Something. Someone.
Aid me, she told the land beneath her, the trees above her, the very air around her.
And then she heard the whine. And she knew who it was that lurked out there in the dark.
Wen had found her. He had.
She lifted her head and tried to see. Impossible.
Please, she begged of Alba, and looked from one guard to the other.
If only one of them would step off into the trees to relieve himself. She could make a run for it. With Wen there to defend her…
But had she learned nothing? Would she want her hound to spend his life for her? Had she not sacrificed herself to keep those she loved alive?
She should just stay where she was. Continue on to Mican’s stronghold. Take whatever punishment he wanted to hand out.
One of the guards disappeared. It occurred so swiftly and so silently, Bradana did not see it happen. One moment the fellow pacing the perimeter of the camp was there, the next he was not. She blinked and strained her eyes.
Gone.
She did not understand. If Wen had leaped upon the man and taken him down, she would have heard.
Her eyes moved to the second guard. Had he seen? He stood perfectly motionless and might be sleeping on his feet.
Then suddenly, before she could blink again, he disappeared also.
Bradana sat up, sure her eyes must be deceiving her, or that she slept and dreamed.
Aye, that must be it, for she saw Wen approaching, picking his way across the camp on his big, silent feet, stepping around and at one pointoverthe sleeping men.
Bradana scrambled to her feet. Dream or not, she was following her hound.
But she did not breathe as she crept past the sleeping figures. Mican first, who stirred and snorted, making her heart falter in her chest. Two others.
At the edge of the trees, arms enfolded her and gripped her hard. She knew him at once, and her poor heart bounded, but she did not say a word.
Hand in hand, they moved off. Past the guard who lay sprawled on the ground. Led by Wen, who still moved silently and looked like a figure from an ancient tale.
Neither of them spoke, but strength came to Bradana through Adair’s fingers. She wanted to ask him a hundred questions, but she already had the answers.
I will find you always.
They walked on and on through endless trees, following the hound and not seeking any other direction. Listening hard for someone to wake behind them. To leap up and begin a pursuit.
No sound came.
Alba closed her arms around them. Bradana could describe it no other way. The trees shielded them. The very earth guided their footsteps. Just the three of them alone.
At last Bradana faltered, and they paused. Her body still hurt, and the effects of her ordeal had her in a fierce grip.
Adair ran his hands up and down her arms, imparting reassurance, and unfastened something from his belt. A flask.
Bradana drank the water greedily. Wen pressed against her side and whined. She dug her fingers into his fur.
“Come,” Adair breathed in her ear.
“Which way?”
