Page 11 of Steel Heart Iron Claws

Wait!I cry, frozen in a moment of indecision. Hiding still seems like the best course of action.

But the cloudfox is nearly out of view…

I curse and shove to my feet. In the next breath, I’m racing after it.

There’s no hiding my sound now. My boots are loud on the fallen leaves. Branches snap as I rush to keep thecloudfox in sight ahead of me. Its silver-blue color is so striking amid the shadows that it’s easy to spot as it effortlessly bounds deeper into the woods.

Wait!I cry out.Please, take me south! To the border wall!

Girlie, follow me!it answers in a sing-song voice.

A frustrated huff slips out of my mouth, but I duck under a branch and go after the cloudfox. My feet ache, my thighs burn, and a stitch in my side has me clutching at my ribcage.

Not far now!it chirps with a lupine laugh.

I muster my strength and push myself harder over the steep, rocky terrain. It’s a scramble for me, but the cloudfox merely floats on the updraft.

If I can get to the border wall, I know I can find a way across it. Basten and Rian discovered a tunnel, and if there’s one, there’s probably more.

As I scramble up an outcropping, a brief ray of sun breaks through the mist to warm my face.

I pause to catch my breath, and my thoughts turn to Basten. My hand drifts to the twine ring on my left fourth finger.

Where is Basten now? Is he safe? Does he remember anything about me? For so long, he’s been the one looking out for me. He’s been there for me when I didn’t even know I needed someone. Sheltering me. Watching over me.

The truth is, the only home I’ve ever had is with Basten. And now? Has he forgotten me completely? If I have to turn the world upside down to right that crime, I will.

Almost there!The cloudfox floats backward on its skipping paws to encourage me.Just ahead! Hurry, hurry!

My fingernails are broken and bloody by the time I heave myself over the outcropping, drag myself onto my knees,and then stagger to my feet. The cloudfox circles me, yipping at my heels in encouragement.

I don’t know how much longer I can go on.

My muscles are growing slack.

My vision begins to blur.

The trees sway around me in a way where I can’t tell if it’s in my head or if they’re actually moving in a sentient way. The cloudfox’s faintly reflective fur is my beacon, the only thing I cling to.

Just keep going…

The next step takes me out of the trees.

I’m in a clearing. The smell of roasted meats and campfire smoke hit my nostrils. Indistinct voices and a nearby blacksmith’s hammer pound against my ears. Ahead, a moss-covered, thirty-foot-high stone wall runs as far as I can see in each direction.

The border wall.

Reeling and weak, I take in canvas tents painted indigo with a starburst emblem, and my heart surges again—this time in fear. I’ve strode into an army encampment that flanks the border wall.

AVolkishencampment.

The cloudfox winds between my feet, grinning up at me with a cruel smile that reveals its sharp silver canines.

Silly girlie!

Anger tears through me like an avalanche, pushing past my exhaustion until I’m lunging toward the floating creature. “You deceitful thing! You tricked me!”

Surprised soldiers rise to their feet from around a nearby campfire, taking me in warily. A few of them carry axes strapped to their backs. Others have rows of small knives belted to their leather breastplates. From somewherebeyond the tents, a roar that belongs to no animal I’ve ever encountered shakes the ground.

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