The Queen’s Hunters
1010 Words
The cabin door shattered inward with enough force to splinter wood across the floor.
Cold night air rushed inside.
Elira stumbled backward as three armored figures stormed through the doorway with swords already drawn. Their black cloaks dripped rainwater onto the floorboards while silver crowns gleamed across their chestplates.
Royal guards.
No—
Worse.
Crown hunters.
Cassian moved first.
His blade flashed through firelight just as the nearest attacker lunged toward Elira. Steel collided with a violent crack that echoed through the tiny cabin.
“Run!” Cassian barked.
Elira grabbed the dagger from the table instinctively as another hunter charged toward her. Panic surged hot through her veins, but survival reacted faster than fear ever could.
The man swung.
She ducked barely in time.
The blade sliced through loose strands of her dark hair as she drove her dagger upward into his side.
The hunter grunted violently before shoving her backward hard enough to slam her against the wall.
Pain exploded through her shoulder.
“Elira!” Cassian shouted.
Two more guards burst through the doorway behind the others.
Too many.
Cassian fought like a man half his age, sword moving brutally through the cramped cabin as blood sprayed across wooden walls. One guard collapsed near the fire clutching his throat while another crashed through the table beneath a vicious strike.
Still more kept coming.
The Crown truly wanted her dead this time.
A hunter grabbed Elira by the arm before she could recover.
“There she is—”
Elira twisted violently and drove her dagger straight beneath his jaw.
Hot blood splattered across her hands.
The man collapsed instantly.
For one stunned heartbeat, she froze.
Gods.
Cassian seized her wrist roughly.
“Move!”
Another sword tore through the space where her head had been seconds earlier.
The cabin had become chaos—shouting, steel, blood, splintering wood.
Then—
A horn sounded somewhere outside.
Cassian’s face darkened immediately.
“There are more.”
Elira’s stomach dropped.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
He grabbed a cloak from the floor and shoved it toward her.
“We leave now.”
The rear window exploded inward before she could answer.
Another hunter climbed through the opening.
Cassian cursed.
“Elira!”
She reacted instantly this time.
Her dagger flew from her hand and buried itself directly in the attacker’s shoulder. The man screamed as Cassian finished him with one brutal strike across the chest.
Then they ran.
—
Rain soaked through Elira’s clothes as they fled deeper into the forest.
Branches clawed against her skin while thunder rolled overhead once more. Behind them, distant shouts echoed through the trees alongside the glow of torchlight moving between the darkness.
They were being hunted like animals.
Her lungs burned.
“How did they find us?” she gasped.
Cassian pushed forward through the storm without slowing. “Someone in Greyhaven recognized you.”
“Recognized me as what? A dead princess?”
“Royal blood leaves traces.”
That answer explained nothing.
Roots nearly sent her crashing into the mud as they raced downhill through thick forest shadows. Rainwater streamed down her face while fear pounded violently in her chest.
For eighteen years, she had hidden from a kingdom she never even knew belonged to her.
Now it wanted her dead.
A sharp whistle cut through the storm.
Cassian spun instantly.
Arrow.
“Elira, down!”
She dropped barely before the arrow buried itself into a tree trunk behind her.
More followed.
Hunters emerged through the woods ahead, cutting off their path.
Cassian swore under his breath.
They were surrounded.
Five armed riders stepped from the trees with swords drawn while torchlight flickered across black armor and silver crests.
One of them removed his helmet slowly.
Elira’s stomach twisted.
He looked barely older than her. Dark hair. Cruel smile.
“Well,” the hunter said smoothly, “the queen will be pleased.”
Cassian stepped protectively in front of Elira.
“She’s under my protection.”
The man laughed softly.
“Then you chose the wrong side, General.”
Elira’s eyes widened.
“You know him?”
The hunter’s smile sharpened. “Everyone knows General Cassian Vale.” His gaze flicked toward her. “Especially the man who stole the princess.”
The words hit like ice.
Cassian said nothing.
Because it was true.
The hunter drew his sword fully.
“Bring me the girl,” he ordered the others.
The riders advanced.
Cassian lowered his voice carefully beside her.
“When I tell you to run, don’t stop.”
“No.”
His eyes snapped toward her.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Elira—”
“You spent eighteen years protecting me,” she hissed. “I’m not abandoning you now.”
Something almost like pride crossed his face despite the danger.
Then the riders attacked.
Steel screamed through the rain.
Cassian met the first strike head-on while Elira ducked another blade aimed directly at her throat. Mud splashed beneath boots and horses as the forest erupted into violence once more.
Elira grabbed a fallen sword from the ground awkwardly.
Too heavy.
But usable.
A hunter rushed her.
She swung desperately.
Steel collided hard enough to jar her entire arm. The man overpowered her immediately, forcing the blade downward toward her chest.
Fear surged violently.
She was going to die here.
Then suddenly—
The hunter jerked backward.
A black arrow pierced clean through his throat.
Everyone froze.
Another arrow flew from the darkness.
Then another.
Three riders collapsed from horseback almost instantly.
The remaining hunters turned sharply toward the tree line.
Shadowed figures emerged silently from the storm.
Not royal guards.
Something else.
Dark cloaks. Hidden faces. Silent weapons.
The lead figure stepped forward holding a longbow.
Even beneath the hood, Elira could feel his eyes land directly on her.
The surviving hunter staggered backward nervously.
“Who the hell are you?”
The stranger lowered his bow slowly.
“The reason,” he said coldly, “you won’t be taking the princess tonight.”
- Writer
