“Are you all right?” Ottoh came into view, his face as large as the moon working its way across the sky as it moved back and forth before me.
“G-get away,” I got out, my voice thick.
“You don’t look good.” The heir reached for me. “What happened?”
I slashed with a sluggish arm. “L-leave,” I snarled.
“Let me help you.” Ottoh looked behind me. “Did… did someone do this to you?”
Fear made my pulse thrum, and the adrenaline gave me a moment of clarity. I couldn’t be in the forest alone with these people. Not now. Not ever. Viljan would never be the heir for our people, soIneeded to live. I needed to stay safe.
“Elvara!” Geord’s voice sent a wave of terror through my veins, and when Ottoh reached for me again, I managed to lunge at him, using my nails to gouge at his face. His scream beat against my ears, but I didn’t dare stop when I finally caught some speed, so even though I smelled the iron on my hands, I forced my heavy legs to trudge through the woods.
I fell several times, and I had no idea how I got up again. Everything hurt and was numb all the same, and I was injured. Something warm trickled down my legs, and with every time I hit the forest bed, it was harder for me to see through the blood that spilled down my face from hitting it on hard roots.
“Elvara!”
“You can’t hide from us!”
“Let’s have somefun,little heir.”
“We’ll make sure youreallyenjoy your last night.”
Their voices were closer now, and I whimpered as I struggled out of the woods.
Light spilled out of the longhouse ahead, but the tents around it were quiet. Another sob stuck in my chest.
Who would help me anyway? Not the initiates. Not the king’s men—they wouldn’t interfere in what was a matter of the gods. I’d pushed away Ivren earlier, and Viljan was under his command now. No Viking would reach out a hand.
The low hum from the ships reached my ears, and I spun before I could second-guess myself. One of my feet stopped working, and when I fell next time, I couldn’t straighten my leg. Laughter followed me, and I knew they could see me, the torchlight lining the path to the harbor glittering over me and confusing me for a moment whether daylight had already broken.
I started crawling, digging my hands into dirt and grass and stone, pulling my body forward. More blood blinded me, but Ididn’t dare wipe my face—didn’t dare lift my hands from the ground lest they also stop working—so I continued in darkness, fighting for every inch toward the docks.
“Wait for us, heir.”
“Look at her fighting so hard.”
“I can’t wait to put her in her place.”
“Does she think she’ll set sail?”
I screamed inside as my other leg went still, but just as I was about to give in—let the drug that coursed within me reign—my hands found wood. A trembling breath rushed from me as I used my last strength to drag myself to Darcke’s ship.
Placing a hand on her hull, I begged,Please. Help me. Please.
The bog oak pulsed beneath my hand, and I could almost hear her fury as boots found themselves on the dock. Wood creaked, and I yelped as the dock twisted. The screams behind me were swallowed by the splash of bodieshitting the surf.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Darcke’s face floated somewhere above me, and I only shook my head.
“Well?” he demanded. “What is this?”
“I—” I started.
The brow fell down with a crack, and I closed my eyes when the ship shook violently. The dock shifted as voices once again rang in the air, and it helped me roll to my side, allowing me to place a hand on the brow.
“I’m not strong enough to hold on,” I whispered.
