The Boleyn twins joined Diya on the ground. “Are you okay?” Victoria asked while her brother checked on Akarai. “You look pale.”

“I’m surprised that thing didn’t rip my arms off.” Diya smiled, looking up at the gorgeous Boleyn woman. His heart skipped a beat as she kneeled beside him and pulled his ripped shirt aside to check on the shoulder.

“Was this all Akarai?”

Diya shook his head.

“And your hands?”

“I ran into a tribe of troglodytes up there,” Diya answered, pointing at the opening in the cliff face above. “I took down at least six of them.”

“You’re an idiot.” Victoria sighed. “Would it have killed you to wait for us before exploring?”

“I didn’t know how long you’d be, did I?”

Victoria poked his sore shoulder, drawing a yelp from Diya. “A trapper stays with the traps. I hate leaving you alone. We spend half the time wondering whether you’ll be alive when we get back.”

“Was it worth it, though?” Alexander asked, joining them. He leaned against the tree trunk, studying the launcher. “That’s the important question.”

“I think so?” Diya handed Alexander his diary. “There was a map, lots of runes, and carvings of a temple and a ravine. We might find something useful there. Speaking of useful, any luck?”

The Boleyn twins peeled back their sleeves and showed off their left forearms. Only the three squares marked their skin. Two out of three were greyed out. Diya insisted everyone in the party carry a rope card. They were necessary for constructing simple and complex traps. Without them, the log trap would’ve been impossible.

“What about you?” Victoria asked.

Before Diya could answer, she checked for herself. Her touch warmed Diya’s cheeks. If not for the throbbing shoulder, a boyish grin would’ve given away his feelings.

“No. Apparently, taking out a giant wolf isn’t enough for Gaia.”

Rustling leaves and cracking branches drew their attention to the clearing’s edge. Lawrence appeared, jogging through the foliage. The giant young man stood taller than everyone in the party. He appeared barely out of breath. Lawrence’s long hair sat atop his head in a tight bun. Only the sweat on his brow suggested he’d been exerting himself. His spear and shield hung slung across his back. Unlike Diya, Lawrence was a contracted employee of the Boleyn family. He was twenty-one—three years past the minimum age for entering the tower—but started delving a year after Diya and the twins.

Lawrence slowed to a stop on seeing Akarai. He nodded at the trio and indulged in his waterskin’s contents, drinking slowly with his eyes closed. The man talked little. Diya caught Victoria’s eyes, tracking Lawrence’s Adam’s apple bob. It was no secret that the young man looked much better than him. Lawrence had height and bulging muscles. Her attraction made sense.

Edgar Boleyn, the youngest of the Boleyn siblings, followed Lawrence a minute later. While the twins were classically good-looking, Edgar had received the short end of the stick. At five and a half feet tall, Diya was average height for someone of his ethnicity. Baba said he’d stand taller than most in their home city—Old Calcutta. Edgar stood an inch shorter than Diya, making him the smallest member Boleyn family. His stocky legs made him the slowest as well.

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Edgar collapsed onto his hands and knees after seeing Akarai’s corpse. He coughed and retched, throwing up far too much food. It looked like he’d been in the middle of a big meal when they started the chase.

“I hate this,” the paunchy climber said. With only a month of delving under his belt, Edgar hadn’t yet lost his civilian weight. He skimped on Baba’s training drills, too, leaving him physically unfit compared to the rest of the party.

After wiping his mouth, Edgar climbed onto his feet, marched up to Akarai’s corpse and kicked the body. “We got you in one piece, you ugly fuck.” He spat and whipped out a dagger. “Cutting you open, better get me my soul card. I’m not doing that again.”

The giant wolf’s head rose and snapped at Edgar when he plunged the blade into Akarai’s side. A high-pitched scream escaped Edgar as he fell onto his bottom and scrambled backwards. Akarai’s legs thrashed almost uselessly under him, but he still managed to use the movement to get closer to Edgar.

“Get it away from me!” He yelled.

Lawrence reacted faster than the rest of the party. The giant dropped his waterskin and lunged forward, swinging his spear around in a singular, smooth motion. The spearhead plunged into the already caved-in half of Akarai’s chest. Lawrence left the weapon there and hopped backwards, dragging Edgar back by the collar. Akarai thrashed for several long heartbeats before going still again.

Diya, Victoria, and Alexander remained frozen where they’d sat. Their eyes moved between the giant wolf and the silver light glowing through Lawrence’s sleeve.

“What was that?” Edgar yelled, ignorant of the magical light behind him. “I thought you killed it!”

“I checked the corpse,” Alexander said, eyes focused on Lawrence. “The wolf was dead. Lawrence, did you just—”

Lawrence nodded, pulling back his sleeve. The light faded, leaving behind a long tattoo. It featured the outline of a running wolf. Lawrence opened his right palm, releasing Edgar’s collar, and a card rose out of his hand. More runes bordered the rectangle than with the rope or launcher cards. The image of a howling white wolf dominated the main body, emanating power and an air of wilderness.

“I didn’t think I’d be the first,” Lawrence said in his deep, gravelly voice.

Diya bit his tongue. His ears grew hot, and his heart thundered angrily in his chest. It was him, Victoria, and Alexander that put in most of the effort, but Gaia rewarded the giant who landed the finishing blow. Diya wanted to complain about the unfairness of the situation, but any mention of it would make him look petty.

“I can’t believe it!” Edgar exclaimed. “Why do you deserve a soul card? I’m the one that almost died twice today. What did you even do, Lawrence?”

“Edgar, leave it alone.” Victoria sighed.

“No!” Edgar growled. “It should’ve been me. I—”

“Can we just skin Akarai and head home?” Alexander asked, cutting off his younger brother. “The hunt wasn’t fruitless. We got a clean kill with minimum damage to the hide, and one of us got our soul card. Which means our next hunt will be several times easier.”

Edgar opened his mouth to argue with Alexander but shut up when Lawrence activated his soul card, summoning a white wolf. It was no bigger than an ordinary specimen, but Edgar still yelped and scrambled across the clearing, moving farther away from it.

Diya took a moment to watch the creature. Beast-type soul cards were rare and heavily sought. It would likely enhance Lawrence’s physiology, improving his senses and probably mobility.

A jealous knot formed in Diya’s stomach. They were the qualities he needed to climb Gaia’s Ark and figure out whatever happened to Neer. He cracked his knuckles and forced his eyes away from Lawrence and the summoned wolf. Diya got out his skinning knife and got to work on Akarai.

“Let’s pack up and prepare to move,” Diya said. “There are troglodytes in the cliffs, and I’ve killed a bunch of them. They’ll probably flood the valley once darkness falls, and I’m in no shape for more fighting.”

“Right.” Victoria nodded, drawing a knife of her own. “I’ll help. The sooner we get home, the sooner I can get in the bath. Off your arse, Eddie. There’s work to do.”

“To the depths with you!” The youngest Boleyn swore before fumbling with his belt and disappearing into the trees.