The Cursed Kingdom

FORTY-FOUR

~ THE CORPSE ~

"Run through there," I instructed through harsh pants, pointing to the stream ahead. Callie's advice from Heat rang through my head, her voice and the memory of that day no longer holding the warmth that they used to. Instead, it elicited a pang of hurt in my abdomen that only caused my legs to move faster until I could barely feel the ground beneath them at all.

Oriana and I had overslept. What was only supposed to be at most a single hour of closing our eyes and resting our limbs turned into multiple hours of deep slumber that was interrupted by not-so-distant howling that instantly put us back on our feet, our mouths spitting curses along the way.

I was hopeful that by running through as many bodies of water as possible, we'd somehow arrogate those lost hours back, rip them right out of time's grasp and make them our own again. But it was wishful thinking. The howls behind us kept getting closer and closer, their Lycan speed aiding them in their hunt, and no amount of water could stop them. Not even an entire ocean.

Water kicked up as I stepped into the stream and soaked my already wet trousers, my shoes flooding with muddy water or the third time that hour. The sound of Oriana's own feet penetrating the water encouraged me to continue, trying to act strong in spite of the agony that the uneven, rocky bottom inflicted on my injured foot. The only one who seemed to have benefitted from Oriana and I's tiredness, except for Henrik, was my ankle, who had felt immensely better when I'd awoken but had slowly retreated back into its painful state.

By the time I stepped out, it felt like my socks and shoes had gained a few more pounds and my throbbing ankle protested loudly at the added pressure, allowing me to feel every pump of blood that gushed past the swollen joint.

Although I knew it needed to rest to properly heal from the trauma it'd endured, I couldn't let that insignificant inconvenience ruin what Oriana and I were trying to accomplish, not when I knew we had made it so far and were so close.

The outskirts of Amaryllus were surrounded by bodies of water, which always attracted an annoying amount of insects in the summertime, and I could tell by growing number of slow streams in the area and the fact that there was a faint glow of daylight in the distance, meaning we'd been running for only a couple hours shy of an entire day, that we were close.

The thought made me restless and the closer we got, the more reckless I became.

I was anxious to get across the border and get as far away from Henrik as possible, knowing if he caught us, his treatment would not be kind. But it was not his treatment that I truly feared but rather the thought of having to look him in the eyes and see the effects of my actions.

And so, heart beating fast, I pumped my legs at full speed with the trust that Oriana was right behind me. She'd been a bit slower while we were running, always lagging a few feet behind me, which didn't surprise me because of her weakened state. So I wasn't worried when I didn't see her in my perennial vision or notice when her footfalls suddenly stopped.

But I should've known better than to not at least give her a quick glance after we exited the water—to make sure that she was alright and that our surroundings were safe.

I shouldn't have been so thoughtless and stupid.

"Raena!"

The horror-filled sound had my heart coming to a sudden halt along with my legs and I pivoted around, terrified by the unexpected distance between Oriana's voice and myself. My eyes searched between the plethora of trees until they landed on Oriana's stiff form a few dozens of feet away, her wide eyes practically glowing in the darkness. I took a few, tentative steps forward so I could peer around the tree trunk to see what was responsible for our second delay that morning, my heart beating loudly in my ears.