The sound of Orion’s hooves broke the silence, bringing her focus back to the road ahead.
“I told you once before, Starborne, you shouldn’t trust me,” Draven said bluntly. His gaze was focused ahead as he rode.
“Even the Stars couldn’t make me trust you,” she snipped. Exasperated did not begin to scratch the surface of her feelings. People were never as they seemed.
No, she thought,they are worse.
For once, Draven said nothing, only watched her with an unreadable expression. No snide retort. No easy dismissal.
Astraia pulled Orion into a walk again, turning her head toward the bounty hunter in confusion.
He sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair—his unspoken ritual of frustration. What she said had actually struck a chord.
“Stars, Traia. Would you stop moving away from me?” he called after her. “Traia, stop!”
Astraia whipped her head around as he moved his horse closer to her.
“Look, I was sent—”
A loud thump silenced him.
Draven stopped, peering down at his chest, at the arrow sticking out from his left side just inches from his heart. Bright red blood already began to flow from the wound.
His gaze flitted back up to meet Astraia’s.
Time stilled.
His body went limp and fell sideways off his horse, hitting the ground beneath with a deafening crunch.
“Draven!” Astraia screamed.
Her bonds flashed through her body in seconds. Power flooded her senses, making her acutely aware of her surroundings as Sacrifice ached to attend to the fallen bounty hunter.
Blue and white light, blinding and fearsome, burst from every curve and angle of her body.
Astraia dismounted Orion, pulling her Starwood bow from her back, and aimed an arrow into the woods across from their position.
Another arrow whistled by her ear, coming from further into the woods.
She dove into her bond, grasping her new tether to the Stars, allowing Power to flow from her fingertips to the sharpened end of the arrow. Senses sharp, she could sense the attackers were moving amongst the trees, attempting to get closer to their target.
On an exhale, Astraia released her arrow, pushing her bond from the nock to the deadly tip.
She could see deeper in the woods as her arrow flew, as if she had become part of her weapon, a beacon for revenge.
An attacker stepped out from behind a tree, readying his own arrow—but the hunter became the prey.
Arrow pierced flesh.
The man flew backward at the force of the endued arrow, leaves fluttering around his now lifeless body.
As soon as the first arrow flew, Astraia nocked another in its place, her breathing slow and steady as she searched for her next victim.
Pain erupted from her right thigh, and she let out a cry.
An arrow had grazed her thigh, cutting through her pants and ripping her skin open.
Breathing heavily, she stood her ground. Power surged from her spine, demanding to be unleashed.
