7
Tarkyn slept for more than twenty-four hours. Drumming rain on the roof of his shelter finally woke him. He lay in the semi-darkness remembering where he was and what had happened. He wondered how Rushwind was, but not enough to venture into the rain to find out. Tarkyn thought about Autumn Leaves telling him he was unnerving, Rainstorm calling him ruthless, and all the woodfolk backing away from him. Most unkind of all was Waterstone’s remark about the wolf’s spirit being broken. Tarkyn hadn’t broken his spirit. He may have mastered the wolf but that same wolf was still lord of the wolf pack. Even at the end, the wolf had met his eyes for some time before acknowledging Tarkyn as his packleader. On balance, Tarkyn decided to roll over and go back to sleep.
When he next awoke, the rain
