Read Online Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly - Free Book Online Page A

means.
    â€œI understand,” Dalen says. His mother’s face is now a few shades paler. “Good-bye, Mama.” He embraces his mother and then his sister. I have nothing to gather up, save my wet blanket, cloak, and pack, and no one to say good-bye to. Within five minutes, Dalen and I set off.
    His demeanor is more subdued than I expected. He hardly says a word as we leave his family behind and cross into the woods proper. We walk for an hour like this, yet the smell of woodsmoke clings to us, no matter how far we get from the village.
    I finally decide to break the silence. “I’m sorry they’re forcing you to come with me. I never meant to take you away from your family. I know how hard that can be.”
    â€œIt isn’t your fault.” He trots onward. We’ve kept this pace so far, but any longer and I’ll be exhausted well before nightfall.
    â€œDalen, slow down. I’m just as impatient to get this over with as you are.”
    Surprise flashes over his face, then he slows. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” He sighs. “I miss my family already. My mother and sister are all I have left. My father . . .”
    I bite my tongue even though I’m dying to ask.
    â€œHe was branded a traitor. He helped a group of travelers and it started rumors. People began to hunt for hybrids; it took years to quash the rumors and all of our magic to divert the hunters from the village. Father was banished. With the wizard on the loose, that was a death sentence.”
    I know enough of the wizard to have no doubt Dalen’s father is no longer alive.
    â€œI’m sorry. It sounds like your father was kind.” I pluck a small branch from a nearby tree and pull the leaves off one by one. “I lost my father too.”
    Dalen looks at me with curiosity. “How?”
    â€œMy brother and I came home from school one afternoon to find both him and my mother gone. No note, no good-bye—they even left all their belongings.” I break the branch in half and toss it into the undergrowth. “It was the strangest thing—like they had vanished into thin air. Something happened to them, but we don’t know what. Even if I could have left Hans behind to go after them, I didn’t have the faintest idea where to start looking.”
    â€œThat’s terrible, Greta. No wonder you’re desperate to get your brother back.”
    Heat burns behind my eyes, but I refuse to let it show. His whole village is destroyed and he’s not wailing.
    â€œGuarding me was a test, wasn’t it?” I ask, changing thetopic. “The council wanted to know if you’d do the same and help a human.”
    He laughs wryly. “They are still testing me. I will do my best to keep the village’s survival in mind for all decisions. The elders made it clear your success is the key to keeping the witch away from us.”
    â€œI’m still your prisoner, then?”
    â€œFor now, while their spies might see us, yes. Once we’re out of range, I have no desire to keep you from your family.”
    â€œAnd I have no desire to keep you from yours.”
    He gives me a fleeting smile. “I can’t go back until the witch is satisfied.”
    â€œThen a rescue mission it is.”
    We trudge onward until we must stop to make camp for the night. To my relief we’ve seen no further sign of the witch. Between the hybrid child’s death and the village fire, we’ve gotten the message clearly: keep moving or else.
    How many lives will be on my head before this is all over?
    As we unpack our bedding and start the cooking fire, I brush those thoughts aside, unwilling to dwell on them. There are some supplies in my pack, and Dalen catches a rabbit for our supper. Before long, we’re full and trying to sleep by the dancing firelight.
    â€œGreta?” Dalen says.
    â€œHmm?” I murmur.
    â€œI—I don’t think I can