The Wolf Prince

CHAPTER 19

Excoria yawned as she leaned against a tree and stared at the house. It was a beautiful home, very majestic. She bet it was cool inside. She hated this land, especially this place called Texas, where it was cool one day, then burning hot the next.

Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten today. Damn Nivla for not giving her money. He’d only been more cruel because she’d almost gotten sick on him, which was his fault, too. If she didn’t eat something soon, she wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on Prince Surlock.

That was another thing she had a problem with. Nivla had told his son, Ekon, to oversee Excoria and make sure Prince Surlock didn’t escape before they had a chance to capture him.

And where was Ekon?

Excoria knew. He was back at the warehouse sleeping. His father had made sure his son had a nice comfortable bed in which to lay his head while she still had the lumpy cot. He also had money and food. It wasn’t fair.

Besides, she loathed Ekon. He wasn’t hard to look upon, not like his fat father, but in a few years time she had no doubt he would be just as slovenly. A shudder of distaste ran through her.

She straightened when a man came around the corner. He carried a brown sack in one hand and a tool in the other. The breeze carried the aroma of what was in the sack over to her. Her mouth watered. It didn’t smell at all like the burrito, which had been pretty awful.

The man set the brown paper bag on a metal table and leaned the long wooden handle of the instrument against the chair opposite the one he sat in. Then he opened the bag.

Excoria gritted her teeth as she tried to hold back a moan.

“Hey, Ralph, Ms. Abernathy wants you to look at her sink. It’s leaking.”

The man frowned, then closed the bag as he stood up. “She’ll owe me another one of her peach-fried pies for this.” He walked off, leaving the bag on the table.

As soon as he rounded the corner, Excoria raced over and grabbed it, then ran past her hiding place as if her feet were on fire. She didn’t stop in case the man came back. By the gods, Nivla could not expect her to keep an eye on the prince under these circumstances.

When she was deep inside the cover of the woods, she sat on the ground, and leaned against a tree. She didn’t hurry. No, she slowly opened the bag, savoring the smell. The unknown aroma wafted up to her.

Her stomach rumbled as she brought out a biscuit of some kind with meat in the middle. She knew the earth food because she’d been here for a quite some time searching for impures. This particular food she’d seen before, but never eaten.

When she bit into the bread, she knew she’d never tasted anything like this, either. It practically melted in her mouth. She forced herself to eat slowly since she wasn’t sure when her next meal would be.

Even after she finished the bread with meat, her stomach felt as though it was hollow. There was a flaky crust pastry of some kind inside the sack. When she bit into it, fruit oozed out. Peach. They had peaches on New Symtaria and her mother had made sweets with them, but nothing that compared to this.

She finished the last bite, then licked her fingers. Her stomach was comfortably full. As she sat there, she realized exactly what her life had come to—stealing food just to survive. Now, she didn’t have a choice. If she left the rogues, they would hunt and kill her just like they did the impures. To them, she would be an impure. Her eyes narrowed. Nivla was evil and mean. She should have demanded he give her money.

The world suddenly came crashing down on her. Even her animal guide wasn’t talking to her except to complain about the mistake Excoria had made when she joined the ranks of the rogues. She had retreated into stony silence.

“I’m sorry,” Excoria whispered, wiping away the tear that slid down her cheek. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Silence.

Somehow, some way, she would, too. She missed her guide. Her guide had always been her best friend. Now she was alone, deserted by everyone. She wasn’t important to anyone.

A thought suddenly occurred. If she could capture the prince, then she would be very important. They would probably shower her with jewels. She only needed to be the one who captured him.

She got up, brushing away crumbs. She looked deplorable. If she was going to get close to him, she would need to clean up. Nivla or Ekon would have to give her money. She squared her shoulders, anger filling her. It was time she made a few demands of her own. What was the worst they could do?

She frowned. They could kill her. It was against the law to kill a pure Symtarian, but since they was breaking the law anyway, it wouldn’t matter to them.

Demanding money might not be the best way to earn their favor. Her stomach clenched. She might have to sleep with one of them. Death was more welcome than Nivla’s slimy arms, but she might be able to stomach Ekon.

She glanced toward the big house, a smile forming. She hadn’t yet told Nivla or Ekon where the prince was staying. She might have more leverage than she thought.