I figured that had to hurt. Those stitches looked painful.
We raced down the twisting corridor, chasing down the dark. After at least seven turns, we finally came to a stop beside a gate. Grunting, Valin pulled on the chain, and the gate shuddered up from the floor. He motioned me through.
With a quick shake of my head, I darted beneath it. He rushed after me, sliding beneath the gate just before it crashed into the ground. And then we were off again, racing down another darkened corridor.
At long last, the scent of midnight air filled my lungs. A dim light shone in the distance. Moonlight, I realized, as we drew closer and closer to the exit. With relief surging in my veins, I shot Valin a grateful smile.
He was leading me to safety after all.
We rushed into the night, leaving the castle far behind us. The forest loomed in the distance. Once, I had feared that forest. It had held strange and dark things that made my blood freeze in my veins. But now I had never seen a more welcoming sight in my life.
“I see you!” Panos shouted from behind us. Heart twisting, I didn’t dare look behind. I kept pounding my feet against the ground, windmilling my arms faster.
“Don’t stop,” I shouted at Valin. “Just keep moving. We’re almost there.”
Distantly, I heard the twang of an arrow being loosed. Gritting my teeth, I braced myself for impact. And then the arrow punched the ground only an inch to the right of my feet.
Valin stumbled to a stop, his entire body shaking. He mumbled something at me. His eyes were wide and fearful. This time, I didn’t need to hear him to understood what he said. Shock had hit him like a boulder in the chest. He was too scared to go on. His feet had frozen him into place.
“It’s alright,” I whispered to him, gently reaching out for his arm. “We just have to keep moving.”
Another arrow launched into the air.
“Come on,” I tugged at his arm. “We have to go. Now!”
The arrow smashed through Valin’s head, and blood arced through the air. His eyes widened as he fell, like a marionette with broken strings. Terror slashed at my belly. I pressed my fingers to my lips and stumbled back. Another arrow punched the ground.
My heart shuddered. I glanced up. Panos stood at the top of the battlements with the tip of another arrow pointed my way. I whirled on my feet and ran. Tears streamed down my face as I threw myself toward the tree-line.
Another arrow hit the ground. This one was only a foot away.
I had to run faster.
I reached the tree-line and dove through the brush. Branches and limbs slapped my skin, leaving welts behind. Sobbing, I kept running. My feet hurt. My lungs ached. But pain was nothing, just as long as my blood raced through my veins instead of painting the ground.
A figure loomed before me. I stumbled to a stop, my lungs heaving.
Fury burned in his red eyes as his gaze swept across me. Impossibly tall, his muscular physique rippled beneath his breastplate. He lifted his hands toward me, gloves nowhere to be seen.
“Aradia?” He shook his head and stumbled a step toward me. “Is it really you? Are you safe?”
An arrow whistled through the trees. Pain spiked in my arm as the tip of the arrow scraped my skin. I cried out, blinded by the burn.
“Aradia!” Yuto shouted and rushed toward me. He reached out to grab me with bare hands but stopped himself just in time. His jaw rippling, he motioned me forward. “Come. We need to get you out of here.”
“But Panos,” I gasped. “He’s not far behind. His arrow. It got me.”
I couldn’t speak anymore. My tongue was made of sand. I tried to think around the strange pain surging through my veins. It was like a million tiny needles were dancing beneath my skin. My legs buckled beneath me, and the ground rose up to meet my skull.
29
Aradia
“Aradia, Aradia,” Yuto murmured beneath the heavy thud of his footsteps. “Please wake up, please wake up.”
I peeled open my eyes and winced. A million tiny drums beat against my head, and my mouth felt full of cotton balls. “Ouch.”
Yuto raced across the room. His socked feet slid against the stone floor so fast that he practically slammed into the bed. The impact shook me hard, rattling my skull.
