An Unexpected Awakening (III)

**Shaira's POV**

As we ventured deeper into the thicket, I began to notice the vegetation growing denser and the terrain becoming steeper. We were heading towards a hill covered with trees and thick bushes, and although it made our path more difficult, it also offered us an opportunity to hide.

Finally, when we were sure we had put enough distance between ourselves and our pursuers, we stopped in a small clearing surrounded by shrubs. I collapsed to the ground, panting as I tried to catch my breath. Angro crouched beside me, his breathing just as labored.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a hoarse voice, his eyes scanning my face with concern.

"Yes... I'm fine," I replied breathlessly, feeling the adrenaline beginning to fade, leaving behind a deep exhaustion. "And you?"

Angro nodded, though I could see that the battle had also taken its toll on him. His arms and face were scratched, but he didn’t appear to be seriously injured. "We're safe, for now," he murmured, glancing around us cautiously. "But Omawit won't give up that easily. We have to keep moving."

The gravity of his words weighed heavily on me. I knew he was right, that our only option was to continue running. But in that moment, in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by humidity and the distant song of birds, I couldn’t help but feel a mixture of relief and despair. We had escaped a deadly trap, but the threat was still chasing us like a shadow.

I moved closer to Angro, feeling the need for his closeness, and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly against his chest. I felt the rapid beat of his heart, and in that instant, everything we had been through—the fighting and the fleeing—faded away for a moment. It was just him and me, clinging to each other as if our lives depended on it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice trembling. "This is never going to end."

Angro shook his head, his fingers gently stroking my cheek. "It's not your fault, Shaira. Omawit made his choice long before you came into our lives. This isn’t about you; it’s about the darkness in his own heart." His voice was firm, and his words comforted me despite the pain I knew it caused him to have to fight his own kin.

I looked into his eyes, finding a strength there that made me feel safe. "No matter what comes," I said in a faint voice, "we'll face it together."

Angro nodded and gave me a brief kiss on the forehead. "Always," he replied, his voice soft but filled with determination. Then, he stood up quickly and helped me to my feet. "We have to keep going. If we want any chance of getting out of this, we can't stay in one place for too long."

"Over here," Angro said, pointing to a hidden path that led deeper into a cluster of denser trees. "If we stay off the main trails, it'll be harder for them to track us."

I nodded, trusting his judgment, and we pressed on. Despite the exhaustion, I couldn’t afford to slow down. My muscles burned from the effort, but the adrenaline kept pushing me forward. However, something didn’t feel right. The path seemed clear, but there was a tension in the air that I couldn’t shake.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp tug on my foot, and before I could react, the ground gave way beneath me. I cried out as I fell into a deep hole, my body hitting the ground hard. The impact knocked the breath out of me, and a sharp pain shot through my leg as I twisted it in the fall. Angro immediately stopped and turned toward me, his eyes reflecting a mix of concern and horror.

"Shaira!" he shouted, rushing to the edge of the hole. He looked at me with desperation, assessing the depth of the trap and searching for a way to get me out. "Hold on, I'll get you out of here."

He began to descend quickly, using the roots and uneven walls of the pit for support. However, before he could reach me, a group of men appeared around the trap. They were Omawit's warriors, who had followed our trail with precision. I realized too late that they had led us directly into an ambush.

"Grab her!" a familiar voice commanded. Omawit emerged from the vegetation, his eyes gleaming with a triumphant glint. As his men descended towards me, one of them managed to seize my arms before I could stand up to try to escape. I struggled with all my strength, but the pain in my leg weakened me, and soon I found myself pinned.

Angro drew his weapon, his face a mask of defiance, but Omawit's men were already closing in on him, blocking his path to me. I knew they wouldn’t let him advance without a fight, and desperation gripped me as I realized we were in an impossible situation.

"Let her go, Omawit," Angro shouted, his voice breaking with fury and helplessness. "She is not your enemy. If anyone has a problem with me, it’s me, not her."

Omawit regarded him coldly, his expression growing even crueler. "No, brother," he replied, his tone laced with disdain. "She is the heart of your betrayal. And now, you will pay for your mistakes. Take her away."

I felt myself being dragged out of the trap, and no matter how hard I tried to break free, I didn’t have the strength to fight off so many men. I cried out Angro's name, reaching out for him, but the last thing I saw before I was pulled away was his desperate expression as he tried to push through the warriors to reach me.

Angro fought to get closer, but he was outnumbered. Though he continued to resist, I could see the moment he realized he wouldn’t make it in time. The anguish in his eyes left me breathless, and I felt a mixture of terror and sorrow as I was dragged further and further away from him.

The last image I had was of Angro, surrounded by opranchi warriors, as the distance between us grew. My voice faded into a desperate sob, and the world seemed to close in around me as I was dragged off into the unknown.