Moonsong Glacier [m] going toe to toe with an enchantress

Aventus rumbled out a quiet laugh. They can be frightening, he agreed. The one that killed Evien had fit the bill. Aventus wouldn't ever want to be caught on the wrong side of a grizzly bear. He felt as though his blood blessed him and granted him their favour, and the corpses he often left strewn out in the open for them after feeding might have something to do with the bears having left him alone thus far. That wasn't to say it was impossible.

That was the catch, the little snag inside Aventus that questioned his entire life. His family was bound to the bears, or at least that's what he thought. Should that not have made them invincible? Astara was gone, Avicus had left again, and Asperas and Apophis might as well have never been born, so little was their devotion to their family and pack. How was it a family could be so battered and broken when they did everything right? Sometimes, he wondered if the bear spirit truly existed, and if it was anything more than a vengeful spirit devouring its followers with nothing gained for their devotion.

The bears allow us to live in their domain, he said, gesturing to the nearby mountain peak. A great bear died there. Its spirit speaks to my father. In return for blood, the bears watch over Ursus and grant us strength. That was what his father said. That was what he wasn't sure he really believed. When had the bears ever done anything for them? He was nothing if not loyal, though, and would be patient. Someday it would all become clear.

He licked his chops, eyeing Val a little more closely. Kind of rangy, like he'd been on his own for a long time now. Even in the darkness, Aventus thought he looked hungry. What if you lived beside them, too, and conquered your fear? Would that not make you stronger?