Claimed by the Enemy's Heir

Chapter Four: The Ridge

The horn sounded for the time and it was closer than before. Kierans whole body changed when he heard the sound. He did not shift,. He got tighter like he was ready to fight. I remembered this from when I used to watch him spar.

"Can you run?" he asked me. He was already pulling me towards the door.

I told him I could not run well. My ankle hurt when I put weight on it. "I do not run fast " I said.

Kieran said we did not have to run. We could move smart. He looked around the cabin to make sure I did not leave anything behind. Then he held my wrist. Said, "There is a deer trail along the lower ridge. It is narrow so the patrol will not walk on it. If we are quiet we can go under them of away from them."

I said, "So we will go under a Voss patrol. That is the plan."

Kieran said, "It is the plan that does not end with you being caught by sundown." He looked at me hard. Said, "Trust me on this one thing even if you do not trust me on anything else."

I did not have time to think about what he said. The horn sounded again. It was different this time. Kierans jaw got tight.

"They have split the search " he said quietly. "That is not what they usually do. Someone is telling them what to do."

I asked him if it was his father.

He said his father would have come himself if it was important. "This is someone trying to prove it is important to him " he said.

We left the cabin through a door in the back. It was hidden behind a stack of firewood. I did not know it was there. Kieran went first. I followed him. The trail was steep and hard to walk on. Kieran helped me when the ground was loose.

I did not like how my hand felt in his. It felt right. That made me uncomfortable.

We heard voices above us. They were two people. They were close enough for us to hear what they were saying.

"...we did not find anything on the side. The captain wants us to search the ravine again at light—"

"—the captain is wasting our time. If the girl is alive she is probably in a county by now—"

My heart was beating fast. I was scared they would hear me. Kierans hand got tighter around mine. It was like he was telling me to be quiet and still. We had done this before. My body remembered what to do.

The voices went away. It was quiet again.

I did not breathe until it was safe.

I whispered to Kieran "They do not know what I look like now do they?"

Kieran said, "They know you are alive. That is all my father needs them to know." He looked around us. He was still careful. "It does not matter what you look like. You are the one who could be you."

I said, "That is not comforting."

Kieran said, "I did not say it to comfort you. I said it because you need to know what we are up against. This is not a search. It is a hunt. My father is behind it. It will not stop just because we hide for one night."

I asked him "So what will stop it?"

Kieran did not answer away. When he did his voice was quieter. "I do not know yet.. I know I will not be able to hide you forever." He said, "I will have to decide what I am willing to do about my father. Not what I am willing to do for you."

I wanted to ask him what that meant. I wanted to know what he thought he could do against his father.

Then the horn sounded again and we had to move. Kieran pulled me down the ridge into the trees away, from the cabin.