Blood already trickled down his arm from the sharp points, and I didn’t think as I jumped in front of him, pulling the tether between me and Kilia taut as I crouched and punched each of the men’s kneecaps until they also went down.
“Nice.” Oscri grinned before he lifted a large boot and stomped on their arms. The snapping of bone wove through the woods, joined by the men’s pain-fueled cries. “Guess you really were holding back.”
Kilia shook his head while fighting another man. The force with which he struck him nearly tripped me, the rope pulling me backward as I tried to rise.
“Don’t”—I steadied myself on the moss—“look so happy. We still have to face those wolves.”
“We can handle somewolves,” Oscri replied when Kilia got the last man down, tugging on the rope so hard I flew straight into his chest. The former gestured to the tree line, where Ottoh and his partner were nowhere to be seen. “Ottoh did, and he isn’t half the warrior we are.”
Kilia placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping my swaying. “Or they ate him.”
“Don’t tease me,” I answered with a crooked smile.
A screech reverberated through the woods, and I flinched when the trees began moving again. The moon disappeared behind the clouds, forcing us into darkness, but even with our sight impacted, it was evident the opening to the rune stone was about to shut.
“Do you think that’s our only chance?” Oscri voiced the question already taking over my mind.
“I fucking hope not,” Kilia screamed as he began running, taking me with him. “But I wouldn’t be surprised. They don’t make it easy, do they?”
“N-nothing in life is,” I said, already out of breath but trying to hide it the best I could.
“Valhalla better be fucking worth it,” Oscri shouted, his words emphasized by his partner’s body thumping against his back. “I didn’t want this life. I wanted a girl and a hearth and maybe a ship. Being a hero better be worth it.”
I didn’t respond and neither did Kilia as we sprinted to the moving trees.
“We won’t make it!” the twin tethered to me screamed.
I bit my tongue as I stumbled over a root that I swear hadn’t been there a second before.
Fuck this. We were going to make it. I was going to get through this alive. I only needed to live a few more days. Only to the bonding.
Only until Viljan was formally my second.
“We will,” I shouted. “I refuse anything fucking else.”
“That”—Kilia panted—“Darcke was right. You heirs really don’t listen to anyone.”
“It’s not because of some fucking title,” I cried. “This is how the gods made me, and I won’t return to them until they’ve bled me fucking dry!”
“I think… I think I like you,” Oscri said as his steps thudded against the ground.
The trees shifted faster, their leaves mocking us as they whipped through the air, propelling the trunks into the empty space where the rune stone stood.
“Tell me that when we survive this,” I screamed. It felt like my lungs would burst.
Another cry burst from my lips when the woods moved faster.The taste of blood wove all the way up my throat until it filled my entire mouth, coating my teeth.
“Jump!” I shouted when there was only a sliver of space left between the thick trees. “Fucking jump!”
Thankfully the twins moved as one. With barely an inch to spare, Kilia dragged us through the opening, and Oscri followed so swiftly he barreled into us, sending all four of us into a heap on the grass.
Kilia dragged us to our feet as the trees went silent.
My heartbeats pounded between my ears as we faced the glen. There were no wolves there anymore. Only a thick line of trees where no light or space trickled through. I spun. It was the same thing behind us. It was as if the trunks had all grown together, forcing us into a cage that we wouldn’t escape until we’d faced whatever it was the woods here wished us to.
“I don’t like this,” I muttered.
A low laugh followed my words, and my nostrils flared. Somehow Darcke sat atop the tall rock, his long legs dangling as he flicked his axe in his hands. Beneath him, his men stood surrounding the silver arm rings, each one with his back to the rune stone.
