Nyssa turned to face the men, determination and resolve soaring through her chest. But for one fierce heartbeat, fear took a step back.
But then,
"Oren," she gasped, stumbling over a stone and catching herself on a tree trunk, "I can't hear them as clearly anymore. Maybe we lost—"
An arrow sliced past her ear and buried itself into the bark inches from her face.
She froze.
"They still see us!" Oren barked, grabbing her wrist and yanking her forward again. "Run, Nyssa!"
Her pulse roared in her head, loud and wild, drowning out everything else. Her legs felt like they belonged to someone else, heavy and unsteady, barely responding to her thoughts.
She could sense the forest thinning ahead, the trees growing sparser. If they reached open ground, there would be nowhere to hide.
Another arrow flew, this one striking the ground near Oren's foot. He hissed as he twisted, the earlier wounds on his body slowing and weakening him. Blood had dried stiff on his shirt, dark and crusted, but fresh red had begun to spread again from the strain.
Nyssa glanced back.
Through the trees, she saw flashes of metal and heard the sharp commands of men who believed they were moments away from victory. Their confidence carried through the forest and it tore her heart.
No. She would not give them that satisfaction.
Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might crack her ribs. She had never truly used her magic in battle. Lessons in the academy had been gentle, controlled, filled with instructors, diagrams and glowing safety wards. This was a totally different scenario.
She did not know if she could pull it off. But she tried anyway.
She skidded to a stop and turned, ignoring Oren's sharp look. She closed her eyes. The world narrowed to the frantic beat in her chest and the tremor in her fingers.
"Magic lives in you. It listens when you listen," she remembered her mother's words to her.
Nyssa raised her trembling hands, palms facing outward. She reached inward, searching for that warm current she had always felt during training. That quiet glow behind her ribs.
"Come on," she pleaded silently. Please.
For a moment, nothing happened. Only her ragged breathing and the distant thunder of hooves.
Then, faintly, she felt a rising of warmth.
Her eyes flew open. "Stop!" she cried, thrusting her hands forward.
Oren's eyes locked on her, wide but trusting.
The air in front of her shimmered. Leaves lifted from the ground and spun upward. Branches shuddered though no wind blew. Then a ripple of force burst outward in a wide arc.
The first line of soldiers stumbled as if they had slammed into an invisible wall. One fell backward with a curse. Another reeled as his helmet flew off and vanished into the underbrush.
Nyssa gasped. "I did it," she whispered, stunned. She actually did it.
But the shimmer wavered and like glass cracking under pressure, the invisible barrier fractured. Fine lines of distortion ran through it. The ripple thinned and weakened. Nyssa bit her lip, trying to push harder, to force more strength into it.
But it made pain lance through her skull. A white-hot spike that made her vision spark.
The ember inside her sputtered.
"No… no, stay!" she cried.
A sudden arrow from nowhere, pierced through the failing barrier and grazed her upper arm. She screamed, dropping to one knee as blood soaked into her sleeve.
"Princess!" Oren shouted.
She tried again, her hands shaking violently now. Another weak gust of force pushed outward, stirring leaves and dust, but it barely slowed the advancing men.
One of the riders laughed. "The princess plays witch!"
Another arrow was notched. Nyssa's vision blurred and she could taste iron at the back of her throat.
"I'm not strong enough. I can never be."
The thought crushed her more than the pain. She forced herself upright, raising one hand again, though it trembled so badly she could barely keep it lifted.
"I will not go back!" she screamed, voice breaking. "You will not cage me again!"
The lead archer smirked, "We'll see about that."
Then, he drew his bow, aiming straight at her chest. His face was calm and certain. Her eyes widened. It was as if time slowed.
She saw the arrowhead glint in a shaft of sunlight, saw the man's fingers relax on the string.
Then the world lurched sideways.
Oren slammed into her from the side, tackling her to the ground just as the arrow flew. It whistled past where her heart had been and vanished into the trees behind them.
"Are you trying to die?!" he snapped, hauling her up again.
She shook in his arms. "I almost had them," she protested weakly, clutching her bleeding arm.
"You almost fainted!" he shot back. "Magic without strength is just a prayer shouted into a storm. It's futile!"
He dragged her behind a thick cluster of trees just as another volley of arrows struck the trunks, wood splintering and bark exploding around them.
Nyssa's ears rang. Her head throbbed as if it were splitting open.
"I thought… I thought I could hold them, Oren. But I…" she whispered, shame and pain tangling in her chest.
Oren softened for a second, pressing his forehead briefly against hers. His breath was warm, unsteady. "You did more than most could. But right now, survival is the spell we need."
Shouts continued rising behind them.
"They're still here!"
"Spread out!"
Oren looked left and right, his eyes sharp despite the pain etched into his face. He spotted a narrow animal trail cutting downhill through dense brushes, half hidden by ferns.
"This way," he said and they ran again.
Nyssa stumbled constantly now, dizziness creeping in with every step. The world tilted strangely. Oren half pulled, half carried her, ignoring the arrows that hissed past and the fire tearing through his own wounds.
She started feeling guilty with every stagger. Oren was too weak, Nyssa knew that.
Behind them, the men rode fast.
It would not be long before they caught up.
"We can't keep this up," Nyssa panted.
"We do not need forever," Oren replied. His voice was rough but steady. "Just long enough."
"For what?"
"You will see."
Another arrow flew, striking Oren's shoulder. The impact jerked him, but he did not stop. Blood spilled fresh down his arm again.
Nyssa's eyes filled with tears. "Oren…"
"Don't you dare stop," he growled. "Not after everything."
"You're not okay, Oren! You need help!"
Nyssa hurried forward and braced her shoulder beneath his arm, teeth clenched as she hauled him upright. He tried to push her away, stubborn even now, but she stayed firm.
"If you want me to keep running, then let me help you."
His weight sagged against her, heavy and awkward, but she refused to let go. Each step forward felt like dragging fate itself by the collar.
They staggered over twig-strewn ground, down a slope slick with loose stones.
And then they stopped. Nyssa looked ahead and saw the ground vanish.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the edge of the world.
It was a cliff.
She had not seen it as they were running, had not imagined the mountain would end so suddenly and cruelly.
Below them, a vast river carved its way through stone, raging and endless. White water crashed against the jagged rocks. The sound rose up in a constant, thunderous roar that swallowed the forest behind them.
Her heart dropped straight through her chest.
Slowly, she turned back.
Torches flared between the trees now, orange flames flickering in the growing gloom. The hooves of horses thundered closer, more confident, more determined now that they had seen their prey stop.
There was nowhere left to run.
Nyssa's legs gave out, and she fell to her knees. Her fingers clawed at the dirt and pebbles as sobs ripped free of her chest. The sound was ugly and broken, nothing like what a princess should sound like, according to her mother.
"Oren…" she gasped. "We failed."
But he said nothing.
He stood there, swaying slightly, more blood darkening his clothing. His gaze was fixed not on the soldiers, not on the cliff's edge, but on the river below.
Watching it. Then he looked at her.
"No," he said quietly. "We didn't."
Nyssa lifted her head, tears blurring her vision. "What do you mean?"
His eyes did not waver. "You are going to survive, Nyssa."
An empty, shattered laugh broke from her. "How? There's nothing I can do!"
Oren stepped closer to the edge. Loose stones skittered into the abyss. The wind tugged at his hair and the torn fabric of his clothes. He looked almost unreal standing there, framed by open sky and falling water.
"Nyssa," he said firmly, turning back to her, "you are going to jump."
Her eyes widened in horror. "What?"
"I know you can swim."
Her head shook violently. "Oren, I can't leav–"
"You will," he cut in, his voice steady despite the pain carving lines into his face. "My sole purpose for coming here was to rescue you. And if that is not complete, then I've failed." His jaw tightened. "And I won't."
Her lips trembled uncontrollably. "No," she whispered. "You promised me, Oren. You promised you would stay with me."
Tears streamed down her face. "You promised. I told you we would do everything together."
His eyes softened, the fire in them dimming into something achingly gentle. "Yes," he said. "I tried… didn't I?"
"That's not enough!" she sobbed, scrambling to her feet and clutching his clothes. "You're going to be with me. I need you. I don't have anyone else. Please… I can't do this alone."
His trembling hands cupped her cheeks. They were warm. Still warm, despite everything.
"You are powerful, Princess," he said quietly. "Just believe in yourself."
"No!" she cried, gripping him tighter. "I'm not leaving you. If I jump, you jump too! I'm not discussing this any further!"
Oren fell silent.
The soldiers fanned out behind them, forming a cruel half-circle. Their bows were raised and arrows slid into place, a gloomy action that was sickening along with the roar of the river.
"Surrender now," one of the riders shouted, "or face worse judgment!"
Nyssa's sobs broke anew. Everything was collapsing at once. Hope, escape…him.
She felt so terribly small and weak as the riders lifted their bows higher.
Oren, on seeing this, straightened slowly.
Despite the blood, despite the arrows buried in his body, he stood tall. He turned to Nyssa, who stared up at him through tears, memorizing his face without realizing it.
Then he smiled.
And at that moment, Nyssa thought he had never looked more beautiful. His wavy, raven-black hair swayed in the wind, and his clear grey eyes warmed as they fixed on hers.
"You truly are stubborn," he said lightly. "Just like Eugene said."
Nyssa blinked. "What…?"
"But unlike him," Oren continued softly, "I am too."
Her frown barely had time to form and one of the riders loosed his arrow.
In that instant, Oren moved. With the last of his strength, he shoved her forward.
"NO!"
Nyssa screamed as the ground vanished beneath her feet, the world tearing away in a rush of wind and terror. Oren's face burned into her mind as she fell, his smile the last thing she saw.
The roar of the river swallowed her scream and then the water swallowed her whole.