The river, which was just beyond the men around me.
I released the rest of the bread from my pocket.
Breathed once.
Then, riding pure desperation, I surged to my feet, in one fluid motion leaping up to that branch with every ounce of strength I possessed. My forearms landed over the top of it, and I used momentum to swing my legs up and to the side, wrapping my ankles around the wood.
“Hey!”
One of the dogs spun and advanced toward the remaining soldiers, creating a wide berth beneath the branch and the pile of food I’d left behind.
With the sheer panic-driven speed of a trapped mouse, I whirledmyself around until the thick branch was beneath me, jumped to my feet, and ran to the trunk, falling into it as my body tipped, balance lost. Fingernails tore as I clawed the bark to right myself.
Someone made it past the dogs and jumped up, grasping the branch, just as the two horsemen sprang into action. My body was within easy reach of their hands.
Higher. Go higher.
The branch above me was thinner than the last, my hands able to part enough to wrap most of the way around it.
Please hold.
I kicked my legs up again, locking them around the branch and flipping myself around. It wobbled and swayed beneath my weight, threatening to fall and hurl me back to captivity. Out of reach of the horsemen, I crawled forward on my belly toward the trunk, just as the climber stood on the branch below me.
He grabbed at my legs and I kicked wildly. My toes broke through his hands and made contact with his head. With a cry, he tilted and fell. The unmistakable sound of weapons being unsheathed pushed me forward toward the trunk.
“Come down, or we’ll smash you to pieces, purple eyes or not!”
The threat was lost on me as I crawled to my feet and eyed two branches, one above the other, partway around the trunk. Just beyond the end of them, far below, lay that river.
I curled my body around the tree as far as I could without losing my balance. Something zinged past my ear, slicing the outer shell.A thrown dagger.Shoving pain aside, I extended my hands toward that upper branch and jumped.
My fingers made contact, and my legs swung wildly, the movement threatening to peel my grip away. With a cry, I held it. My feet found purchase. Another weapon soared past me, and then a soul-churning scream pierced my ears.
“Kill them! Kill them!” someone shouted in panic as horses screeched.
The dogs.
Capitalizing on that distraction, I took precious seconds to lower to my belly. With as much speed as I could manage, I began to slink forward, eyes on the end of that branch that jutted toward the churning water.
Water that could kill me.
But if I stayed, I would be caught. Dragged back to Koerlyn. Tortured with others’ pain and my own. More bodies left in my room to rot and flood me with guilt and despair.
My choice was easy.
Two blades flew up from below, one nicking my shin. The dogs were no longer barking, but screeching.
I was out of time.
A strange calm overcame me as I set the soles of my feet on the branch, taking a second to ensure my balance before straightening, my typical discomfort with heights a distant thought. That calm remained as I ran full-bore to the end of the branch, counting on momentum to maintain my balance. Panic found no hold as I glimpsed the fast-moving current and the jagged rocks that lined the edges, as I gauged the yards of ground I’d have to jump across to meet the water.
And still, that calm was with me when I leapt, catapulting my body forward.
I just cleared those toothy rocks.
When the water stole my breath and tossed me like a puppet, I was prepared for it. I released the cloak almost immediately, then pushed off the river’s bottom. My face found air. I filled my lungs, foam and spray making it impossible to see where I was and if I was being followed. The water’s roar filled my ears as I careened toward aboulder. I threw my legs out and ricocheted off its surface, propelling myself downstream. Jagged edges beneath the water scraped my legs, but the current didn’t pull me down.
In fact, it wasn’t all that difficult to keep my head above the water, even with my hands restrained. The rush was strong, driving me into boulders that left bruises and tested the abilities of my bound hands. I couldn’t exit the water’s grip if I wanted to. The cold would soon turn my limbs numb.
