Branches and leaves reached out with spindly fingers to grab onto us as we fell towards the forest floor. They latched onto our clothes and hair and whipped any visible skin we had, leaving red marks that I knew would last for days. I didn't want to know how Stelni felt with her wings tearing through the branches as we went down. She flapped them occasionally, attempting to soften the fall, but it didn't seem to be working.

As soon as we reached the ground, Stelni turned so that she would take the brunt of the impact and then quickly pushed us into a bush for extra cover from the skies. The way she crouched beside me and watched for any signs of the guards we needed to lose reminded me of when Zofia, Larc, and I hid from Dragon-born guards who killed a woman from our village. When they let her fall to her death after she had told them everything she could.

My body started to shake at the memory and a reassuring hand fell to my arm as the sound of flapping wings grew closer. As much as it was comforting — the way her thumb slowly brushed my shoulder to give me something else to focus on — it was still the hand of a Dragon-born.

"Let go of-"

"Quiet. They're still in the area," Stelni warned as she removed her hand.

"What are we meant to do then? Wait here for hours?" There was no way that would work. We needed to think of something so we could sneak away.

"If that's what it takes to lose them, then yes. We will wait here for hours." Her eyes never left the sky as she spoke and she tackled me to the ground as a dark shape flew over us. Even as she pulled the foliage around us closer, I doubted it would hide the dark crimson of her wings.

"What if we get ambushed by a shadow creature?" Then not only would we have enemies in the skies, but we would have bloodthirsty beasts of darkness chasing us too.

"We won't if you keep your mouth shut," she hissed in a whisper.

"Like that's going to make a difference" I replied before keeping quiet. The weight of Stelni on top of me stopped being a nuisance after a while and became a shield — a heavy protective blanket. If we were going to get attacked, she would be the one to get hurt first. I kept my mind trained on that fact rather than the thought that she would also be able to escape quicker.

After what was indeed several hours — the sun rising to its midday position — the Dragon-born finally removed herself from me and stood, stretching out her arms and legs. "Alright, I think they're gone for now. They've likely gone to report what happened to the Queen and they'll be back later, which means we need to get out of here."

"Out of here and to Nusal to save my sister?" I asked, letting hope build in my chest as I got up from the forest floor.

"About that... I didn't exactly get the chance to ask about our current situation," she began to explain.

"No sister, no Lyre shards." I placed my hands on my hips and summoned the most stern look I could muster. If she fell through on this deal after stealing me away from Demornt Village, I was going to attempt to take her down no matter how skilled she was in battle.

"I know, I know, but he knows about the Lyre shards now, so I don't think there will be a problem. I only managed to give Prince Larcitharius his sword and tell him about the shards before the Queen ordered my capture. The Prince commanded me to flee, and so I did."

"You report to Larc?" How could this situation get any worse? I was alone with a Dragon-born who took orders from the second-most person I hated with only a pouch of silver coins and a weapon that was hidden in my boot. My mother was left behind all on her own too. What would she think when she woke up?

"I do. I know you don't like the prince very much, but trust me, it's a lot better than working for the Queen. In every aspect." The flickers of what appeared to be haunting memories passed through Stelni, but they disappeared as soon as they arrived.

"What about Zofia? Did you manage to get any information about her? Like where she is or if she's still..."

The Dragon-born's gaze softened. "Zofia is still alive. She was actually there when I burst into the throne room. I don't know what exactly was happening when I arrived, but it wasn't good whatever it was. Prince Larcitharius was injured and your sister didn't look too great herself, but there were no visible wounds on her."

My breath hitched in my chest, making it difficult to get any air inside. Zofia was alive, but what was she doing in the throne room before the Queen and Larc? Why didn't she look too good? What were they doing to her? They had to be up to something.

"What are we supposed to do now then?" I asked, attempting to tame my rapidly beating heart. "Take me back to Demornt."

"That is the worst possible place to go right now. Demornt is where I flew to get you while I was still being attacked, so that's one of the first places the guards will look once they start searching for us again."

Her point made sense, though it made me even more concerned for my mother. She was still in Demornt all by herself. Even though she had some fire in her spirit, she didn't know how to fend herself from a Dragon-born, let alone three of them.

"Why does the Queen want you captured anyway? It has to be more than returning a silly sword to Larc."

Stelni turned to her right and began to walk. From what I could remember from our quick flight over the forest before we descended, it was the closest direction to any sort of clearing.

"The Queen doesn't like people that don't listen to her. It depends on who you are, but it either ends in imprisonment, death, or war. She wants to eliminate everyone helping her son so he can be more vulnerable for her to pick at." She spat on the ground in disgust, the thought of it leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

"Why? What could she possibly want from him?"

Stelni shrugged. "The only person that I think knows the answer to that is the prince himself."

I dropped the topic at hand, not wanting to know more about Larc and his mother. "Okay, so, no Demornt. What are we going to do then? In case you haven't noticed, we've got nothing with us. No food, no clothes or cloaks to keep us warm through the night. Nothing."

There was always the option of walking back to Demornt myself. If Stelni was the guards' target, then I was at less of a risk of getting caught by them. I didn't know the exact way back to the village and there was also the chance of getting tracked down by a shadow creature, but it would be better than being stuck with Stelni.

The Dragon-born halted in her tracks, turned around, and raised her brow at me. "Don't think about running away. You need me to get your sister and you know it." Her response earned an eye roll from me. "I plan to walk for a day or two in the direction of Nusal and then, when we're close enough, we can fly up. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to the prince without getting caught by the Queen at the same time. As for food, I'm sure we can find something in this forest."

I hadn't hunted in these woods before. I was so used to the layout of the one behind our house in Silverwood — every rock and every trap I had laid was as clear in my mind as the back of my own hand — but I was sure I could hunt for something for us to eat. Without a bow and arrow, I would need to make a trap or two to lure something in.

"Did you happen to see any rivers as we were flying over?" I questioned, trying to think of the best place to catch our food. "We'll need water too."

Stelni stopped in her tracks yet again. "I think I did." She adjusted her direction a little and continued to walk. "We might be able to find an animal to hunt for food around the water."

I nodded in response. At least she wasn't completely clueless about tracking animals down. "Even if we don't, I can set up a trap there with some berries or nuts if we can find any. Though, I don't exactly have any string or rope on me..." I trailed off in thought. Sturdy branches would be easy to find, but I didn't have anything that could create a capture mechanism.

"You seem to know a lot about this stuff." There was a hidden tone in her voice that told me she was sceptical of my abilities.

"I do. Food is tough to come by when you live in a small village in the middle of nowhere — when you're not even marked on the map. My father used to do the hunting for several families in Silverwood as he was the best one around. He taught me everything he knew, including all the little tricks he used to capture animals without tearing the best parts to eat."

"He's gone?" She hesitated, as if she was unsure of whether to ask the question or not.

I nodded, tears welling in my eyes. Every time I spoke about what my father was like, even to Zofia or my mother, I couldn't help but think about everything he could be today. How would he have dealt with Larc and the shadow beasts being freed from their confines? He would have never let Zofia get captured or even put up with Larc's bullshit from the start.

"Was it to the shadow creatures?" Stelni asked when I became too absorbed in his memory.

"No, he died when-" the realisation hit me like a swift blow to the back of the head with the pommel of a sword. "Actually, he might have. We couldn't go too deep into the forest behind our home because dangerous creatures lurked there, and he died while on a hunting trip when I was younger. My father was completely mauled apart, but no deer or rabbit could have done that to him. It must have been a shadow creature."

After all this time, I finally knew the reason behind his death. He had ventured a little too far into the Lyre's lure and died because of it.

The Dragon-born looked like she wanted to comfort me, but she turned away when the sound of rushing water came into earshot. "This way." She motioned her head towards the sound and hastened her pace towards the river.

When we arrived, the sight of a deer drinking from further down the stream greeted us. The midday sun created the perfect glow around the water, making it sparkle in the light as if it were enchanted by some kind of magic.

"Wait here, I'll get the deer," Stelni mentioned before stalking out her prey, dagger in hand.

I tried to reach out for her arm to stop her, so I didn't have to talk to risk scaring the deer, but it was too late. I had to watch the disaster I knew was about to happen.

As soon as the deer looked up from the river and spied Stelni approaching, the Dragon-born charged towards the animal with her arms wide, ready to capture it and stick her dagger through its neck. Only, that never happened. The deer darted into the trees, its footing was so much surer than Stelni's on the forest ground that it lost her chase in moments.

I sighed with a shake of my head. "I knew that was going to happen. You're too heavy-footed."

"Heavy-footed? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I can tell you are a warrior trained for war and not a huntress. You need to be as silent as possible to make it appear like you're not even there. Lull the animal into a false sense of security."

"So, you're saying make it feel calm before brutally killing it?"

The urge to roll my eyes was too great. "If you want to use your method, then you can, but it will likely end in starvation. I will be using my own."

"Okay, Miss Huntress, show me how it's done." She faked a bow, extending her hand out towards the forest and river.

A smirk appeared across my lips. "Watch and learn."