Alex’s Pov
Branches cracked beneath our boots, sharp as breaking bones in the midnight hush. The forest was a blur—twisting trunks, low-hanging limbs, shadows that clawed at our skin. Moonlight scattered through the trees in slivers, slicing the darkness into jagged shapes.
Sasha’s hand was still in mine. Small. Warm. Trembling with life.
She didn’t ask where we were going. Didn’t stumble. Didn’t even glance back.
Neither did I.
But behind us, I heard the horns. Distant and rising, long, piercing wails that curled through the trees like smoke. The Council had sounded the hunt. Enforcers will already be on the move. Bloodhounds released. Cold-eyed soldiers with orders to bring her in, dead or breathing. Preferably broken.
They wanted her silenced. Dissected. Tamed.
They were too late
