Seraphina felt Rune go tense. He stood rigid, unmoving, and she was reminded of how he’d used to cower when he felt pressured by the sky, the woods, and the wind. She took a step toward him, reaching for his sleeve, but the soldiers raised their muskets and pointed them at her.
“Hold right there. Who are you, woman? Why are you with him?”
Seraphina bit her lip. She’d expected Rune to do something when he saw they were threatening her, but he made no move and no sound.
“We’re together,” she said. “I don’t know who you think he is, but you’re wrong.”
“He’s one of the Lord Harvester’s creatures,” the first soldier said. “If he follows us, we will return him home.”
“But you,” the second soldier waved his musket at her. “Step away from him and identify yourself.”
Seraphina had no intention of doing that.
“Rune,” she whispered.
All he did was bow his head, and she understood she was alone this time. She didn’t know what was happening, but these men’s words had paralyzed Rune. She threw her stick in the snow, reached underneath her cloak, and pulled her daggers. A crack split the air when one of the soldiers pulled the trigger. She moved right, and the ball missed her. She had no choice but to rush toward the thickest tree and position herself behind it.
“How can she do that? She’s blind!”
The relic showed Seraphina that Rune hadn’t moved. The men weren’t threatening him. On the contrary, it was more like they were protecting him from her. She didn’t know what to think about that.
They shot at her again, and she heard the lead balls hit the tree trunk. The men reloaded, shot, and Seraphina felt the next two balls rush through the air, inches from her face.
If Rune didn’t recover, they might actually get her. The horses had neighed and fled in fright, kicking the snow with their hooves, and Seraphina knew they were gone. She cursed under her breath and considered her options. There weren’t many or very good.
More balls flew, the cracking sounds of the muskets firing disturbing the birds that hadn’t migrated, and the smell of gunpowder stung Seraphina’s nostrils. She felt anger rush through her. Anger at Rune because he wasn’t reacting, and anger at herself because she’d walked right into this impossible situation.
A month ago, she wouldn’t have made such a stupid mistake. But she’d grown cocky, relying on Rune and his supernatural strength, and his raw determination to keep her safe. She’d thought that as long as she had him, she could let her guard down a little because he had her back.
Frustration, disappointment, and despair followed the anger. The emotions churned and throbbed under her skin. Seraphina needed something to ground her, so she placed her daggers back in their sheaths and reached into her pocket and found the relic. She squeezed it in her fist, but the turmoil inside her didn’t abate. If only she knew what the bone did, if only she could use it to get herself and Rune out of this mess.
“You...” She was trembling, chest rising and falling rapidly. Heat rushed through her body, straight into her brain. “You...” She stepped from behind the tree, head held high, and throughSaint Vivia’s relic, she saw the first soldier’s shadow recharge his musket. “You, stop.”
The man froze. He looked up at her, eyes wide, and for some reason, the shift she sensed in him made Seraphina feel powerful.
“You,” she said again, directing her will straight at him, “drop your weapon.”
The soldier’s hands unclasped, and both the gunpowder cartridge and the musket fell in the snow at his feet, sinking slightly. He simply stood like that, shaking and staring at her, as if waiting to see what she would say next.
The second soldier regarded him with horror.
“Huber, what’s wrong with you? Snap out of it.”
Understanding was starting to nip at the edges of Seraphina’s mind. She turned Saint Vivia’s relic toward the second soldier and reached within to command him.
“You, drop your musket.”
The second soldier turned to her slowly, as if his body was compelled and he couldn’t fight it. He suddenly didn’t want to look at her, but he had to. Because he struggled so hard against her order, when he dropped his musket, it was more of a dramatic throw, the weapon falling mid-distance between him and Seraphina.
“You both,” she said, “sit down.” She pointed at a tree. “And do not make a move or a sound.”
They followed her instructions like two beaten dogs. They walked to the tree she’d indicated and plopped down in the snow, hands tucked in their laps. They looked at her, waiting. They would do anything she asked.
“The relic,” Seraphina whispered, taking it out of her pocket and staring at its small, dark shadow in her palm.
Rune stepped toward her. He did it carefully, hands raised. Now that the two soldiers were subdued, he seemed to have regained his presence of mind.
“Seraphina,” he said. “I’m sorry. I... I froze.”
