I would rather be gutted by some wolf’s snarling maw than expire due to decay.

The flames dance higher into the mist when Gryff stabs a blackened log. “I wish he would stop throwing those damn rocks.”

Something soars over my head, hitting Gryff square between the eyes. He leaps to his feet, his muscles coiled, and his teeth bared in a growl.

Maddox does not even have the good sense to stand and meet his fighting stance. “Awe, is the big, scary fae going to hurt me?”

“Fuck off. Both of you.” We are not here to piss around. We are here to do a job. A job we cannot do if they keep snarling at each other.

When a stone hits my back, I do not budge. I would sooner launch myself into the canyon than give in to Maddox’s attempts to rile us. The man bores too easily for this position. He really should try tanning hides or join the barterers on their treks to the other Unseelie territories.

An idle Maddox is a menace, indeed.

“You need to lighten up, Ever. Would not want that pretty face of yours to end up in a permanent scowl like poor Gryff’s.”

Gryff drops back onto one of the flat stones encircling the fire with a huff, stabbing a little harder, no doubt picturing Maddox’s grinning face in the flickering orange and red flames. Of all the males in our clan, Gryff is the one I would not cross. Maddox must not have a brain in his head because he does not have the same reservations.

Another one of Maddox’s rocks is launched into nothingness, vanishing without a sound. “Have you given Leah Locke an answer yet?”

I nudge what remains of a femur with the toe of my boot, scooting it back into place with the rest of the bones lining the path. “Not yet.” If it were up to me, I would never respond. Maybe if I leave it long enough, she will forget she asked me in the first place.

Maddox tosses the next stone into the air, catching it once more without even looking at the thing. “Do me a favor, will you? Let her down gently so she does not hate the rest of us by association.”

Gryff snorts. “Like Leah Locke would ever consider mating with the likes of you.”

This time when the stone comes, Gryff is ready, snatching it from the air before it strikes his forehead. A rare smile crosses his face before his favorite expression of utter disdain for everything and everyone returns.

Maddox grins, his teeth a vicious flash of white in the darkness. “Who said anything about mating? I just want to bring her to my barrel-top, bend her over, and⁠—”

I pick up the biggest rock I can find and throw it at his exasperating head.