The air was icy in the morning, with that crispness that seemed to slice through the heavy foliage of treetops protecting this cave from unprying eyes. The first light of dawn tried to break through the heavy foliage and was sending eerie dappled shadows across the cave entrance. It was unnatural stillness, so contrary to the chaos which pursued them into this sanctuary the night before.
Kiera sat up with a jerk; her heart was pounding as if her body remembered the danger chasing them into this dark sanctuary. Even in sleep, echoes of danger clung to her.
Adrian already stood, a silent sentinel near the cave entrance, his body coiled with tension. Dim light did little to soften the stark planes of his face and shrouded deep the concern etched into lines and grooves in his features. He turned as she stirred, the hard edge in his eyes softening somewhat when he saw her.
"Morning," he whispered, barely making a voice at all, fearing to break the fragile peace of the morning.
Kiera nodded, forcing herself to her feet, her muscles aching and sore. The silence in the cave was oppressive, the air humming with unsaid tension. She could sense it in Adrian's stance, in the way Rowan-who had moved barely at all in the night-kept his gaze fixed toward the cave entrance, coiled and ready to act at a moment's warning.
"We have to get moving," Adrian said finally, breaking a silence that apparently had set in between them. "The longer time stands still around here, the likelier they are to find us."
The voice of Rowan was gruff, low; his gaze was still scanning beyond at the dark forest. "The rogues would be onto our tail by now. They are relentless, especially when blood stints the air."
A shiver ran down Kiera's spine at the reminder of the attack the previous night. The image of wild-eyed rogues crazed with bloodlust surged into her mind unbidden. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if they had caught up with them.
"Do you know where do we go?" she asked, her voice catching despite her best efforts to keep it steady.
His face grim, Rowan turned to Adrian. "There's another safe house deeper in the woods, one the rogues do not know. If we break camp now, we can reach it by midday."
Determination etched on his face, Adrian nodded. "Then let's move. We cannot afford to lose more time.
Kiera scrambled to gather her stuff, trying to focus with hands that shook. But it was hard to think clearly when fear gnawed at the insides of her soul. She knew Adrian watched her every gesture with concern etched on his face.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, moving close as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
She made herself smile even though her lips barely curled upwards. "I'm fine. Just.nervous."
Adrian's hand closed around her arm, anchoring her with the warmth of his touch. "We'll get through this," he promised, his firm voice soothingly reassuring. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Kiera nodded-a fraction of tension releasing in her shoulders. She trusted Adrian. He had saved her once before, and she knew he would do it again.
Rowan reached out and pulled the ivy aside, revealing the cave entrance. He peered out into the night, his eyes keen for any sign of life or movement. The muscles across his shoulders were tensed, his body prepared for action should there be any sign of something menacing. A moment later, he faced them again, his eyes inscrutable in the dark.
"It's all clear for the time being," he whispered, "but we must hurry. Keep together and keep quiet."
Adrian nodded for Kiera to follow as he slipped out of the cave into thick underbrush. The forest was eerily silent-the regular cacophony of birds and wildlife was strikingly absent, almost as if the woods themselves held their breath.
They moved as fast as they could, Rowan in the lead, Adrian and Kiera close on his heels. The ground was rough: uneven beneath their feet and littered with fallen branches and rocks that made every step an obstacle to be conquered. But Kiera pushed forward, fighting to keep up, her heart pounding furiously in her chest as they dodged between the thick trees.
The deeper into the forest they rode, the more Kiera's apprehension grew. It was as if the very forest itself was alive, peering at them and merely waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Every rustling of leaves, every snapping of a twig, set her shivering with the thought of rogues lurking behind each tree ready to pounce.
She shot a glance at Adrian, surefooted as if he walked on the most hazardous of grounds. His eyes were alive, peering around them for any signs of danger. There was an aura of calm confidence in him, but Kiera couldn't help feeling the weight of heavy uncertainty weighing down upon them.
The silence of the forest grew, converging on them and driving upward the feeling of foreboding as they walked. Kiera was breathing in short, shallow gasps; her muscles protested with every step.
Just when she thought she couldn't go any farther, suddenly Rowan stopped, his hand rising in a silent command to stop. Kiera almost fell, barely catching herself as she came to an abrupt halt.
"Something's out there," Adrian whispered, his voice little more than a murmur above the pounding of Kiera's heart.
Rowan didn't answer right away, his eyes squinting into the heavy underbrush. Highly tensed, the air was thick with anticipation of what was to happen.
Finally, he turned to them, his face grim. "There's blood," he said, pointing to a dark patch on the ground just a few feet away.
Kiera's heart jumped into her throat as her stomach knotted, following his gaze. The earth was stained dark crimson, and the sight sent a cold chill running down her spine.
Adrian's features hardened in his judgment about what he was looking at. "It's fresh," he said quietly. "We need to be careful."
"We have to get to the safe house," Rowan urged, "but we have to get there without giving them any reason to know we found their trap."
The weight of their circumstances tugged at Kiera's gut as the fear there threatened to spill over. She glanced across at Adrian, searching for reassurance in him, and his face was set in grim determination.
"Keep moving," he said, his voice low and even. "Stay close. Keep your eyes open."
They started off again, but the pace was considerably slower now as they took to following the bloodstained trail into the woods. An almost palpable tension lay between them-the oppressive silence. Kiera's heart was running a mile a minute, dread gnawing at her insides as onward they pressed with uncertainty ahead.
What felt like hours of silent, tense travel later, Rowan stopped abruptly again, his hand rising warnings. Kiera's pulse pounded as she scanned the area, peering hard through thick foliage.
"There," Adrian whispered, pointing to a dark figure slumped against the base of the tree just ahead.
Kiera's eyes squinted; her breath caught, and then her gaze suddenly settled on what Adrian had pointed at. The figure lay, unmoving, blood pooling around them, the trail they had been tracking leading directly to it.
Adrian carefully reached for the door and slowly turned the handle, his body tensed in preparation for whatever he found. Kiera's fear spiked as she watched, her mind with all the possibilities: a trap, the rogues just inside waiting for them.
In the time it took them to reach the figure, the fear inside Kiera deepened into an abysmally deep, hollow dread. The woman sat slumped against the tree, her clothes dripping with blood, barely clinging to life. Every breath came labored, her chest rising and falling with a pained effort.
"It is a woman," Adrian said grimly, falling to a knee beside her. He turned her over carefully, revealing a face contorted in a mask of pain, eyes battling to stay conscious.
Kiera's heart tore at the sight of this woman, skin deeply and jaggedly cut, blood still oozing from within those gashes. The sight of her struggling to take breaths, to keep life inside, was near more than any decent person could handle.
"We have to help her," Kiera said, voice shaking as she fell onto her knees beside the woman, instinct to aid killing the fear.
Adrian looked up at her, his face a mask of conflict. "She's badly hurt. If we stay to help her, we risk being caught ourselves."
Rowan's eyes narrowed as he regarded the woman, suspicion in every line of his face. "It could be a trap. The rogues have used worse to lure in their prey."
Kiera knew Rowan was right, but there was just something about leaving this woman to die that didn't feel quite right. She wasn't able to turn a cold shoulder to the pull of compassion, the urge to try and save her.
"We can't just leave her like this," Kiera whispered, desperation crawling into her voice. "She's one of us-or she was. We owe her a chance."
Adrian looked between Kiera and the woman, the battle which raged inside him clear in his eyes. He knew what made the most sense, but his heart wanted to fight it.
A hard breath escaped Rowan's lips, his eyes never once straying from the woman. "If we're going to help her, we need to do it fast. We cannot linger here. If the rogues find us with her, then we are as good as dead."
Adrian nodded, his mind made up once and for all. "We'll take her with us, but we have to be on our guard. No unnecessary risks.
Kiera felt a wave of relief wash over her as she dropped to her knees beside the woman, her hands moving quickly to assess the wounds. The woman breathed shallowly, her skin clammy under Kiera's fingers. She glanced up at Adrian, her voice urgent.
She's losing too much blood. We have to stop it, or she isn't going to make it to the safe house."
Adrian tore a strip off his shirt and handed it over to Kiera. She pressed the fabric hard onto one of the deeper wounds, staunching the flow of blood as best she could. Meanwhile, Rowan kept watch, his senses high as he scanned the trees around them for even the slightest movement.
The woman groaned. Her eyes flickered once, then shut again. Kiera leaned in low, her face closer to hers. "We're going to help you, okay? Just hold on a little longer."
Adrian laid a reassuring hand upon Kiera's shoulder, the touch steadying her. "We'll get her through this," he said, though determination had been laced with uncertainty in his voice.
Kiera nodded, her attention turned to the task at hand. Time dragged on it seemed while she worked, movements both precise and quick. The forest was dead still around them, only the random rustling of a leaf or bird call somewhere off in the distance, like it too, waited for something to happen.
Finally, the bleeding became minimal, though the condition of the woman was still in a precarious position. Adrian picked her up in his arms gingerly to avoid shaking her too much. Kiera could see the strain in his eyes from carrying her weight, but he did not show any signs of buckling under it.
"We need to go," Rowan said in a quiet, urgent voice. "We are running out of time.
Kiera struggled to her feet, her legs shaking from the sizzling adrenaline. She tugged on her knapsack, trying to shift some weight off her shoulder, and her gaze locked onto Adrian's. They were in this together.
They continued on their way again, Kiera keeping herself near Adrian, guiding him through the dense undergrowth with a light hand on his arm. The woman was in his arms, semi-conscious, her breathing shallow and irregular.
The woods closed in around them, the long shadows stretching, as if to reach out and meet as day crept ahead. Every step became a gamble as tension mounted with each successive moment.
Still they pressed on; pushed forward by whatever common sense of duty and hope of salvation that they had left. Kiera could feel the mounting weight of their situation, the gravity of the choices they had made. Today, they had saved a life, but at what cost remained yet to be seen.
Finally, when the low-hanging sun cast a golden glow upon the forest, Rowan gave a stop signal. Before them was a small structure camouflaged within the treetops-the other safe house, well concealed from prying eyes.
Relief washed over Kiera as they neared the shelter. Adrian quickened his pace in eagerness to get the injured woman indoors. Opening the door, Rowan stood back as Adrian carried her inside, laying her down carefully onto a make-do bed.
Kiera immediately sprang into action, rummaging out their minimal medicinal supplies. Adrian hovered close by, his anxiety marked across his face as he watched her tend to the woman's wounds. Rowan stood guard at the door, still on high alert with his senses.
She had spent hours working to stabilize her, the sun long since set and replaced by a small flickering lantern they'd found in the safe house. Finally, the woman's breathing evened out, and her color improved.
Kiera sagged backward, overcome by her exhaustion, but couldn't help the little smile tugging at her lips. They'd done it-they'd saved her. Adrian caught her gaze, his eyes wide with pride and relief.
"You did good," he whispered softly.
Kiera shook her head. "We did it together.
Rowan turned from his post, and while still guarded, there was less of a mask on his face. "She's lucky you were with us," he said gruffly but sincerely.
Kiera merely nodded, unable to entirely shake the lingering dread of what still might come their way. They were safe now, but it was far from over.
Kiera was beginning to feel quite placid amidst all the chaos, alone once again while the three settled down for the night, taking turns watching. Together, they had faced the darkness, and they had made it, popped out the other end—well, at least for today.
And with her eyes shut, she knew that tomorrow would bring its own hardships, its own risks. And she would be there. Whatever the world threw in their way-whatever it conjured from the deeps for battle-she knew they'd face it, just as long as they had one another.