Twice Born

Chapter 25

I dash to Tristan’s side. The blade is stuck in the right side of his chest and blood seeps through the hole in his shirt, but he’s still alive. I don’t know what to do; whether to pull it out or staunch the flow of blood. “This is a new low, even for you! How could you do this to him?”

Eve crouches down next to me. “Shh, they’re coming. Quick—hide!”

I’m about to insist we get Tristan to safety, but she grabs his arm, tugs him to his feet, and heaves him over her shoulder. Tristan moans, but the movement doesn’t dislodge the blade. Turning around, she slips through the hedges.

I do the same and watch while she finds footing on the slippery pebbles along the narrow ground. She almost trips over a fist-sized rock. She rights herself with a hand on the back wall of the manor, grunting as she deposits Tristan next to it. We both crouch beside him and squeeze ourselves tightly behind the plants and hedges. Waiting.

The muscles of my calves quiver. I want to run before they have a chance to find us, let my feet take me far from this place, as they always have any time Trackers are involved. But for once, I still the wild impulse to flee, squeeze my eyes shut, and place my faith in luck.

Thudding footsteps come down the hallway and land on the dirt path. The sounds of numerous shoes. I bend my head lower, trying to make myself smaller behind the prickly leaves.

It’s all over if they find us. I can’t use my power and fight at the same time—I doubt I can use my power at all—and Eve looks like she’s going to give out at any moment, too.

“They killed Ashin!” one of the Trackers shouts.

“Whose command do we follow now?” another asks.

A third voice. “We do the job he tasked us with until we are given a new one. Find the girls and kill the male prisoners.”

The girls. They know Eve and I are two people now.

“They can’t be too far from here,” says the second man. “Ashin was with us just now.”

“They must have gone into those trees. It’s the only other way out of here.”

I clench my fists, praying they’ll head into the trees. Tristan swallows profusely, his eyes wild and unfocused. I don’t think he’s ever felt so helpless.

“Gerald’s group would have found them by now.”

Tristan tries to sit up. Eve places a hand on his stomach and stops him, shaking her head. Her eyebrows are furrowed, every visible muscle in her body straining. She’s waiting for a sign that she should act. I hope she never finds it.

“They must have evaded them in those woods—you know how vast they are. I say we join in the search.”

Someone brushes against the hedge pressed against my shoulder. The leaves above my head rustle. The silence that follows engulfs the night air like a heavy blanket, stifling my breath.

“Let’s go.”

The men disappear into the woods. We stay crouched low until their noise fades. My muscles droop with relief, but they immediately tighten up. That’s not the last we’ll see of those Trackers. Especially now that escaping into the woods won’t be so easy.

“Surprised you didn’t just leave me to die on the path,” Tristan gasps.

Eve darts away and returns moments later with a man’s shirt in her hands. She tears the fabric into long brown strips. “If I wanted you dead, you would be already. If anything, I saved your life.”