The wolf lay dead at her feet. 

Well, technically it was on top of her. Half on top of her, the blood from where her dagger had pierced it seeping out onto her scant clothes, dripping down to her thigh, coating her hand. Vuelva a la Tierra. 

It'd been a while since she killed anything, she realized, slipping out from under the animal and coming to her feet. She looked down at the carcass, considered cutting off the head and taking it to Blaz, then dismissed the idea as being not only crass, but also cliché. 

She gripped her knife and starting sawing at its front left paw, the one closest to her. About fifteen minutes later, she finally got through the bone. As she was straightening up to leave, she looked back at its face. She had closed its eyes since having the dead stare at her creeped her out, but its snout was gaping. Its fangs caught her eye. 

She was walking away when a bizzare chill wracked her spine. She spun, but the wolf was no longer there. Unnerved, Luciana ran back to the palace. 

When she stepped into the garden, Igarov was already there. 

"I guess you were right." He said. 

"When have I not been?" It was only then that Lux noticed the other man sitting back in the shadows. She couldn't see his face. 

Igarov ignored him. "Did you fail?" He glanced at her blood soaked leg. "Are you hurt?"

She held out her hand, paw in plain sight. "No."

He looked at it. "Then why were you running?" He looked at her. "Why are you afraid?" 

It took her a second to answer him. "It wasn't alone."

"Another wolf?" Igarov asked.

"Not possible." The man in the shadows replied firmly. 

Luca looked in his direction, trying to distinguish him from the darkness. The corner he was sitting in seemed to not reflect any light, everything in it was ink black. 

"It wasn't a wolf." She said. A vague shadow appeared in her mind's eye. "It might have been a person."

"Might have been?" Igarov inquired.

"It didn't feel like a person." She replied. 

"What did it feel like?" The other person asked. He sounded excited.

Lucy directed her gaze his way, towards his voice, a little higher, she wanted to be looking straight into his eyes. She pretended she was. Then, she didn't speak. 

"Girl." He growled.

"Watch your tone, Shimmel." Igarov warned, voice sinking as deep as it went. "Princess," He said to her. "Don't look at him."

She smirked, then looked away. "Are you saying I should only look at you? How bold."

He raised his eyebrows, the corners of his lips tugging up ever so slightly. "Don't say such dangerous things, Princess. You'll get me exiled." 

Luca rolled her eyes, then glanced at the melati, white petals bright against the night.

"She wants to see Khaliq." Shimmel said. 

"Who's Khaliq?" Lux asked no one in particular.

"He works in the blacksmiths' forge." Igarov replied. "What do you want to see him for?" 

"Can he make things quickly?" She asked, ignoring his question. "I believe we leave tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" Igarov asked. 

"Cahaya Kecil has requested I go to his village." She replied. 

"Cahaya did?" He a