When Ren finally returned to the clearing, her damp hair tied up and her face scrubbed clean of all questionable fluids, she stopped in her tracks.
The clearing was noticeably emptier.
Syris and Viper were gone.
Kael was just finishing dragging the massive elk carcass into the center of the clearing all by himself, his muscles straining beautifully under his tan skin.
Ren's heart dropped into her stomach. 'Did he leave?' she panicked internally. 'Did post-nut clarity hit him the second I walked away?'
Kael dropped the elk's antlers and looked up. He immediately saw the sheer, spiraling panic written all over her face.
"The Snake said he will send the guard for you tomorrow," Kael grunted, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "He didn't abandon you. He just complained about the heat and slithered off."
'Though I wish he did abandon her,' Kael added bitterly in his own thoughts.
