Hunting Faith (The Hunting Series Book 1) Read online

  “He’s just going to wake up and use it to kill someone else, you realize that, right?” I argue.

  Rylan stares at the gun and sighs heavily. Finally, he picks it up and leaps up into a tree, climbing like it’s his second nature. He ascends higher and higher before he finally loops the gun’s strap around a branch, leaving it hidden except to the most discerning eyes. Then he hops down so easily, it’s as if both the climb up and down were nothing at all to him. I hide my astonishment at his agility.

  “I don’t like the idea of leaving a gun behind, but I’m glad he doesn’t have it. Thank you,” I tell Rylan, giving him my gratitude as an olive branch.

  He nods in acknowledgement but doesn’t look at me. “Let’s get out of here before he wakes up.”

  Rylan leads the way. We start out in a run and don’t stop for what feels like hours. I imagine we create a substantial distance between us and the other hunter.

  As an added safety measure, Rylan keeps doubling back and covering our tracks or creating new ones in the wrong direction. I’m impressed with his ingenuity and the stamina it takes to do that extra work.

  Finally, we reach a small and trickling stream that seems to bubble straight out of a heap of rocks and boulders. “We should break here,” Rylan says, eyeing me. I get the feeling he could go on, but he probably sees me waning. I’m grateful for a chance to rest, so I don’t try and talk him out of it.

  I drop down onto a rock next to the water and slump my shoulders as I work my filter, filling the bottles I have. Every muscle within me aches. I’ve been pushing myself to the limit and my body is finally protesting. Unfortunately, it’s still too early for the day’s second ration, so I try not to think about the hunger sickening my stomach and gulp at my water instead. Rylan must be able to read minds, though, because he digs in his bag and shoves a protein ration in my face.

  “You don’t have to—” I begin to decline the food, but Rylan shoots me that furious look again and I take it. He’s mad. I get it. I stole his ship and now I’ve ruined the future of his entire family. He hates my guts, deservedly so.

  “We should discuss the plan. Do you know where the pods are?” I ask, burying my emotions and focusing only on survival.

  “We aren’t going to the pods,” he tells me.

  “What? Why?”

  “It’s a lie. They are without power, no one is meant to leave this place alive. Now eat,” he commands, nodding to the half-opened protein ration clutched in my hands. I comply, but break the bar in two so I can save the rest for later.

  “No. Eat all of it. If we run out I will hunt.”

  “Hunting isn’t a sure thing, Rylan.”

  “Yes, it is. Now eat.”

  “Fine. So, if the pods are a no go, what do you have in mind?”

  “The goal is to make a wide circle back around to the airfield on the south side of the dome. I’m hoping the path we take will allow us to steer clear of the other hunters. From the airfield, we’ll have to steal a ship. The one I came here in is too small and too slow to get us out safely,” he says with narrowed eyes.

  “That’s a shame,” I reply coolly. He already knows I’m guilty of stealing his ship, I don’t want to talk about how shitty I felt for doing it. So, I purposely dodge the reminder, looking away to study the forest around us. Rylan lets out a low growl that makes him seem more animal than man and he stalks over to me. I force myself to meet his gaze, unwilling to bow down to anyone.

  “Aragrandani or not, I am a good male, Faith,” he insists, pounding his fist on his bare chest. “I gave you every chance to confide in me back on Nydor and instead you used me. If only you would have said something, neither of us would be here right now, risking our lives!”

  “How was I supposed to know?” I throw my hands up in complaint.

  “You should have trusted me.”

  “Trust is easy to talk about when you’ve never been abducted and made a slave.”

  “You trusted me enough to bed me,” he retorts. “Or did you only do that to steal from me?” There’s accusation in his voice and it makes me wonder if this is about more than just his ship. Did I actually hurt his feelings?

  “Look, Rylan, it’s nothing against you. I just don’t trust anyone, okay?”

  He takes a deep breath and hangs his head, looking defeated. There is a long stretch of silence before he speaks again. “Do you trust that I’ll get you off this planet and get you to safety?” he asks. His voice is grave and his expression solemn.

  I sigh and search the horizon, wanting to give him something. “What about Nydor?” he asked earlier. It was a wonderful night that ended terribly with my betrayal of his trust. And now he says he’s here to save me. If I didn’t feel ashamed before…I certainly feel it now. “I don’t know, Rylan. I’m all out of trust. Any hope I had is long gone too. But I’ve still got determination. I can give you that.”

  “I am also determined,” he says, seeming to find peace in my offering.

  “What about your sisters?” I ask quietly. The question needs to be spoken. “What about your own hopes for settling down? This thing you’re doing here, helping me escape… I know you’re sacrificing everything.”

  He sits down next to me and takes a long drink from his water pouch before handing it to me. I begin to refill it for him. “My sisters and I will figure something else out. Nothing is worth sacrificing a person. Even a person who does not trust me…yet,” he adds and his troubled expression morphs into a teasing smile. “Until then, we need to get far away from here.”

  “I won’t argue with that,” I huff.

  “If we are to continue on I also need you to promise me something.”

  “Promise you…? Oh, Rylan, I don’t know.”

  “It is crucial, Faith.”

  “What is it?” I ask with a frown.

  “I need to know that if I ask you to do something while we are out here, you will comply without argument or hesitation.”

  “I can’t possibly promise you that,” I scoff.

  “You must, Faith. You may not trust me, but I need to trust you. Our lives may depend on it. Give me your word on this.”

  “Wait…wait…wait…” I tell him, feeling anxious. “At least give me an example so I know what I’m agreeing to.”

  “If I tell you to run, you will run. If I tell you to hide, you will hide. If you must go on ahead without me—”

  “No fucking way!” I tell him.

  “I’m not asking for your trust,” he is quick to clarify. “But we need to work as a team. You must have…faith in me.”

  “Pretty sure that’s just another way of saying trust,” I point out, trying not to laugh.

  “Then, believe in me?” he questions. I give him a skeptical look and his expression becomes teasing. “Have confidence? Reliance—”

  “Okay, okay. Put the thesaurus away, big guy. I’ll believe that you have a plan and try to do my part,” I assure him, biting back a smile. When I look over and see him watching me, he’s got that same playful and easy way to him that he had back on Nydor.

  “I am sorry about your ship, Rylan,” I offer, putting myself out there more than I’m typically comfortable with.

  “You should be,” he says with a quick, chastising tap on the top of my head before pulling himself up to his feet. I roll my eyes and pull my pack on, but I can’t hide the fact that I’m smiling. It was generous of him to not rub my nose in it. Lord knows he has every right and I hate to admit it, but I’m grateful I’m not doing this alone.

  After our break, we walk at a hurried pace the rest of the day and into the night, only taking time for quick sips of water. Rylan forces another ration into my hands, but I can only bring myself to eat half, before I tuck the rest away. There isn’t much, we really should be saving them.

  “We will camp here for the night,” Rylan declares suddenly.

  I look up to see there’s a tight space in the center of a ring of trees, maybe only two arm spans wide. It’s well hi
dden in the sparse moonlight. The ground here is nothing more than rough rocks jutting up out of the thick carpet of leaves, but at least it’s clean, blocked from view, and has multiple exit points. I nod, looking around for an optimal spot to settle in. I can feel Rylan’s eyes on me as I tuck my pack under my head and pull my arms and legs in close to my body for warmth.

  “I’d offer you a fire if I could—” Rylan begins.

  “I’m not stupid, Ry, I wouldn’t ask for one. This is fine,” I assure him, even though the air is getting pretty crisp. Leaning against my pack I close my eyes without saying goodnight.

  “You should eat,” Rylan insists, and I huff out a breath, peeking up at him.

  “I’m not stupid, but you might be. We don’t have a ton of rations, we need to ration them.”

  He frowns at me as he opens his bag. Defiantly, he pulls out a handful of bars, tossing them into my lap. There aren’t many. Enough for us both to have three meals a day for two days or two meals for three days.

  “I’m not taking the last of your food. I need you to be strong enough to help me out of here,” I tell him, annoyed.

  “I have other food options.”

  I cock a brow at him skeptically. And, as if I challenged him, he jumps down out of our small alcove of trees. Not far away, I hear him rustling in the leaves. It isn’t long at all before he returns with two dead creatures in his hands. They’re black with spider-like legs, but their bodies appear smooth and scaled like a reptile’s. Rylan tosses one down on the rock with a boyish grin. It’s almost as if he expects me to be squeamish. I only blink at the thing. He then proceeds to rip the leg off the other and suck out the insides…slurping and crunching on it as he does. I stare him in the eye, feeling like a gauntlet has been tossed. I get to my feet and shove his share of the rations back into his hands. Then, I pick up the spider lizard.

  Ripping off its leg, I follow Rylan’s lead, sucking out the insides. It’s not that bad, I think to myself as I return to my spot, shooting Rylan a pointed glance over my shoulder. It’s sort of like an oyster, I guess. I finish the legs and Rylan disposes of the carcasses while I re-adjust my resting spot. My eyes are closed again when he comes back, but still, I hear him laughing. I open one eye to peer over. He’s shaking his head at me, like he can’t believe I just ate that thing.

  “Believe me, I’ve eaten worse since my abduction. Surviving tastes a hell of a lot better than starving…take my word for it,” I tell him. His laughter dies in his throat and he grunts, apparently no longer finding the situation amusing. Rylan falls silent and peers out between the trees into the night. Faint light from the moon filters down past the canopy high above us.

  “Sleep. I’ll take first watch,” he tells me. I don’t argue. I’m tired as fuck. I tuck my legs in close to my chest again. It’s getting colder as the night wears on. After a moment, I hear rustling leaves and Rylan comes to sit down next to me. I jump, startled by his nearness. If he’s aware of my unease, though, he doesn’t show it. Instead he wraps his arm around me. I can’t help but stiffen.

  “This is no time to be proud,” he tells me. “It’s cold out.”

  I hesitate for a few seconds before relaxing against him. It is cold, I tell myself, justifying our contact. There’s a brief moment as he holds me that I feel safe again, just like I did the night we shared together on Nydor. I remind myself that it wasn’t real, though, just a stolen moment between two people…certainly not something that could ever happen again. But I don’t have to worry about it for long. Soon I fall into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 14

  Rylan

  I wasn’t going to wake her, reasoning she needed the sleep more than I did. But after only a few short hours, Faith became restless and jerked awake suddenly—seemingly ripped from a nightmare. She gasps for air.

  “Shhh, I am here. There is nothing to fear,” I whisper, stroking her arm to soothe her. “Go back to sleep,” I urge, but she looks up at the moon, studying it.

  “No.” She rubs her face to wake up. “You need rest.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I need you rested,” she asserts as she straightens herself. Though she makes no effort to move from the warm space she has, tucked in close to my body. We remain in our embrace and something about it feels so right to me, despite anything else that has happened between us.

  Secretly, I wage a war within myself as I indulge in my female’s touch. I try not to allow her nearness to arouse me, but it takes great effort to push away memories of our mating. Things were different on Nydor. She seemed…free. Here, it feels like any advances would be a betrayal of her trust. Besides, I’m not sure if those moments we shared were even real…for her that is. For me, they were the most real thing I ever felt in my life.

  I lose myself in contemplation and eventually drift off to sleep. It’s a chill that wakes me in the morning. Faith is no longer by my side, but she is there, in the alcove of trees, staring out at the forest.

  “Is everything okay?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

  “I got you breakfast,” she replies.

  Turning to face me, she tosses over one of the creatures that made for easy hunting last night. There’s another in her hand and snaps the head off, eating the ugly thing without even a grimace. I blink at her in surprise, doubting I could ever do such a thing without at least a quiver of disgust. But Faith is tough, she is a survivor and I remember what she said last night about starving. I push myself to my feet, and more out of respect than hunger, I eat the meal she brought me.

  “As soon as we’re off this godforsaken planet, I am taking you out to eat,” I promise her.

  She scoffs and shakes her head at me. “Fine, but I’m not ordering anything crunchy,” she tells me, still ripping into her freshly killed breakfast.

  “Nor am I.”

  We finish our unappetizing meal quickly and continue on our journey. Yesterday was about speed and creating distance between ourselves and hunters like Visakha. Today is a day to move more cautiously, listening for any signs of danger…be it the hunters or other prey.

  My sensitive ears prick over every sound, but it seems the forest’s natural inhabitants are our only companions in the vicinity. As we walk, my ears continue to pay attention to the forest, but my eyes watch Faith. The way she takes on the rough terrain tells me she isn’t new to the wilderness, and it makes me wonder where she came from.

  “Is your planet much like this one?” I ask.

  She frowns and looks at our surroundings. “Yes and no, I guess. Every planet’s got dirt and rocks, right? There’re forests on my world too, but the trees and wildlife aren’t the same as this place here. Still, where I’m from isn’t so very different. Of course, even in my neck of the woods we had an entire town and this world seems…dead,” she says, gesturing around at our isolation.

  “Not dead, just vacant,” I correct, making an attempt at optimism, but something about her words ring true. Who knows how long this planet has been nothing more than a hunting ground for the rich and elite? Who knows how many beings lost their lives here, alone and afraid in the forest? Watching Faith, I cannot help but think of fate. What stars had to align to bring me here by her side?

  A rocky incline approaches and I hurry to her side so that I might offer her support as she climbs. I reach my arm out to her and she looks at me with surprise. Her cheeks grow red and she averts her gaze, then more out of politeness than necessity she places her hand in mine. I wonder if she feels the electricity that courses between us…or if I am alone in my affections.

  “Is there a caste system on your world?” I ask suddenly. I don’t know why the words even escaped my lips and I quickly become embarrassed myself.

  “A caste system? Uh, not really. Maybe in some parts of the world, but not my country,” she answers. Her tone tells me she didn’t catch the gravity of the question. We make it to the top of the rocks and the ground levels out again. When she releases my hand I rake my talons through my hair. I can’t be
lieve I’m trying to determine if Faith would ever have me, after all that has happened between us. What would my sisters say? I nearly break into laughter at the thought.

  “There’s a class system on my planet,” she says quietly.

  “What’s that?”

  “Class…it’s a little, different. More permeable than a caste system. If you get a good job or a good education, your class can improve.” Faith focuses on the ground as she walks, and I stay silent in the hopes that she will share more with me. My patience is rewarded when she continues.

  “I grew up out in the boonies, in a little tiny, middle-of-nowhere, mountain town. My family didn’t have much. We always had what we needed, but nothing more, you know?” She shrugs. “It wasn’t rough or anything, that was just life. It was normal. I always felt kind of lucky too. My grandpa owned a bait shop right on the lake. Tourists would pass through all summer long. When I turned 16 he let me work the counter for him and I got to make a little extra pocket cash. But I was a smart kid and did well in school. When it came time to apply for colleges I was offered a free ride pretty much everywhere I applied.”

  “You know the thing about middle-of-nowhere mountain towns?” she turns to me to ask.

  “I don’t.”

  “Every teenager who lives there is trying their best to get out. So, I went to the University of San Francisco, which was basically as far away from home as humanly possible, and in six years I was graduating with my masters in computer science. My family seemed to think I’d come home after college, but I got a job instead. It was ridiculous. I was 24 and making twice my parents’ combined income, working and living in the mecca of software development…one of very few women in the field.”

  “Your parents must have been very proud,” I say, but Faith slows to a stop and I see her wipe at her eyes. She refuses to meet my gaze.

  “Proud,” she scoffs. “I hadn’t been home in over two years. Christmas was right around the corner and…” She pauses before she continues, having difficulty getting the words out. “My parents expected me to come home… My grandpa did too, but instead I bought a ticket to fucking Iceland so my friends and I could go visit some mineral springs there. I wasn’t even going to tell my parents until the last minute so I wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt trip they were going to put me through. Never happened though. My grandpa died the day my flight was supposed to leave.” She sucks in a long breath and looks up at the sky. I give her time.