"Are you really just going to ignore me?"

Arlin doesn't respond to my question and leads his horse over a thick root. His stony expression makes me roll my eyes and stop.

"Gods, Arlin, what is your problem?"

"My problem is you," he says finally.

I scoff. "Why? What did I do that was so wrong?"

"You don't listen!" he snaps, stopping his horse as well.

Castien takes another step in the distance but notices that we've stopped and stops as well. He crouches and places his hand in the water flowing in the creek beside us, closing his eyes. I can tell he's listening to our conversation, though.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't listen to me and you always run off! What are you gonna do when you run off and I'm not there to help you?" He releases a sigh of exasperation.

"Why do you think you always know what's best for me? You don't. There are so many times when I've been just fine on my own." I throw out my arms. "Like the time Illyn tried to fight me at school? Or when that merchant tried to haggle me about the fruit he thought I stole?"

He purses his lips and looks to the side, bobbing his head a little. "How about the time you tried to steal coin from that guard's pocket when we were young? When I took the lashing for you?"

I cross my arms over my chest. A lump forms in my chest. Tears sting my eyes. "I didn't ask you to do that."

"Sigrid, for gods' sakes. I was bedridden for months. How do you think it would have ended for you? You were hardly thirty summers. You were practically a baby." His eyes shine in the dim light of the forest, and I can't help but look away.

I remember those months vividly. Father was furious with me. But more than that, he was worried that we would lose Arlin. He was so frail then. He could barely eat. Could barely even talk or move.

"I'm sorry, Arlin. I truly am. But -"

Arlin scoffs and turns. "Of course, there's a but."

I open my mouth to finish my sentence but bite my tongue. There's no sense in arguing with him. He doesn't get it. He grew up into the kind of man that everyone in the village would love to have as a son. But I was nothing. A maggot. The slur always echoes in the back of my mind. A reminder that I don't look like Arlin. I can't hide my lineage.

Hanging my head, I follow Castien as he stands and begins walking again.

A clicking sound echoes in the branches above us. Castien halts, his entire body going rigid.

"What?" I ask, looking for the source of the sound.

"Quiet." Castien's voice is barely audible as his hand slowly reaches for the sword hanging from his waist.

"What the hells is that?" Arlin asks. His face goes pale as he points to something directly above me.

With a head nearly the size of a horse and sharp fangs curled around its lower lip, the animal resembles a dragon, but with the face and features of a leopard. It lets out another series of clicks as it slinks down the tree branches toward me.

"Look out!" Castien leaps forward and knocks me out of the way as the animal lunges at me. We both tumble to the ground, twisting into a patch of leafy roots. I'm trying to untangle myself when the animal stalks toward us, almost as if it's playing with us.

Arlin throws a stick at it, hitting the creature in the back of the head and distracting it long enough for Castien to stand and draw his sword. The creature's attention turns back to him, roaring. The sound reverberates through the trees. Even after the sound is over, it rings in my ears like a disorienting bell.

Castien swings at it but gets knocked to the side by one of its huge paws. It steps toward me. I struggle to free myself from the vines. My heart launches into my throat, pulsing against my jugular.

The vines around me retreat, instead reaching out toward the creature. Castien's heartsrune glows in the distance as he staggers into a standing position. "Sigrid, move."

I snap out of my daze and crawl backwards, trying to put as much distance between me and the creature as possible.

Angered, the creature takes off after Castien, who jumps and grabs a low-lying tree branch. He uses it to swing to another tree, but the other branch starts to crack with the weight, so he grabs at another one. The creature swings another giant paw and manages to slash Castien's back with its razor-like claws.

Castien cries out and drops his sword.

Arlin grabs his staff and runs at the creature, hitting it once and maneuvering himself to manage a few more blows. I grab my own staff and run to try and help, but Arlin yells to stop me.

"Sigrid, please. If there was ever a time when you were willing to listen to something I told you to do, let it be this one. Please, stay away."

"But -"

"Sig, please!" Arlin struggles to lead the creature away from Castien, who is barely holding on.

I let out a shuddering breath, but listen to Arlin, instead focusing on Castien. "Are you okay? I can try to catch you or grab one of the horses."

I look back to where I left my horse, but she's nowhere to be seen. There was no time for me to tie her up. But Arlin's and Castien's still remain.

Castien shakes his head, pulling a dagger out of his boot and stabbing it into the tree to keep him steady enough to climb down. "I'm fine! Help your brother."

I take a step backward and my foot hits something metallic. Castien's sword.

"Arlin!" I shout and run toward him. I throw the sword at the ground behind him, and he grabs it just as the creature is lunging toward him, plunging it into the animal's chest. It screams and rears back, but not before rushing at me.

Something whistles past my ear. In a split second, a dagger plunges into the animal's eye. It redirects its course, disappearing up a tree and out of sight.

I turn to look at where the dagger came from. Castien lets out a hiss and drops onto his knees, keeling over. Crimson seeps through the fabric on the back of his tunic. I rush to his side and pull up his shirt to check the wound.

"We need to get this cleaned and bandaged quickly," I tell Arlin. I can tell he's still tired from the fight, but he helps me pick Castien up and together we lead him over to the creek. Gently releasing Castien from my grip, I lay him down along the bank.

"No, in the water," Castien grunts out, grabbing my wrist before I can walk away. He stands up on weak legs and places a hand on my shoulder for support as he hobbles past me. I walk with him but can't offer much support because he's much taller than me.

Once we make it into the creek, Castien falls to his knees and closes his eyes. His heartsrune rises to the surface, still dangling from his neck, but now glowing.

"What's -"

"Quiet," Arlin says. "It's just like when Ma is using her heartsrune."

After a few moments when Castien shows no signs of movement, I stand and exit the creek to dry. My clothes cling to me like a second skin, and I shiver.

Arlin grabs his cloak from the bag at his feet and drapes it around me. My shoulder twinges in pain. I pull the cloak back to examine it, wondering if I somehow got scratched or hurt by the beast earlier, but there's nothing visible.

"Are you okay?" Arlin looks at me, worry marring his face.

"Yeah, I must have hurt it when I was stuck in the vines." I drop my arm and look back out at the creek, where Castien is still kneeling. I sigh. "I feel so useless. You and Castien almost died and I couldn't do anything."

Arlin tugs me into his side, wrapping his arm around me in a hug. "Don't say that. There wasn't any time for you to react. Besides, I would rather make sure you're safe. I can train you all I want, but nothing could prepare you for that."

I lean my head against his shoulder. "I know we have our moments, but after Father died, I'm glad I still have you. I don't know what I would do if I didn't."

He kisses my head and pulls away. "I'm gonna start a fire. We should eat something to keep our energy up."

I nod. "I'm going to wash up first." About half a klick down I find a deeper spot of water and drop the cloak and my outer layers of clothing off. I sink into the water in my tunic and undergarments. I'm far enough down that the men won't see me, and even if they happen to stumble upon me, I'm still covered enough it won't be embarrassing.

After a while, I leave the creek and gather my clothing, only putting my trousers back on. The sun is shining through the trees at the moment, so it's not as cold as it was earlier.

Castien and Arlin are sitting around a fire when I return. The back of Castien's tunic is shredded beyond repair, revealing wisps of black ink. Something about it seems familiar but I can't quite place where I've seen it before.

"You have a tattoo?" I grab the pouch of dried meat from Castien's outstretched hand as I sit across from Arlin.

Castien's mouth twitches as if he wants to speak, but he doesn't say anything for a moment. "Yes. It's my family's way of marking the crown prince."

I try – and fail - to hide the gasp of surprise that leaves my mouth. "The crown prince? Then what are you doing here? With us?"

"I'm highly trained in battle techniques and have served on the task force in the village surrounding my father's palace. Under anonymity, that is. I'm here to lend my help to your king before my coronation in a few summers." Castien pops a piece of dried pork into his mouth and chews slowly.

"So, your father just willingly lets you risk your life for a different kingdom?" Arlin voices my inner thoughts.

Castien shakes his head and pulls his heartsrune out from underneath his tunic. "The way my heartsrune works is that it can rapidly heal superficial wounds – but only wounds that appear on me. Unlike healers' heartsrunes, I can't heal others. It also allows me to have greater agility and defense strength when I activate it. But it's really draining so I try not to use it much."

"If you used it by the tree earlier, why did you need to be in the creek the second time?"

"The water takes the pressure off of my body and allows me to focus with only my mind. It's useful for larger wounds." He stands up and brushes his lap off, looking up at the canopy of leaves. "We should keep moving. It's almost midday."

Without another word, he mounts his horse, a mare with a long white mane and fur to match it. She flattens her ears and snorts, pawing the ground. Something has her on edge.

Arlin and Castien notice, too, and begin looking around our small clearing. My every sense is on high alert, and I crouch low to press my hand to the ground. There is a faint rumble through the earth, but not enough to assume it was a large animal.

No, these are people.