Page 28 of Royally Hacked Belle & Flame
I tear after him. My legs burn with each step through the snow, the powder spilling over my boot tops and melting against my ankles. Behind me, I hear the creak of the sleigh as Dessa and Aurelia leap down, their curses punctuating each labored breath as they follow.
Sushi’s gray tail flicks back and forth over the top of the snow, taunting us as we stumble over hidden roots and sink into drifts that swallow us to mid-thigh.
“Sushi!” I yell.
“He’s a cat, he’s not going to come if you call him,” Dessa pants.
I run around a patch of underbrush and stop short.
Sushi has stopped running and meows loudly as he stares up at me expectantly. More surprising, he’s not alone.
There’s a blonde little girl standing in the snow. She’s pale and wild-eyed, her face streaked with tears. Sushi wraps his body around her legs, purring loudly enough that I can hear it over the wind.
“Are you Gwen?” I ask, excitement and relief flooding me.
The girl doesn’t answer as without warning she hurls herself straight into my arms.
