I rolled my eyes, but secretly, I felt a blush threaten to swell up in my cheeks.He must have known he’s handsome all along... blasted princes.“Okay then, how do you plan to get across the river without succumbing to your injury? I still can’t swim, remember?” I caught up to his pace once more, but quickly halted as Killian came to a stop.
In my distracted state, I hadn’t even noticed where we were. Killian had led us back to his campsite. I watched curiously as he proudly strode over to his homemade bed pallet and lifted it off the ground. “This is how!” He beamed. “Birch wood floats. If we carry this with us to the river, we should be able to use it as a raft. Since we’re not being actively chased by rebels, we can even take the time to collect something to use as paddles.”
His excited smile spread contagiously to me.This can really work... I can go back home!“That’s brilliant, birdbrain!”
His elated expression faded to a pout at my use of his nickname, but he quickly shook it off when I raced over to help him lift the pallet. “As soon as we cross that river, we’ll find your mother,” he said softly, a kind expression flooding his face. “Then I’ll start doing some research and find out where you really come from. I promised, after all.”
He winked at me and this time, I did blush. “Let’s just focus on crossing the river first,” I said shyly, shielding my face by ducking behind the pallet.
Luckily, he refrained from pestering me as we took turns dragging the make-shift raft across the woods. I tried to do a majority of the heavy lifting, but my short-stature and ridiculous dress made it challenging to move with any semblance of coordination. After an embarrassing amount of struggling, I finally relinquished the task and allowed Killian to carry the raft for the remainder of the walk. He tenderly dragged the pallet with his good arm while I scouted ahead for the smoothest terrain.
The river was a lot closer than I had remembered, so fortunately he didn’t have to strain himself for long. When we arrived at the river bank, I instantly noticed how high the water had become. I gulped anxiously as my eyes followed the rapid current.It is so much stronger now.
My nervous thoughts were disrupted by a gentle touch on my hand. Killian met my eyes and gave me an encouraging smile. “You can do this, Nixie.”
My heart fluttered in reminiscence of the first time he had uttered those words to me. A small smile twitched at my mouth as I recalled the memory. We had been in front of this exact river, but under very different circumstances.
Killian got to work inspecting the loose twigs on the pallet while I took the dagger and began collecting cat tail stems to tie them down. It felt so good to have the weapon back in my hand. My filthy skirt tangled around my ankles as I attempted to step up from the riverbank. I bit back a sneer as I internally cursed Minerva’s devious choice of attire for me. As I scrambled awkwardly back up the bank, an idea crossed my mind, and I wasted no time setting it into motion. With awkward sawing movements, I shredded the end of my skirt, cutting it off just below the knee. The cut was jagged and uneven, but I had never felt freer once I kicked off the extra fabric.
When I returned with the cattails, Killian gave me a humored stare as he eyed my newly designed skirt. “I was wondering how long it would take you to do that,” he teased. “You never struck me as the ball gown type.”
“Well, I’m certain you’d look much better in one than me.”
He placed his hands proudly upon his hips. “You had better believe it, princess,” he said with a dramatic swish of his dark hair.
I rolled my eyes and got back to work on our raft. Once it was ready for the water, we gingerly carried it to the edge of the bank. Killian let me climb on first, ensuring that I had a solid grip on the wood before pressing it farther into the river. We had collected a few wide branches to use as paddles and kept them tucked under our arms as we pushed off into the current.
My heart raced as I felt the icy water lap against my skin. The last time I had entered this river, I had nearly watched a man die—the same man I couldn’t bear to lose again.
Killian eased the raft into the water with slow movements until the current began sweeping the control from him faster than he could push it. At that moment, he boarded the raft alongside me, carefully balancing until he could maintain his grip. My heart skipped a beat as I watched his hand slip off for a moment before grabbing another section. The current was fully in control of our destination, and the movement was at least twice as fast as the last time we had entered it.
“You’re doing great, Nix,” Killian said calmly, reaching for the paddle under his arm. “I’m going to start rowing toward the eastern shore. If you feel comfortable you can help, but don’t let go if you’re too nervous.”
I gave him a hesitant nod, my eyes trained on the rushing water. “I’ll give it a try.” With one hand I reached for my paddle and kept a firm grip on the raft with the other. With the two of us working against the current, we slowly began to grow closer to the cherished eastern shore.
“Keep going, we’re almost there!” Killian was nearly shouting to be heard over the racing current.
I thrived off his reassurance and even released my second hand to aid in the paddling. I could hear Killian’s breathing grow shallow as he continued to push himself past his limits.Hold on, Killian, we’re almost there.The shore was in sight now. I pressed as hard as I could against the vicious river, using all my strength to inch us closer to freedom.
The river bank was so close that I could almost touch it. Killian touched his arm to my shoulder and shouted in my ear, “try and grab something, I’ll hold you!” He wrapped his hand tightly around my wrist and gave me a firm nod.
I took a deep breath and reached for the bank. The first thing my hand touched was a prickly bush, but there was nothing solid to grab onto. I reached out again for a cattail, but we were floating away from it now that we weren’t paddling. I scanned the bank for something sturdier, and I noticed a stunted tree sprouting outward over the water. I tightened my grip on Killian and lunged for the tree, pulling him behind me as I wrapped my arm securely around the trunk. Killian fell into the water at first, but I pulled him upward until he too managed to get a grip on the narrow trunk.
We carefully took turns shimmying out from the water and collapsed in exhaustion on the muddy bank. After a full minute of catching our breath, we slowly rose to our feet and wrapped each other in a fresh embrace.
“We did it!” I said giddily, squeezing Killian so tightly that I felt him hiss in pain. “Oh! Sorry!” I jumped back quickly. “I was little excited.”
He laughed it off, while simultaneously rubbing his sore arm. “That’s alright. I’m just glad to be done with that blasted river.” He cast a dirty glare in the water’s direction, and I laughed again.
We lumbered away from the river and stopped to rest in a small cluster of bushes where we could talk without worrying about looking out for rebels. I stretched out my aching arms and relished in the sweet relief that came from being on my home-turf.
“I guess it’s time for me to seek out my mother. I’m sure she’s been worried sick about me these last few weeks. The rebels knew exactly who she was, so they’ve likely been careful not to lead her to any clues of their whereabouts.”
Killian’s face furrowed for a moment, then reflected a sudden look of concern. “Wait a moment... Did you say that they know your mother?”
I nodded. “Of course. They kidnapped me from my home, after all. Those brutes even destroyed my hammock,” I huffed, recalling the long list of offenses.
“Nixie, you can’t go home yet...” he said in a broken tone, his eyes hopelessly apologetic. “Not if the rebels know where to find you. They’ll only catch you again, and then you’ll be back escaping another unwanted betrothal.”