Kasia had better sense than I. She ran, dragging me with her whether I wanted to or not. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t think.
I started through the trees, trying to keep an eye on Dae’s form as he moved. But fighting against the wayward branches and uneven ground proved too difficult to not pay attention to our path.
In the distance before us, I could see the gap in the mountains. Witches Pass. Tactically, this wasn’t the best move for us. To the north, the enclosure of Windguard’s border mountains. To the west, Witches Pass, riddled with cursed veins. South, The Order’s camp. We should be fleeing east. Yet, I trusted Kasia’s instinct. She was far more familiar with the layout of these woods than I was.
I searched for Dae again, but the blur of green and brown and the cacophony of snapping twigs and rustling leaves drowned out my focus.
“Why did you—” I began to question why Kasia would risk bringing the horn back to camp, when roots and vines burst from the ground, weaving an impenetrable wall. Kasia didn’t hesitate to dart along the length of it, keeping me in tow. We couldn’t get through it, but we could get around it.
We ran and ran, managing to find the edge and slip around it. A familiar lake came into view. A few people bathed along its shore.
Kasia hauled me around its border. She was leading me backintothe camp. I didn’t question it, understanding that we’d be less noticeable running across flat ground than crashing through the untamed forest. We broke through the trees, but an arm of water stretched out from the lake, encompassing the whole thing and swirling around us like a tornado. Several wielders emerged from the path that led back into camp, holding their hands in the air to control the man-made cyclone. By the size of it, they didn’t know where exactly we stood. Her shielding could still save u—
Water began filling the inside of the tornado. First, my ankles were covered quickly, then my shins.
“Shit,” Kasia muttered, taking stock of our increasingly dire situation. She faced me. “I’ll hold on to you and my magic as long as I can, but I—”
A stream of water blasted around, spraying us with such force that we were ripped apart. The moment her hand left mine, water swirled around me with vigor and precision. It spun me so rapidly that I lost all sense of direction. My arms flailed wildly, but had nothing to anchor against. I was cold, wet, heavy, and dizzy.
Immense force directed my body through the swirling wall of water. Crashing through it had the water cutting my skin like glass. I tumbled onto the bank, slamming my hands onto the ground once I stopped rolling and gasping for air. Disoriented still, I found myself perpetually leaning to the side, desperatelywanting to stabilize myself against it. My fingernails sank into the dirt and pebble-covered terrain for leverage.
The cyclone continued raging and filling.Hold on, Kasia.I tore my tearing eyes away, hoping that if I acted like no one was left behind, they wouldn’t think she remained inside.
A dozen members of The Order barreled onto the bank, some from the trees, others from the path that led to camp. The raging water fell away, running back into the lake as if it had never been.
I lifted my head, my soaked hair hanging all around my face. I peered through the strands, not seeing Kasia on the ground. If she was there, her magic hadn’t failed her. Silent prayers were sent to the gods to keep her protected and unseen, no matter how the rest of this turned out.
Members rushed me, hauling me from the ground and binding my hands in rope. I didn’t fight. Truthfully, I couldn’t. I hadn’t consumed a proper meal in weeks. My body was worn from travel, and knowing Kasia more than likely needed me to give her an opening to run, I allowed them to lead me away from the lake.
A tiny path through the woods led east. They dragged me along, muttering threats the entire way.
“If I’m too inconvenient to haul, you’re more than welcome to let me go.” Quite a thoughtful suggestion, I thought. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t accept my offer. Cursing me was a little much, though.
I’d sneak glimpses of the forest through my cords of swaying wet hair, but found no evidence of anyone hidden within the greenery.
Good. Dae and his brothers needed to leave. My heart wept, knowing he’d risked what mattered most to him all to rescue me. But they’d failed, and I had to hope they would accept the loss.
My heart wept harder knowing he wouldn’t.
Whatever fate awaited me, he had the chance for a life. For freedom. To be reunited with his family. Even if I made it home, I wouldn’t get that chance. Half of my family had been taken from me by an evil king.
My steps grew heavier knowing that hug goodbye to Tio was certainly the last time. That Braxius would be waiting for me at Rahana, or wherever else they called home now, and I would never arrive. That Tula would lose the last family she had left.
It wasn’t just the crushing despair that had me feeling weighted; it was the shift in energy around us. The same feeling as being buried under a dozen blankets. Each step, another layer was added.
Tears stained my face as members brought me to a clearing. No, another lake. Except this one held death in its waters. The black, glassy surface looked too still to be natural. It almost appeared soft to the touch instead of liquid. A false lure for this world to draw living things near before snatching them into its depths.
The air tasted thicker, a strange resonance emitting from the Black Pool. It was as if the surrounding nature had been stunned into silence.
From fear.
No one around me seemed to notice. Maybe they’d acclimated to it. Maybe they’d grown to thrive on it, letting it sink into their very souls, welcoming its awful power. How any of them could stand getting this close, I didn’t know.
The Eleven stood in a single file line, hands behind their backs. The dark marks around their eyes, tracking their veins, seemed to darken, seemed to breathe. Nearest to their power source, their auras became visible. Shadows spread around them, void of color.
My stomach churned as a cold sweat broke over my skin. This was what Dae had been able to see. My pulse picked up and myheels found the strength to dig into the ground. It didn’t help. I tried again with more force, but with two members dragging me along, I had no chance of overpowering them.
Marvoe’s smile came into view, and I thought I might faint or throw up. Adrenaline coursed through me like lightning. I would have thought coming face-to-face with my own mortality would have been the scariest thing I’d ever experience.
