I started climbing down toward the stream when a shadow passed over me, too big to belong to a bird. I looked up—and felt like I’d been punched in the chest.
A pegasus swooped down from the sky, white as snow with wings longer than I was tall. You didn’t see pegasi in the kingdom of Thallence. Magical animals had been hunted to extinction within our borders.
The animal didn’t scare me, but the rider… Shimmering silver armor, a billowing cape of midnight blue, sword sheathed at his hip. That was a knight from the Moonlit Court.
They’d found me.
Chapter 4
Emmeline
The pegasus’s hooves hit the ground with four deep thumps, and it tossed its head with a snort, folding in its wings. Up close, it looked even more massive than it had in the sky. The air thrummed with the residual power of its flight. Magic—I felt it like a subtle vibration in my chest.
“Emmeline Le Brun.” The rider towered over me atop his steed. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Shit. So his appearance wasn’t a coincidence. And speaking of coincidences…
I peered at his face: olive skin, striking amber eyes staring out from under sharp eyebrows, and stubble that didn’t quite form a beard. He was irritatingly handsome like all men of the Moonlit Court, but a hawkish, slightly too-thin nose saved his face fromboring perfection. And I recognized that face even with the helmet obscuring it.
Sir Valen from the party.
A small, extremely stupid part of me felt happy to see him again. He’d given me the only good conversation I’d had that night. Actually, it was the first time in ages I’d spoken to someone other than Maman for longer than two minutes and enjoyed it.
He didn’t seem up for a friendly chat now. Gone were his witty grin and bewitching gaze. His expression had all the charm and good cheer of a castle portcullis.
How the hell had he found me? He’d obviously tracked me to arrest me, but how could he possibly know I was the thief? I was in my normal form: runty, pale, with curly brown hair. He’d never seen me like this before.
He dismounted smoothly but came no closer. “We need to talk. I have an offer you’ll want to hear.”
An offer? Not a warrant for my arrest? What the hell?
I was frozen like a spooked mouse. I needed to think—fast—but what could I do? I couldn’t outrun a knight on horseback—much less a winged horse. Maybe if I could reach the woods… His pegasus wouldn’t be able to maneuver through the tight trees.
Yes, that could work. His heavy armor would slow him down. I could hide until he left, and then I’d find Maman and run. I didn’t care about his offer—if it was even real. He probably just wanted me to lower my guard so he could arrest me.
He came closer.
“Please, sire.” I dipped into a clumsy curtsy. “I’ve committed no crime. You have the wrong person. I’m a simple farmhand.”
I kept my head bowed low to hide my wince. Ugh. That had been too over the top.
He smirked. “Nice try, but—”
I bolted. Valen spat a curse behind me, but I didn’t turn around to check on him. I crashed through a bush and raced into the trees. My mother waited far to the right, so I veered left. No matter what happened, I couldn’t let Valen find her.
He crashed through the bush behind me. Shit, he was too close. I stumbled over uneven ground, losing valuable seconds. Gnarled roots threatened to snare my ankles, and branches scratched at my face. Behind me, the methodical crunch of armored footfalls pursued with annoying persistence.
I launched myself at a low-hanging limb, muscles straining as I swung up into the embrace of an ancient oak. Valen slowed his pace, face tilting upward, scanning the leaves where I pressed myself against rough bark.
I moved silently from branch to branch. The trees here grew close enough that their limbs intertwined, creating a precarious path above the forest floor.
I’d honed my skills since childhood, climbing and jumping across rooftops as I fled angry merchants and outraged nobility. (Before I got so good at pick-pocketing that they stopped noticing me.) I was used to cities, not forests, but I managed just fine. My fingers found knots and handholds in the bark as I traversed sideways, putting distance between myself and my pursuer.
Valen abandoned stealth entirely, crashing through underbrush as he traced my path above. Shit, I wasn’t losing him. He tracked me with the precision of a predator, and he wasn’t slowing like the lazy guards who usually chased me.
The dull rumble I’d heard by the stream had turned to a roar. The waterfall. Maybe if I were lucky, I could lose him there.
I vaulted to the next tree, and the next, rushing toward the sound. The trees thinned, sunlight streaming between their trunks, and it took me a second to comprehend what I was seeing.
