TENDRILS of the Princess' long, faded-coral hair flapped over the shoulder of a Loricai soldier as if to tease the men who sought to rescue her. The sight of her unconscious head jostling set Leif's already frayed nerves on edge. Ahead of him, Tavis was gradually falling back, and his own horse struggled to maintain speed. Leaden with disappointment, Leif finally let up and allowed the distance between the two groups to grow a little longer.

"Let them run their horses. It's better we give our boys a chance to rest," Kyden said as he matched the slower pace and patted his horse's neck. "The Wilds were not in their plans. Our presence has shaken them and they've deviated from their route. That could be to our advantage."

"Do you know this land well, Leif?" Killi's eyes never left the Loricai company, dancing from one man to another.

Leif watched in interest as Killi seemed to shoot them down with a phantom bow. It would have been a good weapon to have—one Leif wished any of them had thought to equip themselves with before diving into the tunnels.

"Well enough," Leif answered and took a moment to catch his bearings. They were an hour out of the village and the Wilds were still close to a quarter-day's ride to the east. Leif squinted into the distance, searching for a way to pinpoint their location.

"I have never veered this far east," Tavis mused.

"I have. When I was a child, we used to take small boats out onto the water."

"Boats on water?" Kyden raised an eyebrow; there was not a hint of water to speak of.

"Yes." With a smirk, Leif pulled back on his horse's reins and changed course for the trees to the north. He was aware he appeared to be retreating, at least to the enemy. It wasn't a far distance he traveled before turning east again, merely minutes in fact, but he knew it would change things drastically.

"We're forbidden from sailing on the ocean," Leif explained when the others finally caught up to him. "But water is in the blood of Aradanes, and it runs through our land as it does our hearts; the ocean isn't the only place you can sail. The Loricai will run into a lake on their route, they'll have to go around it, and we will catch them while they do."

"What of the other way?" Killi waved exasperated in the opposite direction, his horse coming to a stop. "I followed you blindly last time—"

"Killi, your query was if I knew this land well, and I do. Should they go the other way, they will encounter Garda, a village populated entirely by the palace guard and their families. If they chose that route, they will pass through somewhere within an hour or two from now. At that time, the majority of the village will be finishing their daily drills and will certainly notice a faction of Loricai soldiers carting their princess through."

"Fair plan, then." Kyden caught Leif's eye, an air of approval in the look, as if he was measuring Leif by an entirely new stick.

Awkward under Kyden's gaze, Leif nodded his acknowledgement of Killi's apologetic bow. "A rider would have been sent to notify Garda right away per palace protocol. We should keep moving if we hope to block them at the lake."

Riding at Killi's side was akin to playing in the palace stables again for Leif. As they traversed the woods, the two old friends passed the time in boyish games. Testing their knife throwing skills, they would spend long stretches of time seeking out small animals and then see whose knife would hit the target. For their foolishness, they had several rabbits hanging like stirrups on either side of Killi's horse.

Noticing that Kyden had ridden ahead of them, for some time solitary and largely uninvolved in their games, Leif moved to join him. Pulling his horse alongside Kyden's, he examined the man's profile for a moment. The gentle slope of his jaw seemed too tightly set, and his brown eyes were serious and deeply lost in thought. The expression seemed as out of place on his face as horns on a human.

Thinking of how Kyden had sought to ease his desperation outside the tunnels bolstered Leif with a determination to do the same. "Back at the stables... the horses—how?"

Startled by Leif's presence, Kyden answered somewhat perplexed. "Tavis bridled them. Why?"

Leif hadn't expected that Tavis would have been responsible for their quick pursuit. Disbelieving, he looked at the young lord; like the proper princess they chased after, he looked no worse for wear despite their already trying journey. Though, Leif supposed as he himself was capable of more than he seemed, Tavis should be no exception.

"Stolen horses make nervous protest, though. They were so quiet."

Kyden grinned, "That was thanks to the Feyrie, and my birth blessing."

"Birth blessing?" Leif hoped for clarification, but Kyden whistled and sent both their horses into a speedy trot.

The Loricai were within sight and with no one following, they moved at a slow restful pace. Slightly up valley as they were, Leif peered past the lakeshore and the lush tall grasses that preceded the Wilds. There were stories about the creature that lurked in them—stories told to scare children from entering long grasses. He'd been in that very grass before to no consequence, but if there were ever a time he'd have wanted the stories to be true, it was now as Loricai soldiers posed to barge through.

At Killi's suggestion, they stayed where they were, above but in line with the enemy party. As the enemy got closer to the tall grass, Leif found it a fight to rein his horse back. Kyden reached out and laid his hand on the horse's neck, instantly appeasing the animal's apprehension. Leif could only stare in wonderment at Kyden's hand, so much so he nearly jumped out of his skin when Kyden slapped his shoulder and then the horse's rear, sending them thundering into the valley.

A roar that frightened the Loricai tore from Killi's mouth and was echoed by—surprisingly—Tavis as they rode furiously into their midst. While four of the soldiers occupied them, the rest absconded with the Princess toward the Wilds. Kyden and Leif exchanged a momentary glance and set off after the three that fled. They kept pace with the silver-masked soldiers, so close that Leif could almost touch the Princess' hair.

It was too close for Loricai liking and, just as Kyden got in front of the man who held the Princess captive, the man pointed at him. The glint of something hanging from his wrist caught Leif's attention—a charm of some kind. The grasses parted with alarming speed, like a line being drawn straight to the Prince.

"Kyden!" Leif shrieked, watching in horror as a massive snakelike beast leapt out of the grass at him.

It was insanity that took over his body, insanity that put his feet on his horse's back and insanity that jumped with all his might. What is happening? What am I doing? He should have been chasing the Princess, not throwing himself in front of the most terrifying teeth he'd ever seen! But Leif knew, as he sailed without control of his being, if that mouth closed on Kyden, he would never see him again.

As they hit the ground, the beast's gaping hundred-toothed jaw tore through the side of the abandoned horse. Kyden choked out a protest, more emotional over an animal than Leif would have expected, and charged at the snake in a fury. Slicing his sword into it with all his might, he fell right through as it dispersed like a mist that floated harmlessly after the Loricai.

Leif stared at the backs of the men who melded into the Wilds. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed the creature obeyed a call to attack and then a beckon to retreat after its master. He suspected it had something to do with the charm he'd seen hanging from the soldier's wrist.

"They control it!"