Running
Serafine POV
The Silvermane Hound’s body moves beneath me, it’s running with long, powerful strides that eat up the ground as if distance means nothing to it. My hands stay clutched tightly into it’s thick silver fur along it’s neck. The wind is whipping past my face and stinging my eyes.
The night air is cold, but the hound radiates nothing but warmth. There’s a steady ulse of strength and protection beneath my legs. I bury my face briefly against its back and let myself breathe for the first time in what feels like forever.
I know that no one is following us, I’ve looked a few times. I also know he’s not following, because the further away that we get, the looser the pressure in my chest becomes. The bond between me and Xander, the one that had burned so hot and sharp it felt like a second heartbeat, began to stretch.
If he was chasing us down, it wouldn’t be stretched so much. At first it was just a small shift, an absence where there used to be weight. Then it pulls harder, like a cord that’s fraying, strand by strand under too much strain. My wolf is pacing nervously inside of me, she’s uncertain and confused by the loss.
I push her to be still. I chose this; I have to see it through.
The wind carries a sound, and it freezes me where I sit.
It’s a roar, and it crashes through the trees behind us, low and guttural. It’s wild and broken. It rumbles along my skin like thunder. Xander, I know it is, and it’s not what I expected. It’s not the commanding snarl of an alpha. It’s raw pain and desperation twisted together and torn from his throat. My wolf flinches at the sound, lowering her head inside me with a soft, hurt whimper. She doesn’t know how to handle that kind of agony. I swallow hard and force myself not to look back.
I can’t go back.
“Keep going,” I whisper. I’m not sure if I speak to myself or the hound, maybe it’s to my wolf? My arms tighten as the Silvermane surges forward faster, stretching its stride further as though it senses the urgency in my voice. It’s like the hound knows I need to get distance quicker to stop the pain.
The land and trees blur past us, everything is reduced to vague shadows, and I never realised just how fast a Silvermane Hound is. Then again, I had never been near one. Hours pass, I don’t know how many, I just watch the sky change, and I stop counting after the first ache begins deep in my arms and legs from gripping so tightly.
The darkness seems endless, and the weight of exhaustion is creeping in and over me slowly. My eyelids grow heavier and my head nods against the rhythmic roll of the hound’s gait.
A soft voice pulls me back from the fog of sleep,
“You must stop soon.”
The Hollowfang Raven swoops low from the canopy and hovers near me. Ot’s dark feathers catch the faint moonlight, and it’s like shards of obsidian. I look at it, struggling to make sense of the words. Surely it’s safer to keep going until we reach the city? My voice comes out hoarse as I ask, “Why? It isn’t safe.”
“You will collapse. We need shelter. No one will catch you now. You’re too far.”
I hesitate for a moment, biting down hard on the fear that’s clinging to me. I’m still worried someone would be following us. I scan the trees ahead, the shadows stretching taller as we climb the gradual slope into a more dense woodland. The bond is faint now, more of a memory than a pull. The other guardians must be staying behind fully as no one is following us now. My wolf stirs, but then finally relaxes.
The Hollowfang circles upward, then returns to me. “There is a clearing ahead. Safe enough to rest.”
The Silvermane slows slightly as though it has heard the raven too, and I’m in a way grateful that we’re stopping. I’m exhausted. I run my hand gently along its neck. “Take us there,” I murmur. It shifts course without question, weaving gracefully through a narrow break in the trees.
When we get to the clearing, I see it’s small. Which is good, it’s also quiet, and encircled by dense pine and a tall rock formations that shield from the view of everything and everyone that may pass by. It feels totally tucked away from the entire world.
The Silvermane Hound lowers itself into a crouch, and I slide carefully from its back. I groan as my stiff muscles protest the movement. My legs are unsteady, and I lean against the hound for balance briefly before I pull the small pack free from where I’d strapped it.
Kneeling down onto the soft earth, I pull out w Successfully unlocked! water, heavy blankets, others items as well but the most important is a map. I think it’s important but now rease the onvermane Hound and Hollowfang Raven no doubt can find their way without the map.
The Hollowfang Raven lands nearby, talons curling around a fallen branch. I smooth the map out across a large rock. The edges catch in the faint breeze. “I have no idea where we are,” I admit under my breath as I run my fingers over the faded
Running markings.
“I would like to know if anything happens and if we should separate for whatever reason.” I look at the Hollowfang Raven. The Raven cocks it’s head at me, then takes off again. I watch as it vanishes into the trees, it’s silent like a shadow, A long minute passes, then another before I hear the beat of wings as it returns, gliding down to land beside me again. Its beak touches the parchment delicately. “We’re here.”
I follow it’s motion and stare at the small grove that is marked by barely noticeable lines. We’re still in the forested mountains, but beyond the outer patrol rings of Xander’s land. I trace the line terrain toward the south, I follow it to where there’s jagged ink outlining the settlement that waits.
I see the place that the book called a city of outcasts. My stomach tightens at the thought. It’s still days away on foot, even with the hound to carry me. I draw in a shaky breath.
“How far?” I whisper.
“Far enough,” the raven answers, voice soft and knowing. “Far enough that no wolf from your pack will find you now. But you will have to keep moving.”
Nodding, I sit back on my heels and stare down at the map. My eyes are burning with exhaustion now, but I know I won’t sleep easily. Folding up the map carefully, I pack it away again, then glance toward the Silvermane hound that is lying close by.
Its golden eyes watch me silently from the shadows.
“We rest tonight,” I say softly. “Tomorrow we keep going.”
The hound dips its head once in acknowledgement. Moving, I pull the blanket free from the bag and wrap it around my shoulders and settle trying to gain warmth from it. I listen to the Hollowfang Raven as it takes up a silent watch overhead. The night air presses cool against my cheeks.
Moving, I lie back against the ground and stare up through the branches of the trees to the stars that are above.
The ache of the broken bond is still there, but it’s faint now. Distant and unreachable. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. For now, though, I’m safe, and I’m finally free.
口
