirty feet across, and in the middle stood the tallest stone of all.
I hesitated at the outside of the ring. Magic sparked from within, both welcoming and repellent. It was the strangest combination, like hot and cold.
Burn disappeared, going wherever it was that he went.
“Now or never.” I approached the circle.
There were still hours left—a whole night—before it would open. But I had to figure out where to put the key.
As I neared, I got the sense of being watched. That same feeling as before—when the audience was observing.
A breeze tousled my hair and hit my nose. I sniffed.
The faint animal smell of a shifter.
A lion shifter.
I whirled around.
The golden-haired lion shifter who’d bitten me yesterday was prowling out from behind one of the stones. He was in his human form, tall and broad, with a mean tint to his golden eyes.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he growled.
“Yeah? Can’t say I’m pleased to see you.”
“You don’t have to make this difficult.”
I smiled. “But that’s my specialty.”
“Just give me your key and go on your way. I’ll let you live.”
“Ha. If you recall, I came out on top last time.”
“Not this time.” His magic surged around him as he pushed his signature out toward me. A threat.
“What happened to your key? Lose it?” He didn’t answer, but the sullen expression on his face was enough to indicate that he probably had. “So, what? You’ve just been waiting here to ambush me?”
He shrugged. “Or the others. But you’re my favorite.” He smacked his lips. “You taste good.”
His words reminded me of the morning that Tarron had tasted my blood and learned what I was. A shiver of unease passed over me. At least this guy hadn’t seemed to notice that my blood was black and weird.
I drew my bow and arrow from the ether. “If you charge, I’m going to make this quick. I don’t have time for an injury.”
He just grinned as golden magic swirled around him. In the space of a heartbeat, he’d shifted into his lion form. His huge body glinted golden in the sun, and I had to remind myself that it was a man I was shooting, not a lion. I had no problem shooting assholes, whereas I had no interest in shooting furry, fangy creatures. In fact, I was very fond of furry, fangy creatures.
The lion shifter raced toward me on powerful legs, mane blowing in the wind. He was so fast that my heart jumped.
I raised my bow and fired right at each of his legs. One arrow hit his front right leg, and he stumbled. The second arrow hit his other front leg, and he staggered.
He was nearly to me, so close that I could see the individual hairs of his mane. I fired the third, and he went down, skidding hard on the ground. I leapt out of the way, rolling to the side.
He pulled a burst of energy from somewhere and shoved himself off the ground, lunging after me. He was uncoordinated from the wounds, but managed to plow his body into mine. Pain flared in my ribs, sharp and bright.
His weight shoved me to the ground, and I kicked up, heaving him off of me. The force of my blow rolled him