Page 20 of Hallowed Games

The Luminari pounded the narrow dirt roads behind me as we whipped through a small city. My body was electrified with the exhilaration of escape twined with the fear of getting caught.

The wind tore at my hair, and I sucked in the scents of woodsmoke and baking bread. How long did I really have left in this world to take air into my lungs?

But I couldn’t let myself think like that. I simply had to survive to get to Leo because there was no other option. This had to work. Anything else was unthinkable.

Without a sheath for the sword, I had to fling it to the side so I could take the reins in both hands. I couldn’t waste a single moment. Behind me, the Luminari charged over cobblestone, bellowing for me.

The pounding of my heart slammed in time with the hooves beneath me. Gritting my teeth, I stole a quick look behind me. My stomach flipped at the sight of them so close.

None of this would be any good at all unless I could lose the bastards. As I raced, my gaze flicked over narrow passageways and the timeworn, mossy stone of an ancient village. Guiding the horse, I careened into an alley. Wooden eaves swooped overhead, casting me in shadow. Thistlehaven was a maze of narrow passages, which was perfect for me right now.

Leaning forward in the saddle, my body moved along with the horse’s frantic gallop. I nudged her with my heels, urging her on faster. The Baron had taught me to ride like this. I gripped the reins, navigating the labyrinth of alleys with rapid little shifts and tugs, until the horse and I were almost of one mind. My cloak whipped at the air behind me.

With my breath ragged in my throat, we hurtled through winding turns. Gasping for breath, I was desperate to lose them without trampling anyone. When we veered around a corner, I found a woman carrying a basket of laundry.

“Get out of the way!” I shouted.

Yelping, she leapt back into her doorway, dropping the laundry. The twisting alleys turned into a blur of brightly colored signs and stones. Shopkeepers scuttled out of my path, and I guided the horse to leap over a loose barrel.

In my wake, I left complete chaos, broken tables and shouting merchants. If I’d had time, I’d have flung off my wool cloak.

We swung wildly around a corner, and the alleys gave way to a wider road. The horse’s hooves pounded the dirt. Around me, the buildings thinned, steeply peaked houses interspersed with a few birch trees blending to checkered farming fields.

As I fled, iron gray storm clouds rolled in overhead, and a chill rippled through the air. The first few drops of rain felt like a blessing on my overheated skin.

I glanced behind me. No one was following now.

Ahead of me, patchworks of green fields spread out, lined by stone walls. They stretched across the landscape all the way to a dark forest of oaks.

Leo, stay where you are. I’m coming for you.

When I glanced behind me again, relief spread through me. I’d lost them—for now. But it might not be long until they found trackers and hounds to map my route out of Thistlehaven.

I sped toward the line of oaks until I felt the shadow of branches envelop me like an embrace. I breathed in the moss and soil of the forest. Overhead, rain began to hammer the canopy.

I sucked in a sharp breath, heading west toward the mossy bridge.

* * *

Even as I rode through the forest, I kept up the relentless pace. It wasn’t just about escaping the Luminari; I also wanted to get to Leo as soon as possible. What if he gave up after waiting too long? My mind was a frantic whir of worry, and I hardly noticed the dampness of my coat as the rain slid down my skin.

I didn’t have my gloves. Normally, I never went anywhere without them, but I’d left them behind in Thistlehaven. Honestly, the idea of being around Leo without gloves on made me want to vomit.

And all this because Lydia had decided to shout out my name today. Maybe she thought she had no choice with her father’s life at risk. But we both knew Edward Mounthorn beat his servants to death, and Greynard Hough forced himself on young women. Surely they’d have been better sacrifices than the one person looking after an eight-year-old boy?

The shadows grew longer as I drew closer to the Derunis River, the rain letting up. In the woods, there was enough moss growing to tell me which way was north.

At last, at the forest’s edge, I slid off the horse and tied her reins to a tree.

I stepped out of the shadows, surveying the landscape. Outside the cover of trees, a few rickety houses dotted the landscape, all shuttered windows and crumbling stones. There were rumors that long ago, monsters from the west ravaged this land, and that’s why we’d put up the walls. Walls cutting off Western Tylwith. Cutting off Northern Sumaire.

No idea if that was true, but no one lived out here anymore.

I slipped back into the cover of the forest anyway, my heart slamming hard. I had to find Leo here. If he wasn’t by the bridge, I couldn’t bear it. Really, he must be mad with hunger by now. The poor boy hadn’t eaten all day. I bit my lip, wondering where I’d get him something to fill his stomach out here.

When I thought back to our little loft space where I’d been just that morning, it already felt like years ago.

The sun broke free from the clouds overhead, and rays flecked the forest floor with gold. When I glanced down at the dirt path, I wondered how long it would be until the soil wrapped me up in its embrace. It’s where we were all destined in the end, wasn’t it? If it weren’t for Leo, I’d feel like the earth was the only thing that wanted me.

---