Except you’re bound to obey me. Wish I’d known that…
The tang of magic zinged through the air. Rune’s tail swished. Aislinn sent power in a protective arc over them both.
“Sister Hunter!” a decidedly masculine voice boomed from behind them. With barely a rustle, a tall blond man stepped out of a thick pine grove. The biggest raven she’d ever seen rode on his shoulder, its curved beak open in greeting.
Chapter Six
Aislinn took him in as he strode toward them. He moved with an understated grace that hinted at barely suppressed power. A tattered corduroy jacket hung off impossibly broad shoulders. It was open, showing a well-muscled chest covered with golden hair that glistened in the sun. The day wasn’t really all that warm. She wondered why he wasn’t wearing more. A flat, hard stomach disappeared into faded dungarees that hugged narrow hips. His hair had been hacked off to shoulder length. She supposed it helped keep the bird’s claws from tangling in it. Bright blue eyes gleamed at her. He was smiling, and it made the corners of his eyes crinkle into happy little creases. A scraggly beard covered cheeks and chin. He had very straight, white teeth nested in a strong jaw.
What a gorgeous man.
“I’m Fionn.” He extended a hand. “And this is Nevermore.” He glanced at the raven.
“That is not my name, and you know it.” The raven sounded pissed. She trained beady, avian eyes at Aislinn. “My true name is Bella.”
Realizing she’d been gawking, Aislinn took Fionn’s hand, gave it a firm shake, and pulled hers back. She felt color stain her cheeks and hoped it wasn’t too noticeable. “I am Aislinn, and this is Rune.”
Wolf and raven stared at one another. Something passed between them, but she wasn’t quite sure what. With a little hop, the bird fluttered from Fionn’s shoulder to land atop Rune. More of the silent energy flowed.
Aislinn furled her eyebrows. “So, are they talking?”
Fionn drew back a couple of paces and stared hard at her. Feeling him gather power, she held up both her hands, palms facing outward. “Until a couple of days ago, I thought I was Mage and Seeker,” she explained. “I was, ah, on my way somewhere at the Old Ones’ behest when the wolf chose me. I tried to tell him I was no Hunter, but he insisted.” She shrugged. “I know it sounds odd, but my talents are still developing.”
“You speak true, though it makes little sense.” Fionn’s words sounded grudging. He kept a respectable distance between them and eyed her, as if she was a powder keg about to blow.
A corner of her mouth quirked upward. “How do you suppose it makes me feel? Part of me still misses being a teenager with parents in our house in Salt Lake. It took a while to get used to the magic I was supposed to have. To find out I have more—” she rolled her eyes “—is deucedly unnerving.”
“You look older than that.”
“Lost my dewy-eyed youth, huh?” She snorted. “That’s because I am older now. Twenty-two.”
“Youngster. I’m thirty.”
“So you had some sort of established life before—”
“Stop.” He held up a hand and trained his gaze on her. It spoke a warning, as clear as if the words had passed his lips.
She understood. One of the unwritten rules was never talking about the past. “Sorry.” She shifted gears. “You didn’t answer my question. About Rune and Bella.”
“Bond animals have their own network. If they do not know one another, they will know others who know someone in the other’s circle. They are comparing notes. And complaining about their bond mates. Though I’ve never gotten Bella to actually admit that.” He laughed, and she felt the tension bleed out of him.
“Do you Hunt alone? Or are there others like, ah, us nearby?” When she stumbled over the us, Aislinn realized she still didn’t see herself as a Hunter.
An awkward silence hovered before he answered her. “For now, I Hunt alone.” Moving alongside her, he draped an arm over her shoulders. “Come sit with me. We can share conversation, food—and perhaps other things as well over time.”
She slipped out from under his arm. Her flush from earlier had to be back in full force on her suddenly overheated face. “Now wait a minute,” she sputtered. “You’re being pretty presumptuous—”
He held up both hands and laughed. “No mas. I thought you might like to learn about your Hunter skills. That’s all.” He resettled his arm companionably around her shoulders.
The heat from his body felt comforting. His fingertips caressed her, light as butterfly wings. She felt need in him with a sharp, desperate edge to it, sexual, yet more than that, too. Questions bubbled up, but she didn’t ask any of them. All the humans who were left lived with loneliness. She thought about Travis and what he’d said about taking comfort when it was offered. Good advice, she realized, walking next to Fionn. Against her better judgment, she let herself enjoy the feel of his body where it brushed against hers.