She didn't have time to calm the horses or to think. Acting on instinct, she threw herself to the side, dragging Eoin with her, trying not to think what the jolt would do to his wound as they fell hard to the ground. A moment later, another arrow sliced through the air above them.
Both horses stamped and screamed in panic, then they ran off, still tied together, and were lost in the trees in a blink of an eye. Breana squinted in the dark and rain, holding tight to Eoin's terrifyingly still body, feeling exposed as they lay there in the dirt. She was about to die, but she would at least see her killers before she did.
Then, there in the trees, she saw them. Not soldiers at all, but three young women, two of whom were clearly still adolescents and the third not much older. The oldest held her bow steady, aimed directly at Breana.
"Wait!" Breana cried out, desperate. "Wait, dinnae! Please, me friend, he needs help. We mean ye nae harm. Please!"
The girl paused, and she lowered her bow, signaling to the two younger girls to do the same.
Sensing her opportunity, Breana pressed it for all it was worth. "Help us!" she begged urgently. "Help us, please. He'll die if ye dinnae. Please, he's a good man."
"Good men are few these days," the leader of the girls called out. "The False King has turned their hearts. How are we tae trust yers?"
The False King.These young women were not followers of Edric Ashkirk. Breana's heart stammered, a cautious, desperate hope bubbling. "We are enemies of the False King," she insisted. "Eoin turned against him, and his injuries are fromhissoldiers. Please help us."
"Ye're strangers!" one of the younger girls called. "We dinnae help strangers. It's too dangerous. There's too much tae risk."
"Iona!" the third girl scolded sharply. "Keep yer tongue. Ciara will deal with this."
"What are ye doin' here?" the oldest girl, presumably Ciara, demanded. "Naebody comes tae this forest."
As she spoke, Iona disappeared into the trees.
"We're searching for… for a convent," Breana explained, stammering over her own words. She could feel that Eoin was still breathing, though the breaths were stuttering now. "A convent! We're searchin' for the princess, for Neala McNair!"
The very air around them seemed to still.
"What?" demanded the unnamed girl who had scolded Iona. "What are ye talkin' about? How dae ye— How can ye?—?"
"Neala McNair died twenty years ago with the rest of her family. Everyone kens that," Ciara said calmly. She raised her bow again.
"Please!" Breana cried out. "Please, we need to find her. We need tae tell her that her brother is alive. That her family survived!"
"Neala doesnae have any family except us," the younger girl snapped. "We're her sisters, Iona and me and the rest of us."
"Cailean McNair is alive," Breana insisted. "He's alive and leadin' the rebellion. He reclaimed Bruce Castle for Kier Bruce. He rescued me sister, Maeve, and me as well. He saved Eoin, this man bleedin' here, from a life servin' an evil father. He's his friend. He's me friend, too. Please, ye must believe me. Cailean McNair isalive,and he's searchin' for his sister."
She was rambling, trying to convince them, but part of her didn't care anymore if they believed her or not. None of it seemed to matter. She just needed them to trust her enough that they'd help Eoin, because if he died here, Breana felt like her heart and soul would go with him.
A tense silence followed, punctuated by nothing but the sound of rain. Iona emerged from the trees ahead, leading the now-calmed horses with her. Ciara watched them suspiciously, and the other girl just stared.
"Cat," Iona whispered. "Ciara. I think this lass is tellin' the truth."
"I think so as well," Ciara admitted, sounding cautious and reluctant. "I think… I think we should trust them. At least until Laura can figure out what's goin' on."
The third girl, who must have been Cat, took a breath. Her expression was anguished, torn. Then she nodded. "Neala… Neala went tae Blackthorn Castle," she said. "She's gone tae face the False King. If yer leader reallyisCailean McNair, he'll find her there."
Breana knew that this information should be exciting. It should make her feelsomething.But the desperation clouded everything, and she could not focus on any of it. "Please. We'vemade it this far. Please help Eoin. I'll do anythin', I'll—I dinnae ken, just please help him."
Another terse silence followed. Then, slowly, cautiously, Ciara and Iona slowly climbed down from the tree. Iona approached, and without a word, the three Sparrows—for they must have been Sparrows—gently prised Eoin from Breana's grasping arms.
"Let us help," Iona said softly. "Neala would want us tae, if this Eoin is Cailean's friend, as ye say."
It felt almost impossible to let go of him, but somehow, Breana did it. She sat there, her head suddenly aching where she had hit it earlier, the exhaustion overwhelming her all at once. She watched dully as the three women gently lifted Eoin onto the back of one of the horses, positioning him as best they could so he would not get any further damage. Then Cat moved back to Breana and offered her hand. Breana took it without thinking, barely conscious of her own actions at this point.
She was unclear about the next few moments. All she knew was that she was being led by Cat, while Iona and Ciara were supporting Eoin and leading the horse, and that they were moving. All she knew was that there was still a chance.
They'd only been walking for a few minutes when they arrived at a strange parting in the trees. The girls led the horses and Breana through, and Breana's breath caught in her throat as her eyes took in the sight before her.
