Page 140 of Crucible
Before I can switch directions again, something rustles nearby. A moment later, I spot the bushy tail of a white rabbit as it darts from the bushes up ahead and runs toward the meadow. It barely makes it ten feet before the whistling sound, like something cleaving the air, reaches my ears just before theshunksound of something sharp piercing its hide.
The rabbit falls over and slides a few feet across the snow.
Before I can investigate, another rabbit—this one gray—is startled from the same bush. It runs in the opposite direction—toward me instead of away—and as it passes, I hear that whistling sound again. This time, the arrow lands in the snow two inches from my foot.
My foot.
My goddamn foot.
“Hey!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “You better fucking watch it!”
Hearing a soft giggle followed by a deeper chuckle, I turn toward the offending sound and see Thorin and Aurelia walking toward us.
Thorin is holding his crossbow, and I immediately know it was he who shot the first rabbit, but what perplexes me isAurelia. She stands next to him with another arrow notched in the compound hunting bow while she aims it right at me.
“You fucking missed!”
“No, she didn’t!” Thorin shouts back.
Not finding a damn thing funny, my lip curls as I say sarcastically, “Oh, so you’re suddenly an expert shot now? After two days?”
“Actually, it’s the first shot she’s made in two days,” Thorin dryly corrects. “Aurelia needed the proper motivation, so I bet her she couldn’t land the arrow within a foot without hitting you.”
“What did she win if she made it?” Seth asks. He’s bouncing on his toes with a gleam in his eyes. A little chaos and anarchy always get him excited, and Aurelia never stops finding ways to stir up both.
“I got to see Khalil cry like a bitch!” Aurelia calls out.
She’s getting closer but not fast enough, so I decide to meet them halfway. In a weird twist, Aurelia lowers the bow as I stalk toward her, and she doesn’t do a thing to stop me when I cup her nape and pull her into me. She comes without a fight, and I take the crossbow from her, handing it to Thorin without taking my eyes off her.
“You shouldn’t have missed.”
“Ididn’t. But out of curiosity, why?”
“Because I’m going to kiss you, Goldilocks.”
Before she can object, I give in to the need that drove me to leave the cabin and find her. I devour her mouth and swallow her moans while driving her backward until her spine hits the tree. She gasps from the impact, but the pain only fuels her. Aurelia slides her hands under my coat and shirt and pays the pain back by dragging her nails down my abs. I grunt, but I don’t stop. If anything, I kiss her harder.
“Mmm…okay, that’s enough,” she says, turning her head away while breathing hard.
I let her have that, but I keep her pressed against the tree as I make out with her neck. “Tell me you missed me.”
“I thought about you once or twice.”
My head pops up, and I glare down at her. “Quit playing with me, Aurelia.”
“All right. I thought about you three whole times.”
“What are you doing out here?” I whisper. I can hear Seth and Thorin doing the same with each other a few feet away.
“Hunting.”
“And whose idea was that?”
“Mine.”
Peeking over my shoulder, I make sure Thorin and Seth are still occupied, and then I grab Aurelia’s throat and whisper, “Are you trying to run again, Aurelia?”
She stares up at me, her dauntless gaze shifting back and forth. It feels like she’s staring into my soul. If she’s looking for anything good, she won’t find it. “Harder.”
