The fringes of the small camp dissolved into darkness where the light of the fire couldn’t reach. Still, there were no signs of the prince or Arabis, and still, no one seemed concerned about it. Like Arabis, Jeondar glanced up at the sky as he stood next to the fire, his brown skin looking golden. I checked the time. It was 7 PM.
“You should go in the tent.” He offered me a hand to help me stand, but I ignored it and stood on my own, hoping the knife wasn’t visible under my tunic as he ushered me into my makeshift cell.
Past the flap, the tent was cozy and, suddenly, felt more like a safe heaven than a prison. There was a lantern that cast a warm glow over a comfortable pile of blankets and furs. Best of all, no one was staring at me. I quickly sat down and hid the knife underneath me.
Resolved to wait until everyone was asleep, I waited.
CHAPTER 7
EventhoughIwasexhausted, I didn’t lie down and risk drifting off to sleep. I was worried that, despite my precarious situation, my body would betray me if I got too comfortable. Instead, I sent a wave of healing magic over my muscles to ensure I was in the best shape possible. I had to be if I was to outrun anyone tonight. Though, hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. Hopefully, no one would notice me when I slipped away.
I vaguely wondered where my messenger bag was. I wished I could get it back, or at least my phone and the emergency charger I kept there, but those were trivial things that I could easily replace when I got back home.
A howl broke the relative silence, sending a wave of panic crashing into my chest. I wrapped my arms around my body, rocking backward and forwards and telling myself I would not get eaten by some Fae beast I had no name for.
Gradually, the sounds around the camp subsided, though the howls continued, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end every time. I put out the lantern to indicate I’d gone to sleep and listened intently for a long while before I retrieved the knife, moved to the back of the tent, and slowly, taking advantage of the howling, carved a hole large enough for me to slip out.
Once outside of the tent, I crouched low, my heart hammering so loudly I was sure it would not go unnoticed by sharp Fae ears. The moon was hidden behind a cluster of clouds, which was a blessing. When no one came, I slunk toward the trees, each step careful and premeditated. I was no survivalist, but I knew sloppiness would get me noticed, especially with nature-savvy Fae as my sentries.
It was painful going until I felt safe enough to start moving at a faster pace. I quickly checked my watch to make sure I was headed generally south and kept on, constantly glancing over my shoulder, trying to peer through the darkness with my too-weak human eyes. My only relief was that the further I went, the further away the howling of that creature got.Thank the witchlights!
I walked for hours, pacing myself. I wanted to run, but I knew I would get farther if I walked steadily. A few times, I walked to the edge of the woods to make sure I was still walking parallel to the plains we’d traversed on horseback. The moon had left the clouds behind, painting the faraway mountains and grass with silver light. It was a breathtaking view that I had only but a few seconds to admire before weaving back into the forest.
My watch informed me that dawn would be here soon. My captors would discover I was gone, then would come after me—I had no doubt. This meant that, before long, I would need to find a hiding place, somewhere that could conceal my presence from their keen senses.
As the sky grew lighter, my nerves redoubled. On horseback, they would catch up with me in no time. My only hope was to remain hidden. I wanted to keep going, to run as fast as my legs would allow me, but I knew it was unwise.
Instead, I slowed my pace and scanned my surroundings. I dismissed a couple of too-obvious places and settled for a mostly rotted tree trunk overtaken by moss and lichen. I settled in its hollow center, gathering dirt and moss around my body, hoping to disguise my presence from sensitive eyes and noses. I left only a small gap for my eyes to peer out, then lay still.
As time passed and no one came, I felt foolish and started thinking I could get closer to Pharowyn if I just kept going, but my patience prevailed and I stayed in place. I could sit next to a sick patient for hours, watching their vital signs, applying healing spells at regular intervals, hoping and praying for the smallest sign of recovery. This was no different, except it was my life on the line, not someone else’s.
A few times—as my tired muscles settled, sighing in relief—I almost drifted off to sleep, but a swift pinch here and there helped me remain awake.
I could almost sense the sun rising in the east, swallowing away the shadows and inviting dawn to paint the sky with a palette of colors that only nature possessed.
The sound of a breaking branch reverberated through the woods. I froze, biting the inside of my cheek and breathing as silently as I could. Steps disturbed the dry foliage, someone approaching.
Was it my captors? Or an animal that would sniff me out and eat me for breakfast?
Witchlights!
Maybe I would’ve been better off if I’d stayed with the prince and the others. I didn’t know exactly what roamed in these lands, but I’d read enough that I was aware that all manner of creatures lived in Elf-hame, many of them putting my realm’s wildest beast to shame.
The steps came to a halt. Something was nearby, and it wasn’t one of my captors. I could tell by the ragged breaths that it huffed in and out, each accompanied by a low guttural sound, the growl in the back of an animal’s throat.
I prayed I’d rubbed enough moss over my skin to camouflage my scent or that I was upwind from where the creature stood.
More steps, and then the beast’s back came into view. I peered at it from my mask of moist lichen and nearly screamed.
The beast was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It resembled a wolf, an apex predator, but it was larger, three times larger than any of the wolves in my realm, even the powerful alpha werewolves like my sister’s boyfriend.
He—the creature was undoubtedly male—walked on four legs, but instead of paws it had what looked like a mix between talons and hands, extremities that could grip and tear things up to shreds. Sharp black claws tipped each digit. They sank into the supple ground as the beast’s weight settled. Nearly black fur covered the creature, fur that, for the most part, was short, except at the head and tail. In those areas, it was abundant, giving the creature a mane and something like a horse’s tail.
But the strangest thing of all was the tendrils of darkness that floated around it like ribbons made of mist, and the thick shadows that puddle beneath him.
Keep moving. Keep moving. Keep moving.
I willed the creature to leave. To never look back and—