The Bound (Ascension #2)(4)

He walked forward, his eyes searching the ground for prints to track. Ahlvie had covered their footprints as best as he could before throwing fresh leaves on the ground, but if the Captain overturned the wrong leaf…

She didn’t want to think about it, and they all strained not to make a single sound. The Captain’s head cocked to the side in the direction of the horses. She prayed to the Creator that they were as concealed as she thought they were. When she had made a pass by the horses, she couldn’t see them. But one sound would give them all away.

The Captain took a step toward the horses and then tentatively took another, like he wasn’t sure what he would find there. Cyrene was panicking, the closer he got. Ahlvie reached out and gripped her arm, as if he knew she was about to do something irrational.

When the Captain was practically on top of the horses, one of the other guardsmen barged into the clearing at a breakneck pace.

“Sir! Captain!” the woman cried. She stopped and saluted the Captain.

“What is it, Naelan?” he asked impatiently. “I’d be surprised if anything could hide from you with you trampling around the grounds like that.”

“We found something up the western path. Jaela instructed me to inform you at once.”

“Thank you, Naelan,” he said dismissively.

“Sir,” she said, saluting before retreating.

He followed Naelan out of the clearing, glancing back once before disappearing entirely. When he broke the tree line, Cyrene sighed in relief. She couldn’t believe how close they had come to getting caught.

Unfortunately, their excitement was dampened by the news Naelan had delivered. They had found something along the western path. Is Orden that something? No one wanted to voice the concern.

They waited until dusk fell before removing their camouflage. Soon, night would follow, and Orden still hadn’t returned.

“What do we do?” Maelia asked.

“We can’t go after him.” Cyrene hated the answer.

“We can’t leave him either,” Ahlvie said.

“No,” she agreed, “we can’t. If they apprehended him, we’ll have to get him back. But it’s too dark to go marching through the woods, looking for him, now. They’ll need me before they can return anyway—Orden won’t suffice—so that should buy us some time.”

“Not the kind of time I prefer,” Ahlvie grunted, scratching the back of his head.

“Me either,” Maelia said.

“Either of you have a better solution?”

Maelia and Ahlvie slowly shook their heads.

Cyrene nodded. “All right then, let’s bed down for the night. Don’t unpack the horses. Let’s just find somewhere hidden to rest for a few hours.”

“Somewhere hidden in the Hidden Forest?” Ahlvie asked, cracking a half-smile.

“How can you even joke right now?” Maelia asked.

She glared at Ahlvie, and his smile vanished.

“I’m taking first watch,” Cyrene interjected.

“Let me,” Ahlvie insisted.

“You need rest. I couldn’t go to sleep now if I tried,” she insisted. “Now, go!”

Her friends set out their bedrolls, and Cyrene found a perfect location to stand guard. Her sword was hanging from her belt with her hand holding the oversize pommel as she stared forward into the darkness.





Cyrene awoke with a start with her back firmly pressed against a tree, cursing herself for the fatigue. Her surroundings were pitch-black, and she knew she had been out too long already when she was supposed to be on watch.

Just as she turned to go wake Ahlvie to take over, a chill crept up her spine. She stilled, her eyes roaming the dark forest before her. She could feel someone was out there, but she found it hard to believe that the guards would venture back into the forest at night.

A low guttural growl told her that something, not someone, was stalking these woods.

Wolves?

She steeled herself against the rising panic. She could do nothing if she was immobilized by fear. She had to get to her friends and warn them of the danger.

Internalizing every ounce of preparation that Orden had tried to instill in her over the last couple of weeks, she crept like a wraith through the tree line and caught her first glimpse of the beast as she approached. With the forest obscuring the starlight, she could only attempt to ascertain the enormity of what lay before her. It stood taller than her, even while crouched on four legs.

Thankfully, it hadn’t seen her, and she wanted to keep it that way. Even if this was the only creature of its kind in the woods, she didn’t want to engage with it.

Breathlessly, she waited for the beast to pass out of her sight, and then she hurried to the edge of the clearing. When she saw what awaited her, her hand went reflexively to the sword at her side…not that it would do her much good.

Five more of the creatures filled the area. Their fur was as black as night while their eyes glowed yellow in the meager moon light. Their sharp claws curved out of their massive paws, and fangs the size of her forearm gleamed wickedly. They were not quite wolf or bear or leopard. Something more deadly, something…wrong.

Cyrene was thankful for the still night. No breeze to pick up her scent and send her to her death.

After an agonizingly slow minute, she reached her friends, still wrapped up in their blankets. Maelia slumbered lightly, her hand resting on her blade, poised for the ready. Ahlvie was covered from head to toe. Cyrene could only tell he was there because she had already known.