I panted like I’d done all the fighting, and he didn’t breathe at all, as if waiting for another attack. I looked at him, seeing the blood dripping down his arm to his hand. “You’re injured.”
He continued to look into the tree line, to listen to the sound of adversaries, before he sheathed his blade once again. “We’ll return with reinforcements. They’ll continue to hunt if we stay here.”
“Your arm?—”
“We need to return. They’ll follow us, so we need to move quickly.” He took the torch from my hand and guided the way out of the forest.
I grabbed the pack off the ground and followed him. The bag was heavy because it contained all the potatoes and carrots along with the other supplies he’d brought, but I didn’t complain, wanting him to be unburdened so he could save us again if they returned. I hurried after him, two and a half steps for every single one of his strides, sticking to the light like a moth to a flame.
We carried on that way for fifteen minutes before the howls started again.
“Hooowwwllll.”
“Howl.”
Our torch was a dead giveaway to our location, but without it, we’d be lost in the dark—and they could see in the dark.
Morco checked behind him to make sure I was still there. With one glance, he saw my sweat and my struggle, and he turned back to help. He grabbed the pack by the shoulder strap and lifted the weight off me.
I didn’t object, not when all the muscles in my back were screaming in protest. I’d never done a day of hard work in my life. Never did the dishes, changed my bed. Nothing. And now, it showed, because I practically buckled under the weight of the bag and my sword.
He took off at the same speed, like he didn’t notice the weight of the bag.
My spine straightened, and I didn’t heave with breath. I stayed closer to him, the two of us moving as fast as we could without actually running.
“Move ahead of me.” He didn’t slow his speed, but he held out the torch for me to take as I passed.
“Why?”
“Do what I say.”
I jogged to catch up and took the torch before I stepped in front of him, holding the flames up high.
He unsheathed his blade and carried it at his side. “Continue straight. At this pace, we should return to the boat in about five hours.”
“You think they’ll chase us that long?” I glanced behind me to look at his face.
“Yes,” he said. “They’ll never stop chasing us.”
“I see the boat!” I saw it sitting on the shore with the oars inside. That gave me a burst of speed, and I ran to it.
“Howl.”
“Hoowwwwlll.”
“Howl.”
The horrible sound had followed us all the way here. “Will those assholes give it a rest?”
Morco came next and dropped his pack inside. He took the torch from me and stabbed it into the sand. “Get in.”
I didn’t know why he’d left the torch out, but I knew better than the question him. I jumped into the boat and grabbed the oars so I could start to paddle the second he was inside.
He shoved me out into the water, but he didn’t join me.
“Morco.”
He turned back to land and unsheathed the blade.
