Chapter 3: The Chase
688 Words
The forest blurred around Elara.
Branches clawed at her clothes.
Roots twisted beneath her feet.
Behind them, the shouts of soldiers echoed through the trees.
"They're gaining on us!" she gasped.
Kael didn't slow.
"Keep moving."
Easy for him to say.
The man ran through the forest like he had been born there.
Elara stumbled over a root and nearly fell.
Kael caught her arm before she hit the ground.
"Focus."
"I'm trying!"
A horn sounded behind them.
More soldiers.
More hunters.
Elara's chest tightened.
Why was the king sending soldiers after her?
She had done nothing wrong.
She was just a girl with no Force.
Or at least she had been.
A sudden crash erupted ahead.
Kael froze.
Three mounted soldiers burst from the trees, blocking the path.
Steel flashed in the afternoon sunlight.
"There!"
One of them pointed.
Kael released a long breath.
"So much for an easy escape."
The soldiers charged.
Elara's blood ran cold.
Kael stepped forward.
Calm.
Unmoving.
The lead soldier raised his sword.
"Stand down in the king's name!"
Kael's silver eyes narrowed.
"No."
The soldier swung.
What happened next was so fast Elara barely saw it.
Kael moved like lightning.
One moment he stood still.
The next, the soldier was flying from his horse.
The other two attacked simultaneously.
Kael ducked beneath one blade.
Twisted.
Struck the second rider square in the chest.
The man crashed into the dirt.
The third soldier tried to retreat.
Too late.
Within seconds, all three were unconscious.
Elara stared.
Her mouth hung open.
"How did you—"
"Later."
Kael grabbed her hand.
"We need to move."
The sound of approaching soldiers filled the forest once again.
Dozens this time.
Maybe more.
Elara swallowed hard.
The king wasn't sending guards.
He was sending an army.
They ran until sunset.
By the time darkness settled over the forest, Elara's legs felt like stone.
At last, Kael stopped near a narrow stream hidden between massive cliffs.
"We rest here."
Elara collapsed onto a rock.
"Finally."
Kael knelt beside the water and scanned the surrounding forest.
Always watching.
Always alert.
As if he expected danger to leap from every shadow.
After several minutes, Elara spoke.
"You owe me answers."
Kael remained silent.
"You know why they're hunting me."
Still silence.
"Kael."
His jaw tightened.
"You don't understand what you are."
Elara laughed bitterly.
"Neither do I."
For the first time, Kael looked directly at her.
"The crystal didn't fail."
"What?"
"It revealed exactly what it was supposed to."
Elara frowned.
"But it showed nothing."
"Exactly."
The words made no sense.
Kael picked up a stone and tossed it into the stream.
"The crystal measures Forces."
"I know."
"It measures every Force."
Elara folded her arms.
"So?"
"So if it detected nothing..."
His expression darkened.
"...then your Force exists beyond what the crystal was designed to measure."
The forest seemed to become quieter.
Elara stared.
"No."
"It's true."
"That's impossible."
"That's what the king thought."
Fear crept into her chest.
"How do you know all this?"
Kael hesitated.
For the first time since they met, uncertainty crossed his face.
Because he had clearly decided not to tell her everything.
"I've seen records."
"What records?"
"Ancient ones."
Elara moved closer.
"What do they say?"
Kael looked away.
"They say your Force shouldn't exist."
A cold breeze swept through the trees.
Neither spoke.
Then suddenly—
A scream echoed through the night.
Far away.
But unmistakably human.
Elara jumped to her feet.
"What was that?"
Kael was already drawing his sword.
His eyes scanned the darkness.
The scream came again.
Closer.
This time it ended abruptly.
As if something had silenced it.
The forest fell still.
No insects.
No birds.
Nothing.
Kael's face turned pale.
For the first time, Elara saw genuine fear in him.
"What is it?" she whispered.
Kael gripped his sword tighter.
"It found us."
"What found us?"
A deep growl emerged from the darkness beyond the trees.
Low.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Then two enormous golden eyes opened in the night.
Watching them.
Waiting.
And whatever owned those eyes was far larger than any animal Elara had ever seen
- Writer
