Kole shifted from leading to following, allowing me to explore. As we moved deeper in, I relaxed at the peace there. Nature often had that effect, as if it welcomed me. I found myself wanting to move faster and faster, to feel the freedom of it.
“Is it okay if I run for a little?” I asked Kole after walking a while.
“You like to run?” A confident smile graced his brutal face.
Not exactly. But I had become accustomed to training physically and mentally. Since my mother’s passing, Edda developed a regimen for me to follow, and I always had until the past several days.
“Sometimes,” I answered. “My muscles are sore from sitting all day. I’d rather them be tired from exertion.”
“Sounds like fun.” He grinned, and I realized I wasn’t the only one who was burning for a physical release.
I bit my lip with apprehension. “You won’t attack me? Instincts kicking in or anything like that?”
When dealing with wild animals, the trick was to always frighten them away. Fearful running risked the opposite. It provoked a predator, leading to a chase.
Kole snorted. “I’m nothuntingyou, Ariana. You will be fine.” He shook his blond mane of a head.
“I’ll try not to lose you,” I commented casually, knowing fair well that I likely stood no chance. My words were just light banter in attempts to soften the walls Kole erected when it came to interacting with me. Though he did not trust and was cautious, he also did not openly hate, and that was something I could work with.
He opened his mouth to respond but never got the chance, for I took off into the woods in an all-out sprint. I was ahead of him for only a few seconds before he caught up and kept pace with me.
Kole grinned. “Try not to hurt yourself. You won’t outrun me.”
I pushed myself harder.
Kole remained beside me the entire time with complete ease while I struggled to keep the pace I originally set. Eventually, I slowed and settled for a jog. It was evident that I truly could never hope to outrun one of them.
The Lysians’ list of advantages continued to grow. They were faster, incredibly silent, and had heightened senses. With dread, I wondered if the Bavadrins could ever hope to truly stand against them. The now broken treaty between our lands might have been the only thing keeping Bavadrins safe for all these years.
Blood surged through my body with every powerful beat of my heart, sweat coated my skin, and my breath became ragged. It was glorious, the physical freedom of running. Yet no matter how hard I pushed myself, unease still clung to me like an impossibly permanent stain. The forest surrounding me was not my forest, the land not my home. I was not free, and neither were my people.
I considered slowing when Kole broke our silent run with a sharp, “Wait!”
His sudden alarm startled me as he grabbed the back of myshirt, keeping me from falling over as I abruptly halted. He pulled back, maneuvering me so that I stood a step behind him.
“What are you doing?” I complained, shaking free of his hold while he scanned the surrounding area. His complete attention focused on the woods. Something unsettled him. The hair on my neck stood. It troubled me to see the Lysian alarmed, even if he was my prison guard.
Kole then sighed with what sounded like relief. “You shouldn’t sneak up on me, Iver!” he called out into the forest.
Nearby, someone laughed and came out from behind the brush. I recognized him immediately. The one who had been sitting on the other side of Erik when Fraser’s life was taken, the one who called meprincess. One of Erik’s brothers.
“It’s getting easier and easier to do just that.” He grinned.
Lysian senses were excellent, but this was impressive. Hardly anything could be heard over the sounds of my own footsteps and the pounding in my ears. There was no way I would ever have been able to find someone silently hiding in the woods the way Kole had.
The prince turned to me. “My name is Iver. It is a pleasure to finally have the opportunity to properly meet you.” He held out his hand.
I eyed it coolly, leaving it suspended in the air. After making no move to touch him, his hand dropped to his side and the smile on his face widened, exposing even more of his teeth.
His unruffled gaze turned to Kole. “And what would my brother say if he knew you were out here running about in the woods with ourguest?”
“I wouldn’t be here if he did not approve.” Kole sounded bored. His body went from poised for an attack to that of complete comfort. I wondered if he was actually comfortable or just trying to pretend to be.
Iver’s head tilted, his eyes darkening. “Is it difficult for you toneed his approval for anything you do when you used to be pretty much equals?” His smile turned cruel. “Constantly bowing to Erik. Subservient.”
Kole and I were not friends. I was a captive and Kole’s responsibility. He intended to keep me both safe and imprisoned. There was no reason that someone being rude to him should have bothered me. I just hated when some found the need to be rude and hurtful for no other reason than to bring themselves a sick pleasure.
“I’d say that it’s probably no more difficult than it is for you,” I said, unable to hold my tongue. Both of the Lysians turned their attention to me.
