Page 28 of The Huntmaster

The rest of the sentence was ripped from my lungs by the sheer, terrifying force of the wind as I plummeted. The canopy was a chaotic blur of violet and emerald, a kaleidoscope of impending impact. I flailed, my fingers grasping at nothing but thin air and the scent of ozone. My stomach was somewhere in my throat, and my brain had completely abandoned physics in favour of a high-pitched, internal scream that I couldn't even voice.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the bone-shattering snap of a branch or the final, cold embrace of the forest floor. I thought of the younglings, of Sora’s kindness, and of the glowing desert I’d only seen for a few seconds.

Whump.

The air was knocked out of me, but not by wood. Something thick, muscular, and surprisingly warm lashed around my waist with the force of a whip. My descent stopped so abruptly I felt my ribs groan under the sudden pressure.

I dangled there, swaying like a piece of overripe fruit in a gale. When the world finally stopped spinning and the stars cleared from my vision, I realised I was hanging completely upside down. Blood rushed to my head with a throbbing pulse, and my hair hung toward the abyss below like a golden curtain.

I blinked my eyes open and looked at my midsection. A thick, red tail was coiled three times around my waist, the tip twitching with a rhythmic, casual strength that made me feel like a toy. I followed the length of the appendage upward.

Kaelen was crouched on a protruding bough about ten feet above me. He was leaning over the edge, one hand braced on the trunk, his massive arms crossed over his chest. He looked down at me with an expression of intense, scholarly boredom, his markings glowing a soft, mocking gold. He wasn't even using his hands; he was holding my entire body weight with just his tail.

"You are louder when you fall than when you climb," he noted, his voice echoing in the quiet of the middle boughs. "It is a wonder the skylas did not choke on your screaming. You sound like a wounded fey-cat."

"You... you giant asshole!" I gasped, my face turning a deep shade of purple-red from a mix of rage and gravity. "You just stood there! You watched me trip! You smiled! I saw you smile, Kaelen! I’m going to die because of a bird, and you’re finding the humour in it?"

"I was admiring the trajectory," he said, his tail giving a small, mischievous tug that made me bounce in the air. I let out a squeak of terror, my hands clawing at the empty space. "It was... consistent. Though your form lacked the grace of a true hunter of the Alu’un."

"Consistent? I was plummeting! Put me up! Put me back on the branch right now, or so help me, I will find a way to make your life a living hell! I’ll—I’ll chop that god damn tail off!" I started to wriggle, my hands clawing at his tail, trying to find purchase on the slick, warm skin.

"Careful, star-woman," Kaelen warned, his eyes glinting with a dangerous, dark amusement. "The Alu’un has a way of silencing those who do not respect the heights. My tail is strong, but even I can be... distracted. If you continue to struggle like a trapped hex-fly, I might find the weight too tiresome to bear. It would be a tragedy to drop such a... vibrant talker."

"You wouldn't," I snapped, glaring up at him despite the blood pounding in my ears. I was stubborn, and the adrenaline was making me reckless, pushing past the fear into pure, unadulterated spite. I gave a violent lurch, trying to swing myself toward the trunk, my body twisting in his grip. "Drop me then! See if I care! At least the ground won't have a smug attitude and a superiority complex the size of a moon!"

Kaelen’s eyes narrowed, the amusement flickering out to be replaced by something sharper. His markings flared a sudden, sharp gold that illuminated the underside of the leaves. "As you wish, Ly-ra. Experience is the best teacher, is it not?"

The pressure around my waist vanished.

The tail uncoiled with a sickeningly smooth slide, and for a heartbeat, I hung in the air, weightless and horrified. Then, gravity reclaimed me with a vengeance.

"Wait—NO! I WAS KIDDING!"

I fell again, the wind rushing back into my face, but this time I didn't get more than ten feet before a massive shadow eclipsed the violet light above me.

Kaelen didn't just drop me; he dived. He moved like a bolt of lightning, his body streamlined as he plummeted past me with his arms tucked, then twisted in mid-air with impossible agility. He caught me against his chest, his massive arms locking around my back and under my knees, pinning me to him with a force that knocked the breath out of me for the second time.

We were falling together now, a chaotic tangle of limbs and heat. He kicked off branches, steering our descent through the thickest foliage like a professional skydiver. I buried my face in his neck, my hands clutching his shoulders so hard my nails probably left marks. The world was a roar of rushing leaves, snapping twigs, and the thundering beat of two hearts.

SNAP.

We hit a heavy, woven mesh of silver thread—a large-scale hunting net hidden among the lower boughs to catch falling fruit or prey. The material stretched, groaning under our combined momentum, then bounded us upward and settled into a deep, sagging pocket that wrapped around us like a cocoon.

Silence rushed back into the forest, broken only by the distant call of a bird.

I was pinned flat against the netting, and Kaelen was pinned directly on top of me, his weight heavy and solid. His heart was drumming a heavy, primal beat against my chest, and his skin was radiating a feverish heat that seeped through my leather clothes.

Shit.

The silver-thread netting swayed gently, a giant, sagging cradle suspended over the dark abyss of the lower forest. Every time I tried to shift, the mesh tightened, pulling Kaelen even more firmly against me. The physics were undeniable—his massive frame acted as an anchor, and I was pinned beneath him, feeling every corded muscle and the radiating, feverish heat of his skin.

"You..." I wheezed, my heart racing so fast I could feel it pulsing in my fingertips, my ears, and my throat. "You are... absolutely, certifiably insane. You dropped me! You actually let go! Do you have any idea what that does to a person's nervous system?"

Kaelen’s grip on my waist didn't loosen. His large hand remained splayed over my ribs, his claws snagging slightly in the dark leather of my wrap-skirt. I expected him to growl, to snap at me for my clumsiness, or to immediately regain that icy, untouchable Huntmaster composure.

Instead, his chest began to heave against mine.

A sound started deep in his throat—not a growl, but a low vibration that broke into a genuine, rolling chuckle. Then, he actually laughed. It was a rich, gravelly sound, stripped of his usual stoicism. It was the sound of someone who had just survived a reckless gamble and found the sheer, terrifying absurdity of it delightful.