Hunter's Bond, page 31
But no. He couldn’t stay. The risk was too great, and so he decided then and there to leave Zindar with the words he’d want to say if he never saw the Pruvari again.
“I should be thanking you.” He reached across the table and gave Zindar’s hand a gentle pat. “I came into this thinking I had to go it alone because it’s what I was used to, but you showed me how things could be. Thank you. For your friendship.”
The Pruvari tilted his head, his expression half-confused, half-happy. “You don’t have to thank me for that, but you’re welcome.” He spared a glance over his shoulder, then gave Arheis a conspiratorial nudge. “In the interest of friendship, I can cover for you if you want to make a getaway. Mira was looking for you earlier, anyway.”
Mira. He needed to say something to her. In a perfect world, he needed to tell her the truth and deal with whatever fallout happened because of it. But he had no idea how to express his fears in a way an NPC would understand—if she even was an NPC. She might not be a player hooked up to a NeuroJak somewhere in the world, but Higrem’s words made him wonder now.
“I owe you one,” Arheis said with a smile, clapping Zindar on the shoulder.
> Your relationship with Zindar has improved.
The Pruvari lifted his mug in answer, and Arheis felt a twinge of regret. He’d had friends before, obviously. He’d just withdrawn a lot after his mom’s death, and he’d eventually thrown himself into his work. It was nice to form that bond with someone again, and he would genuinely mourn the loss of it. Maybe it was just the rush of battling side by side with someone, but it felt like he was losing something valuable.
And Mira…
He didn’t quite know what he was losing there—only a vague sense of what could have been. He knew he owed it to her to say his goodbyes, though, even if he couldn’t tell her the exact truth.
She wasn’t hard to find.
Night had fallen by the time he left the Guild hall, and he saw her perched atop the same roof she’d been on when they spoke about Eva. She was leaned back, her palms on the thatchwork, looking up at the stars. Arheis invited himself up via the same collection of crates and settled beside her, taking a moment to just look at the sky.
“Finally tire of the Guild celebrating your brilliance?”
There was no bite to her words. She sounded a little tired, but mostly her tone was playful.
“Before it even started,” he answered.
A heavy silence settled between them. For Arheis’ part, he had no idea how to say what needed to be said. It felt like he was breaking up with this woman, when there wasn’t technically anything to break from.
“We never did get to talk about that fight,” she said tentatively, sitting up so she could look at him.
He knew what she meant, and he immediately tried to play it down. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“It was a big deal,” she said firmly. “When I said you weren’t like the other Predator Class hunters I’d met, that wasn’t the complete truth.”
Arheis turned to look at her, one brow arched as he waited. She drew in a breath, seeming to find her center before she answered.
“The truth is you’re not like anyone I’ve ever met. You’re genuinely kind and compassionate. You want to do the right thing, even if you don’t always know how to get there. And I think you’ve been overlooked by everyone who knows you—including me. But I don’t want to do that anymore.”
He opened his mouth to respond to that, but was at a complete loss. He wasn’t naive enough to label this as anything other than tentative affection, but it felt good to be seen. All his life he’d been overlooked, and now here was someone actually seeing who he was—and maybe who he could be.
“I don’t know what this is,” she continued, racing headlong into a ramble, “I don’t even know what I want it to be. I thought Eva was it for me. I still miss her every single day, but I…”
She was struggling with the words, and Arheis was struggling just to keep up. He hadn’t sorted out his own feelings on the matter, and now that severing his tie to Estalia was at the forefront of his mind, he was having a hard time reconciling those things.
Mira, however, didn’t wait for him to make some genius remark. She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat, then said, “Oh, fuck it. You only live once, right?” before moving her hand to the back of his neck, pulling him to her, and kissing him.
There was something a little forceful and desperate about it at first, and to say Arheis was taken by surprise was a complete understatement. He sat there for a long, long moment just unable to respond at all. So long that she started to pull away, likely mortified. But finally he came to his senses and took enough stock in what he wanted to realize that yes—he did want this. Even if this moment was all it would ever be.
And with that in mind, Arheis’ hand slid into her hair, his fingers running through the silken strands as he finally kissed her back. Her lips were soft and warm and the kiss was as real as any he’d ever experienced before, so he treated it as such. He also treated it like the first and last time he would ever get the opportunity, because… it was.
When the kiss broke, Arheis felt himself lingering, his gaze casting to her. There was a flush in her cheeks and a smile on her lips, but she looked away from him after a moment.
“I should… check on the injured hunters,” she said, gently clearing her throat. “Yes, that’s… where I should be right now.”
“Right. Yeah. Of course.”
She didn’t exactly bolt off the roof, but she was quick to stand. It seemed neither of them were particularly good at handling feelings—whatever those feelings might be. That went doubly so for Arheis, because he realized moments too late that he needed to say something to her. To thank her the way he’d thanked Zindar.
But she was already gone, and once again he was left with his own deeply conflicted thoughts.
There was something here. He could feel it. But was it worth whatever was happening—or had already happened—to Higrem? Some part of him said yes, but his cautious and analytical side pleaded with him to back down. To tread the safer path, even if it would inevitably lead to the same unfulfilling life he’d led since joining the workforce.
Making his way down to the street below, Arheis realized he was going to have to make this decision quickly and not deviate from it. If he did, his indecisiveness would hold him hostage for days—maybe even weeks. He had to weigh out the benefits and the drawbacks in his mind and decide if it was worth taking the risk. Because maybe Higrem’s case was unique. Maybe he was blowing smoke up Arheis’ ass in an attempt to scare him off.
He walked aimlessly, expecting to be left alone with his thoughts the way he always was. But people stopped him on the street repeatedly. It wasn’t just awe-struck hunters, either. Regular villagers seemed to know who he was and what he’d done. They thanked him; said they didn’t think Lacerda would still be standing without him and his friends. One even hugged him and cried on his shirt.
If Higrem was right and this was a real place, could he really abandon all of these people? He’d done good in Estalia, in a way he would’ve never been able to do in the real world. Sure, there was a danger in staying and getting too attached. Not to mention whatever the hell Higrem had been talking about. But how could he make the decision to leave it all for good when he didn’t have all of the facts?
He could find out what was really going on; find out what lay beneath the surface in this game that felt less and less like a game with every passing moment. And he could do it while helping other people. That had to be worth fighting for.
For the first time in his life, Arheis—Simon—could contribute to something meaningful. But he couldn’t do it alone. He’d need Mira and Zindar and—
Galen stood near the gates, staring up at the remains of a building he hadn’t been able to restore. Arheis approached, and the look in the elf’s eyes suggested he already knew what was about to be said.
He said it anyway, needing to hear the words for himself; needing to solidify that decision in his mind. “We can’t let what happened here ever happen again. Those crystals have to be destroyed.”
The Naturalist simply said, “I know,” in answer, but it was enough.
They could rest. Celebrate their victory. But once everyone was well and ready, they’d meet the next threat head-on, together.
Thanks for Reading!
Thank you so much for reading Hunter’s Bond. This is my first foray into LitRPG, so if you enjoyed the book, would you please consider leaving a review? It’s a huge help to debut authors.
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- Courtney
Join the Hunt
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About the Author
Courtney Keene has always had a deep and abiding love for video games and writing. From her first time picking up an NES controller, she was transfixed by the possibilities of video games, though it wasn’t until the Final Fantasy series that she became interested in the stories those games could tell.
With previous experience as a narrative designer and an author, Courtney is now focused on merging those two passions to create compelling fantasy stories that take place within the confines of a game world.
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C. E. Keene, Hunter's Bond
