Liona's POV
My paws hit the ground hard with every stride.
The earth beneath me was uneven, roots and rocks and dips that came without warning, and I navigated all of it on instinct because looking down was not an option. Looking back was not much of an option either but I did it anyway, one quick glance over my shoulder, and they were still there. All of them. Moving through the trees behind me with the focused persistence of people who had decided this was where their evening was going and were not reconsidering.
Good. That was the point.
I faced forward and ran harder.
My chest burned. The particular burn that came when the body had been pushed past the comfortable range and was now operating in the territory where it started sending messages about how it felt about that. I ignored the messages and kept moving. My legs screamed in that deep, specific way that muscles scream when they have already given everything and are being asked for more anyway.
I gave them more.
