We left the cabin while the blood on the floorboards was still wet.
Darius could walk, but only with most of his weight on me. Lina carried the single pack we had scavenged, water skin, the last of the alcohol, a short blade, and the signet ring she still refused to let out of her sight. The morning sun was already hot. Every step north pulled at the fresh stitches in Darius’s side and sent the same hot pull through my own body.
The bond no longer waited for catastrophic injury. It reported everything.
We kept to the densest part of the forest, avoiding the open trails. Behind us the cabin would not stay empty long. Rowan’s scouts would find the bodies, read the direction of our flight, and begin the real hunt.
Lina spoke first after nearly an hour of silence.
“How far is the watchto
