Chapter 135- Caught in the Wind
Tarria
Branches snapped beneath my boots as I pushed deeper into the forest, lungs heaving, heart thundering like a drum against my ribs. Sweat clung to my brow despite the cold bite of the night air. I didn’t look back. Couldn’t. Looking back was to slow down, and I knew better than to give them even a breath’s advantage.
I had escaped—really escaped—two hours ago, slipping through the shadows during a guard change, stealing into the tree line while the stars blinked blindly overhead. I hadn’t stopped running since.
The woods were dense and uneven, winding in ways that made the terrain difficult to predict. My muscles screamed, my legs ached, but I welcomed the pain. It meant I was alive. It meant I was free. For now.
Somewhere beyond these trees, Lexy was waiting. The tribe. The truth. I clung to the image of the Queen’s sharp gaze and steady hand like a lifeline. I had to get back. I had to tell them everything.
But exhaustion was creeping in like fog—slow and thick. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and even then, it had only been a couple of bites and a glass of water.
So, when I spotted the rocky alcove nestled behind a thick wall of ferns, I slowed. Just for a moment.
I crouched low, slipping between the green, my fingers trembling as I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders. The cold was creeping in through my bones, and the adrenaline was beginning to fade, leaving me dizzy. The alcove was barely large enough to sit in, but it was dry and hidden from view.
I pressed my back to the rock and closed my eyes.
Just ten minutes. That was all I needed.
I slowed my breathing, forcing my thoughts to settle. I imagined Lexy’s face. CJ’s presence at her side. The firelight of the tribe’s camp. The warmth of safety.
I’m coming back. Just a little longer. Don’t give up on me.
A twig snapped in the distance.
My eyes snapped open. I didn’t move, barely breathed. The forest had gone quiet—too quiet. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
My body moved before my mind could catch up. I slid out from the alcove, crouched low, ears straining. Maybe it was just an animal. Maybe—
Another sound. Closer this time. Deliberate.
Someone’s following me.
I darted through the underbrush, the ferns slapping against my arms and legs. I didn’t know where I was going anymore—just forward. Just away.
The terrain thickened. Roots clawed at my ankles, and I stumbled once, catching myself on a fallen log. The air felt heavier, and I knew then—I wasn’t alone.
I crested a small ridge, breathing hard, and paused just long enough to scan the woods ahead. Then I saw it: a path. Barely visible, but it was there. A break in the underbrush. A way out.
I ran for it.
That’s when something slammed into my face.
A wire? No—a branch. A thick, sharpened branch, swung like a club.
The blow struck just below my eye, and my world turned white. The pain was instant and blinding. My knees buckled as I let out a strangled cry, my body twisting mid-fall. I hit the ground hard, the air punching out of my lungs.
I tried to crawl. Move. Anything. But the pain was drowning me. Blood was in my mouth—metallic, warm. My limbs twitched, and I refused to listen. My vision blurred.
Then came the footsteps.
Soft. Slow. Measured.
A shadow passed over me.
“Told them she’d double back to the clearing,” a voice muttered, low and male. “Too predictable.”
I tried to lift my head, to see who it was. A gloved hand closed around my shoulder, flipping me onto my back.
The last thing I saw before the darkness claimed me was a familiar face. One of the men who used to guard my cell.
Smiling.
I woke with a scream caught in my throat.
My body felt like it was on fire. My head pounded with every heartbeat, and my left cheek was swollen and hot. My vision wavered. I tried to move—and couldn’t.
This time, they’d made sure of it.
I was back in the stone room.
The same four walls. The same damp smell. The same cold seeping up through the stone floor.
But now the bindings were different.
I was completely secured—strapped at the wrists, ankles, thighs, and across my chest with thick leather bindings. There was no give, no wiggle, no play in the restraints. Even my neck was braced, forcing my head upright.
Panic rose fast.
I pulled against the bonds—once, twice—until my muscles screamed in protest. Nothing moved. Not even a creak.
The door opened.
Kael entered alone this time. No father. No guards. Just him and the sound of his boots across the stone.
“You almost made it,” he said quietly, not unkindly. “You were smart. Quick. We underestimated you.”
I glared at him, teeth clenched through the throbbing pain in my face.
“You hit me,” I spat.
Kael paused. “I didn’t. One of the others got there first. I would’ve brought you in alive.”
“You don’t get points for not killing me,” I growled.
“I’m not trying to earn points,” he said, stopping a few feet from my chair. “But you should know—this time, they won’t let you out of their sight. Not again.”
I stayed silent, chest heaving.
Kael tilted his head. “You ran for three hours. You survived the cold, the wild. That’s not nothing.”
My voice dropped, hoarse and low. “I was going to make it.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s why they’re doubling the guards.”
He turned to leave.
I spoke before he reached the door. “You really believe in this? In whatever destiny Adrian’s selling you?”
Kael stopped.
“I believe in what you could be,” he said, without turning around. “But if you keep running, we’ll never get there.”
The door shut behind him.
I stared at the stone wall ahead, jaw locked tight. My body ached, my spirit trembled—but my mind?
My mind was sharpening.
They think I’m done. That this is it.
They didn’t understand.
I had already escaped once.
I could do it again.
And next time—I wouldn’t just run.
I’d come back with fire.
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