Page 108 of Arrows and Gems
Straightening, she lunged forward, but the wind struck her again. She staggered backward, wincing when her back collided with the tree and her head swung back to join it.
The wind was only hitting her chest. Dropping to her knees, Helena crawled toward freedom.
She felt the wind swirl angrily above her, but she didn’t stop. It could be as upset as it wanted; she couldn’t find what she needed if she was in the dungeon of the Laurier castle. And if General Valentin hung her for her association with Cap, she would never get that kiss Cap had been about to give her.
She grinned despite herself. Incentive, but she needed to focus. One step at a time.
The wind blew away down the alley. Helena staggered upright as she reached the cover of the last house. She was going to make it.
A sudden gust plowed into her back. Helena stumbled forward, throwing out her hands to catch herself. But she tripped over the homeowner’s wood-splitting stump, falling headfirst into the round stack of split logs that rose in front of her.
Stars burst in her vision, and then everything went black.
CHAPTER 37
Helena
When had she decided to make camp in the open?
Helena struggled to drag herself awake, faintly aware of the hard ground under her cheek. She didn’t remember lying down.
And why was someone moving her arms?
Memory rushed back with a jolt. She tried to shoot to her feet, but a pair of strong hands gripped her forearms while a rope cinched her wrists together. And her head spun as soon as she lifted it off the ground.
A low moan escaped her. It felt like someone was trying to pound a tent stake through her forehead.
“He’s awake. Hurry up with those restraints.”
Helena struggled weakly, but her body felt sluggish. Maybe her hands were simply going numb from their new bonds.
Someone grabbed her shoulders and heaved her upright. She tried to stand, but the ground wouldn’t stay still. Her head lolled forward, and she stumbled sideways into a solid body.
“I have this side. Careful, though—it might be a trick.”
Hands gripped both of her arms, holding her steady before they dragged her forward. She tried to keep up, but her legs wouldn’t cooperate. She tipped forward.
“Never mind, I’ll carry him.”
A shoulder dug into her stomach, and then she was hanging from her waist. The blood rushing to her head wasn’t helpful,but with her hands tied behind her back, she couldn’t push off the man’s back to level herself out.
“Let me know if you need to trade off.”
“It’s not that far. Besides, he’s lighter than I expected.”
“Smaller arms too, right?”
“Yeah, I thought Le Capuchon would be stronger than that.”
Le Capuchon was. But Helena wouldn’t have told them that even if her tongue didn’t feel like lead. Everything was a bit fuzzy, but she knew it was better if they assumed she was Cap.
He was the bigger catch. They might drop the search for Jean-haut if they believed they had the leader.
Her mind drifted back to the guards’ comments about her arms. Cap’s arms. His upper arm and shoulder under her hand as she danced with him. His lips a hairsbreadth from her own.
His answering her in Old Ralnoran.
The embarrassment fought its way through the haze in her mind, burning off a little of the fuzziness. She still couldn’t believe he’d understood her the whole time and never said a word.
