Page 177 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Erissa won’t let that happen. She needs us alive. But I won’t go on her terms. We need to get to that Well before she does. We need to claim it for our own.”

Caiden sighed and I could picture his mouth scrunching as he thought about the plan.

“Alright, what do we have to lose, really?”

“Possibly our lives… but that’s just a normal day for me.”

“Fine.” I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I let out a breath that turned to vapor in the cool night air. “Alright, let’s wait until they fall asleep.”

Kita took the first watch, bringing us water and something to eat. Caiden and I greedily scarfed down the minuscule meal of what I could only guess was a crow.

My body begged for sleep. “Caiden, do you want to take the first watch?”

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll wake you if I see anything.” His hand slid over to rest on top of mine.

I swallowed hard. Emotions I thought I buried rose to the surface. Reluctantly, I shut my eyes.

Caiden nudged me awake, and I let out an audible gasp. The fire burned low, and I could make out the sleeping bodies of Erissa, Baylis, and Kita.

“It’s happening,” Caiden whispered. “Alwin ran into the forest.”

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. “Okay, on the count of three, we try to stand, and the ropes should loosen.”

“This better work.”

“One, two… three.” We both stood, and the ropes loosened. “Pull…”

We heaved against our restraints, pulling as hard as we could. My heart beat faster with each passing moment. The rope tightened around us. For a moment, I thought it wasn’t going to work. Then the tension eased, and the hastily tied knot came undone.

“Thank the Trinity, that worked,” Caiden said.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Kita and Alwin changed posts about two hours ago. I’d say dawn is not far off.”

“Do you think we should run now or wait a little longer?” I asked.

The sound of Alwin’s cries of pain echoed through the forest.

“I say we run for it while we can,” Caiden said.

I debated the merits of each. If we stayed, we would be protected from the Night Folk, but if we didn’t leave soon, the rest of the party would likely wake. “Where do you think we are?”

Caiden squinted at the sky through the darkness.

“If my training serves me right, the stars are saying north is that way.” He pointed into a particularly dark part of the forest.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and my dinner sat like stones in my stomach.

“Alright, let’s go. But as softly as you can.”

Caiden nodded, and we headed into the darkness, stepping as softly and as quickly as we could. Nothing moved around us. I looked for the red eyes that hunted us earlier but saw none. Perhaps they went back underground. Perhaps they were waiting to strike. Maybe Erissa’s bargain still protected us. If I thought too much about it, I would jinx us. So I just kept moving.

Twigs and branches snapped underneath even our lightest footsteps. I cringed at each one.

We ran for as long as we could until the cold burned deep in our lungs. I lagged behind Caiden, but he kept moving.

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