Page 68 of The Sunbound Princess
I swallowed.Maybe you should have grabbed scarves for us, too.
He scoffed under his breath.You think that’ll hide us from Viraxes?
Ahead of us, Ezabell stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Are you two coming?”
Nikolas and I started forward as one.
We walked in easy silence for the next hour, the road to our left. The undergrowth thickened, brambles occasionally snagging Ezabell’s skirts. Nikolas and I stopped and untangled her, earning a smile or a soft “thanks” as our reward. After a while, it became a race to see who got there first, the loser glaring at the gloating winner.
The sun rose above the trees. The canopy grew denser, the forest cool despite the light trickling between the leaves.
A golden blur shot between the trees, moving so fast I barely tracked it before it halted in front of Ezabell.
“Helios!” she cried, relief flooding her features.
The sunsprite hovered at eye level, his body blazing like a tiny star. His spectacles sat askew on his nose, and his hair crackled with agitation.
“Where have you been?” Ezabell asked, adjusting his glasses. “I was worried.”
“Scouting,” he said, his voice tight. “And you should be worried. There are riders on the road behind you. Six mounted men, maybe more. They were asking questions in the village.”
I gripped the hilt of my sword. “How close?”
“Close enough.” Helios looked at Nikolas. “They had one of those wanted posters with your ugly face on it.”
Nikolas’s nostrils flared. “It’s a terrible likeness.”
Helios turned back to Ezabell. “It won’t take long for the riders to pick up your trail. We need to move.”
The Dokimasi pulsed harder, as if it agreed with him. Whatever lay ahead, the magic wanted us to reach it quickly.
“This way,” Ezabell said, picking up her skirts. She rushed forward, and Nikolas and I followed with Helios on our heels.
We moved faster, breaking into a jog. Helios flitted ahead to scout. The forest thickened, the trees growing taller and closer together. Curtains of moss dangled from the branches. My shirt stuck to my back, sweat dampening the linen. The curse sent periodic jolts of pain through my limbs.
But Ezabell’s magic was there, steady and warm, keeping the worst of it at bay.
Behind us came the distant thunder of hoofbeats. Dread slid through me.
Our pursuers had found our trail.
“Faster,” I muttered, catching Ezabell’s elbow as she stumbled over a root.
She righted herself, flashing me a grateful smile that warmed me despite our circumstances. The hoofbeats grew louder. The sound of snapping branches echoed in the air.
“This way,” Nikolas rasped. He cut to the right, heading away from the road.
We followed, skirting thorny bushes and ducking under low-hanging branches. The forest floor became uneven, rocks and fallen logs littered among the leaves. Ezabell’s breath came in quick gasps, but she kept pace, her determination evident in the set of her jaw.
Helios darted back, his glow subdued. “They’ve split up,” he whispered. “Three riders heading straight for us, the others circling on horseback.”
“They’re trying to cut us off,” Nikolas growled as the forest floor sloped sharply.
As we scrambled down it, the Dokimasi pulsed harder in my chest. It tugged with painful urgency, robbing my breath as I slipped and slid over the rocky ground.
“I see something,” Ezabell gasped, pointing to where the trees thinned slightly.
Ahead, stone appeared through the trees. Ancient masonry, half-swallowed by moss and vines, formed what might have once been a temple. The structure was barely visible, as if the forest had conspired to hide it.
