AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The quiet was deep enough to hear dogs begin barking in the distance and the abrupt shouts of men. Three less dogs, thanks to his impulsive unlatching, but even one would be enough to track them.
His shoulders tensed at the sound, an already-wound spring twisting ever tighter. “They’re broadening the search. We need to hurry.”
“Aren’t we already hurrying?”
He bit his lip. She was right, but it wasn’t enough. They weren’t going fast enough. But maybe… maybe the mare would make the difference. “Think you can go a little faster?”
“I can try.” She hiked up her skirts slightly and kept her determined gaze on the ground.
The barking grew louder all too quickly. The forest was deep, but they hadn’t made it into the truly deep, rugged parts yet. They were still on a path, if a rough one. Nothing that would slow the dogs down.
He could hear them growing closer with each step, it seemed. How fast were those dogs?
The path forked slightly. He had them take the rougher one. The one that marked the mare’s tracks.
Tracks anyone could follow, not just dogs. He was shaking his head as they descended a slight hill. They needed to at least outrun the dogs to the horse. Then… then what?
Would the dogs be a match for the poor mare if it had to carry the two of them? No.
He’d have to send her on without him. And he’d just have to run.
A vicious crack in the branches behind them echoed in the silence. He grabbed her hand and broke into a run.
She could barely keep up, though. The path was not deserving of the name, rippled with roots and jagged stones. She’d likely never been anywhere like this.
Still, the only way out of this was through.
Iseris had claimed his arm for support, and that only made his ribs ache more, but he didn’t complain. They both wobbled like drunken tops as they scrambled up the hill. Some fir trees they scurried under briefly lightened the snowfall. Going down wasn’t any easier—or faster—than going up had been, though.
Snarls seemed to physically strike his back, brutal canine arrows, punctuated by an angry, frigid wind.
At the next mild rise, the mare came into view. His mare.
This wasn’t like in his dream, because in the dream, the goddess herself always brought the horse. The dream forest was completely flat, and only sometimes snowy, but the hills were a gift—they’d help them hide.
But the same feelings swept over him—desperation, urgency, wonder. Purpose. Determination.
“There.” He pointed. “Run!”
“What is…” Fortunately, she didn’t waste a breath on conversation. Her dash up the hill was quicker than even his own, but about two thirds of the way up, her foot slipped. She careened particularly hard to the side, and he lunged forward to catch her, hugging her hard to his chest.
A fall could mean serious injury. And they were already going to have more injuries than they’d be able to easily handle.
Blood trailed in the snow behind them. He winced. More pain she didn’t deserve. And more to lead the dogs on. “The horse—hurry.”
A snarl reverberated in the woods behind them, a snuffle and a huff. The hounds had to be close.
How did they get so close, so fast? Alekur must have released the animals sooner than he’d thought possible. Right after the fight inside the castle? He had thought they’d have time before someone discovered the battered prince, but maybe the fool had gotten lucky. It wouldn’t have been the first time, nor the last, but it could certainly ruin their chances of escape.
All the more reason it was good he’d hidden the mare here.
Both arms still steadying her, he drew her forward. Almost dragged, really. “You’re limping.”
“Sorry.”
“I didn’t—that’s not?—”
She shook her head, curls swaying. “We’re almost there.”
