Chapter 8
The current finally loosened its grip after what felt like forever. I broke the surface gasping, lungs burning, and grabbed for the nearest solid thing. Kael’s arm closed around my waist and hauled me toward the rocky bank. Lila was already crawling onto the stones a few feet away, coughing hard.
We collapsed on the cold ground, soaked and shaking. The surrounding forest was dark and quiet except for the rush of the river behind us.
Kael pushed himself up first. Water streamed from his hair and clothes. The bandage on his shoulder was gone, and the cut had opened again, but he barely seemed to notice.
“We need to move,” he said. “They will search both sides of the river.”
Lila wiped her face with a trembling hand. “I cannot run much farther.”
“You will not have to,” Kael sc
