-Raven-
“Stop!” My father looked stunned as I burst into the village, where he and a few villagers had clearly been preparing to leave for the castle. It seemed I had arrived just in time. I leaped off the horse while it was still slowing down and rushed over to him, not bothering to explain anything—I simply hugged him tightly.
“Raven?” he asked, bewildered, as I clung to him. “What’s going on?”
I shook my head, burying my face in his chest and feeling a deep sense of safety now that I was back with him. I had ridden through the night to get here in time, and I was immensely relieved to have made it.
“Raven!” I heard my mother’s voice and pulled back. She came running from the tent, and I hurried over to her, enveloping her in a tight embrace. She held me in a bone-crushing hug, but
