Willow Thornheart's Arc

Chapter 5 of 9

The sanctuary was hidden now, safe from every tracker. But one man still knew exactly where to find it. Dex Hunt had walked into these woods, seen the shelter, and left with the location fixed in his memory. He hunted rare creatures and sold them on a black market. A word from him to the wrong buyer could bring a dozen hunters to Willow's door. She spent two days telling herself he would keep quiet. On the third, she knew waiting was foolish. She had to give him a reason to stay loyal, or the whole haven was one whispered secret from ruin. She found him at the tree line where the concealment charm ended. He stood with his crossbow slung low, watching the vines that hid her land. His jaw was tight. When he saw Willow, he did not raise the weapon. "You built something rare in there," he said. "You know what a griffin fetches? A pegasus? I could name my price and never work again." "Then why haven't you?" Willow asked. Dex looked away. "Because I gave you the elixir for the dragon. Old habit, saving them before I sell them." His mouth twisted. "Doesn't feed me, though." Willow understood then. He wasn't threatening her. He was hungry, and torn, and waiting for a reason. She reached into her satchel and drew out a small bottle from her enchanted medicine chest. The chest refilled itself; every draught she used returned by morning. "This heals any creature," she said. "I have an endless supply. You've been dropping healing elixirs at my door anonymously for weeks. I know it's you, Dex." His face went still. He hadn't known she knew. "I don't need a hunter," Willow said. "I need someone who finds the ones nobody else can. You know every trap, every buyer, every cage in Lifyre. Bring the creatures to me instead of the market. I'll pay you in these. And you'll never watch one die in a crate again." Dex stared at the bottle. His hand hovered, then closed around it. "The pay's less than the black market." "The pay lets you sleep," she said. A long silence. Then he pulled a scrap of parchment from his coat and held it out. Willow unfolded it. A crude map, her woods marked with a circle. The location he could have sold. He had drawn it to remember. Now he gave it away. "Burn it," Dex said. "I won't need it. I'll know the way." Willow burned it in her palm with a spark of green fire. The ash drifted down between them. "There's something you should know," she said carefully. "My father was here. He made a promise about you. If any creature on this land comes to harm, he'll come for you." Dex met her eyes. "Then I'll make sure none does." He turned toward the trees. "I'll bring the first one by nightfall." He had chosen her side. The secret was safe. But now a hunter would be walking into her sanctuary again and again, and her father's death threat hung over every visit.