Page 182 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“I should’ve known I’d always have to save myself. White knights only exist in bedtime stories.”

Caiden went to speak, but an arrow whizzed past them.

“Shit,” Aelia said. “We have to move faster.”

Caiden did his best to keep up with her, but his foot dragged in the frozen mud.

“Just a little farther. They won’t touch us across the border,” Aelia said through panted breaths.

“You don’t know that. They stole me from Vantris.”

“True, just wishful thinking, really.”

Another arrow whizzed past them. Caiden didn’t dare look backward. Their only chance of surviving was if they could make it to the Hive in the Court of Honey. They had a large army and would be safe there.

The sun shone on the frost-covered grass, casting everything in a gilded light. Caiden squinted to see ahead.

“We’re not going to be able to make it, Aelia.” Caiden’s throat thickened.

“They’re not going to take us again.” Her eyes narrowed on the path ahead of them. She looked back. “I don’t see them. Baylis must be shooting blindly.”

The sound of pounding hooves echoed through the quiet morning, reverberating through the hard earth. Caiden’s stomach sank. Over the horizon, the silhouettes of five Blood Riders appeared, running full speed at them.

“Fuck,” Aelia said. “What are we going to do?”

Caiden looked down at the chain linking them, and an idea formed in his head.

“Let them get close. We’re going to use our chain to trip the horse.”

“Are you insane? That’s never going to work.”

“At worst the chain breaks and we’re free.”

“They could trample us, break our arms, we could die.”

“They’re going to kill us anyway. Better to go down fighting.”

Aelia looked toward the riders. They were so close they could see the drool coming from the water horses’ sharp fangs. Theriders smiled a mouth full of lip-less rotten teeth. Their bloodred eyes thirsty for a kill.

“Wait until they get close and then we pull apart. The horses won’t be able to stop.”

“But I feel bad about the horse.”

“That horse will eat you if given the chance.”

The rumbling grew more violent.

“You’re right,” Aelia said.

Caiden could see the horses’ breath in the cold morning light.

“On my cue.”

The pocked faces of the riders became clearer. The stench of rotting flesh hung heavy in the air.

“Wait,” Caiden said as calmly as he could.

The lead rider kicked his steed, and they shot ahead of the rest.

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