Red Hood's Revenge

would have brought her to Lorindar with me if I could have. She wouldn’t have been happy, though. She’s a child of the sand, far more than I ever was. This is her home.” Talia fell silent.
    Danielle frowned. The howls from the desert had stopped. “The Hunt is gone.”
    “It will be dawn soon. Faziya needs rest, but Snow said she’ll need food as well. Water will help, but it’s not enough. Fresh meat is best to help her replenish the blood.”
    It took a moment to realize what Talia was asking from her. Danielle swallowed her instinctive refusal.
    “Snow’s useless when it comes to hunting,” said Talia. “Roudette can’t go out alone, thanks to Snow’s spell. I’d do it myself, but I don’t want—”
    “I know.” Danielle could hear the determination in Talia’s voice. She doubted the Wild Hunt itself could drag her from Faziya’s side right now. “I’m glad you found her again. I’ll do what I can.”
    She crawled toward the cave entrance, being careful to keep her head low. She tugged the blanket aside, dislodging some of the rocks they had used to anchor it in place. “Faziya will be all right, Talia.”
    “She’s not out of danger,” said Talia. “The blood loss could kill her. The wound could turn septic. We can’t stay here, but she’s not strong enough to travel.”
    “I said she’ll be all right.”
    “Yes, Your Highness.” She could hear Talia’s wry smile.
    Danielle crawled out of the cave. She shivered in the morning air and carefully pulled the blanket back over the cave entrance to block the draft. She turned around and bit back a yelp. A wolf sat watching her from the rocks not ten paces away.
    “You’ve been there the whole night?” Danielle asked. Now that she thought about it, Roudette had mentioned picking up a few friends while she and Talia were out yesterday. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to fetch something to eat?”
    The wolf sniffed and turned away.
    Danielle sighed. The simplest thing would be to call out, asking the animals to come to her. They would obey, trusting her right up until the moment she killed them. But she couldn’t bring herself to betray that trust.
    She searched the sky. To the east, a smudge of orange lined the horizon. Not a single cloud blocked the stars overhead. The moon had set for the night. Bats flitted about, invisible save when they passed in front of the fading stars.
    There would be other predators too. Danielle closed her eyes, silently asking for help.
    Before too long, she heard an answering cry. An owl swooped overhead, and Danielle could just make out the limp form of a jackrabbit dangling from its talons. It dropped the rabbit, which hit the rocks with a wet thump.
    The wolf jumped at the sound, then turned to glare at Danielle.
    “Don’t blame me,” Danielle said. She hurried over to retrieve the rabbit. “Was the big bad wolf frightened by a little bunny?”
    The wolf hopped down, looking hopeful.
    “Go get your own.” Danielle chuckled as she pulled a knife from her belt. A few years earlier, the idea of sleeping with a weapon never would have crossed her mind. Thanks to Talia, she had done it last night without thinking.
    “Watch over them, Mother,” she prayed. “Talia’s lost so much. Don’t let her lose Faziya too.”
    With that, she sat down and began to butcher the rabbit.
     
    Talia could hear Danielle outside, carrying on a quiet conversation with whatever vermin had come to keep her company.
    Roudette stirred a short time later. She stretched, passed gas, and crawled out of the cave. Sunlight peeked past the blanket’s edge, but still Faziya slept.
    Talia reached out with one leg, kicking Snow in the hip until she groaned and slapped the foot away.
    “Faziya’s been sleeping a long time,” Talia said.
    “Lucky girl.” Snow yawned and sat up. Her mirrors caught the sun from the entrance, adding to the light of the cave. With much of the gold wire from her choker being used to stitch Faziya’s wound, Snow had reworked her choker into an armband around her right arm.
    Snow reached over and pulled the blanket back from Faziya’s shoulder. A splotch of dark blood marred the center of the bandage. Snow clucked her tongue as she peeled back the edge of the bandage to check the stitches. “She’s oozing blood, but it’s not bad. Go ahead and wake her up. Her body needs food and water.”
    Snow slipped out of the cave, leaving Talia and Faziya alone. Talia leaned her head close to