Page 94 of Synodic

I crouched further over myself, concealing my middle as if to reach for more water. I’d only have one chance at this and one chance only. It would have to be as I’d seen Rowen and Dyani do it—in one swift motion.

With my bound hands, I reached through the slit of my dress. All ten fingers wrapped around the smooth crystal hilt, zinging at the contact.

Wielding all the force I could muster, I swung the blade out from under me, unfolding the torque of my body as I hurled to my feet. My knife whistled as it arced up in a semi-elliptical fashion, flashing with an almost imperceptible trail of light.

I easily severed the rope binding me to my red-headed captor, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough. Following through, my stroke tore through the air like a violent strip of lightning, and I slashed the red man diagonally across the face from chin to temple.

Howling in agony, he dropped his weapon and clutched his torn face.

I didn’t stick around to find out what he did next. I was already gone, flowing skirts in hand. I heard his fury chasing after me, screaming and cursing my very existence through the destroyed forest.

This was it, the moment of truth. Could I outrun him?

Despite Aliphoura’s wishes to keep me unharmed, he’d most likely kill me if he got his hands on me again. He was practically screeching all the ways he would torture me—his threats whipping at my back like snapping icicles.

I pushed harder, ignoring my pounding feet as they further ripped, tore, and bled. The drag from my dress and my bound wrists slowed me down considerably. And the headache that never left reverberated through my skull with each stride.

I had a lot working against me, but my few advantages gave me hope. So I ran, and ran, and never looked back. I didn’t even slow down as his enraged bellowing grew fainter and fainter behind me until eventually dying out altogether.

My legs burned with lactic acid, begging me to stop, but I kept running.

It wasn’t until I buckled from complete and utter exhaustion that I let my body lay still and unmoving on the black forest floor.

I knew I couldn’t continue to lie out in the open, sprawled in the mud and panting with the taste of blood in my lungs. I lifted my chin, noticing a dense tangle of roots, large enough that I might be able to fit inside.

Inching myself forward by my elbows, I squirmed under the thick brush until I was completely covered within the den of twisted mangroves. The space was much larger than I anticipated, and from the inside, it encased me in a woven cage of branches.

I rolled up into a seated position and examined the bindings at my wrists. The redhead knew what he was doing, this was a very skilled knot, tight and unforgiving.

With my dagger still tightly clasped within my white-knuckled grasp, I carefully flipped the blade over until the tip pointed directly at me. Using only my fingertips, I slowly began to saw away at the thick rope that bit into my skin. Severing thread after painstaking thread was slow work, but with the snapping and falling of each small strand, I celebrated a silent victory.

Finally free of the bonds, I tossed them aside and rubbed my tender and swollen wrists. I listened intently for any indication that the red man was near, but all I heard was the chirping and clicking of the unknown creatures around me, either settling in for the day or awakening with the night, but no sign of my hunter in tow.

The stale, heavy air was worse here than any of the other stunted forests, and it sent a terrified shiver through my being. I could only imagine what dark shadows these woods concealed. There could be more tracker demons or summonings out there looking for me, even encountering a run-of-the-mill starved beast was a likely scenario.

I tried again to still my mind to take me home, to take me anywhere but here, but reaching up and feeling the huge knot at the base of my skull, I knew with a sickening dread that I was well and truly stuck.

My next realization hit me with an even sharper stone-cold clarity—I wouldn’t survive out here long. I considered whether it would be best to hunker down, wait for Sabra to hopefully find my scent and track me down, or keep moving.

I heard Rowen’s voice in my ear as though he were sitting right beside me,to move is to survive.

It was decided. I’d give my feet and head the night to rest, then at first light, I would try to find my way back. I knew as much to follow the sunset, but that was about it.

Surviving this would be a miracle, but I knew in my bones Rowen was searching for me. Especially after his confession at Celenova.

My heart twisted painfully at the memory.

He would come. I just needed to hold out until then.

* * *

After finding an area to finally relieve myself, I sat with my back against the tangle of branches, the sounds of the forest closing in around me. Curious animals and insects crept closer to inspect me as if they were inherently drawn to me like flowers towards the sun.

My body may as well be a flashing neon sign attracting anything within a hundred feet.

I quaked uncontrollably with my knees drawn to my chest. I desperately clutched my blade in front of me with a bone-white grip when a twig snapped to my right.

Jumping, I clasped one hand over my mouth, masking my frightened breathing. If it was the red man, I had the chance of him passing me by unnoticed. If it was a beast, it already knew I was here.

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