The forest held its breath. Lyria stumbled backward, clutching the letter against her chest. Her pulse thundered. Without thinking, she shoved the letter beneath her cloak and looked into the darkness. "Who's there?" Only silence answered.
Then shadows emerged from between the trees. One... Two... Six... Lyria took another step back. Moonlight finally revealed familiar faces. "Lyria!" Captain Ronan hurried toward her with six Ashwood scouts carrying flaming torches.
The tightness in her chest eased. "Captain..." "We've been looking everywhere," Ronan said, scanning her from head to toe to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Rowan said you wanted some time alone. We didn't expect you to wander this far."
His eyes shifted to the black arrow buried deep in the oak. "What happened?" Lyria followed
