I place a hand on his forearm, drawing his attention back to me.
“Our memories are starting to return, Cael. I have a feeling we’re going to find the answers to all of our questions here.”
“I hope so,” he says. “It would be great to finally understand why we share the same dream. To remember everything that happened when we were—”
He stills and grasps my forearm, stopping me abruptly.
I go silent, my every sense on high alert as he scans the road ahead.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“Someone is coming.”
I listen a moment but hear nothing.
“How can you tell?”
He turns to me, brows furrowed deeply. “Can you not hear them talking?”
I shake my head. “No, but I trust you.”
“We have to hide.”
He guides me into the forest behind him, pushing aside the thick brush to clear a path. My long skirt gets caught, jerking me back.
“Cael,” I squeeze his hand to draw his attention.
He turns to me, trying to pull it loose, but it won’t budge.
“Your knife,” he says. “Quickly.”
I remove it from my belt and hand it to him. He cuts away at the fabric, setting me free. Urgently, he pulls me further into the woods and deeper into the thick foliage. It’s only now I detect the faint sound of voices drifting toward us from down the road. Panic tightens my chest as they draw closer while Cael and I crouch down in the brush.
The ground is soft beneath us from the rain the day before. Despite this, I cannot seem to get comfortable, but I force myself to remain still anyway. The last thing I want to do is draw anyone’s attention.
Sweat beads across my brow as we wait. I’ve never been more afraid.
As if sensing my fear, Cael hands me my knife. I palm the handle a moment to reassure myself that I have a decent weapon before I tuck it in my boot, trying to make as little noise or movement as possible.
My every sense is heightened as I scan the road, waiting to see who it is that approaches. Not that I’d be able to easily tell friend from foe, but I cannot tell from the voices how many of them there are. I only know that they are a group of men—at least more than two from the different sounds of their voices.
My pulse pounds in my ears as they come into view. It’s three men on horseback, each of them as rough-looking as you’d expect potential bandits to appear.
Dressed in dark leather pants and tunics, with thick, heavy boots, these guys look really intimidating. Each of them carries a long sword on their belt and several smaller knives. Their heads are shaved, and as I watch them speak back and forth to one another, I note they each seem to be missing several teeth.
“That last lot had enough gold, we’re set for a while. Aren’t we, lads?” One of them smirks.
“Yeah.” Another laughs. “Too bad, we couldn’t have more fun with the lady. Don’t know why she had to throw herself off that cliff. We’re nothing if not gentle lovers, wouldn’t you agree?” he adds with an evil grin.
My stomach twists in a violent knot, and bile burns its way up my throat as I listen to them talk about all the horrible things they did to her before she took her life. Cael tightens his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close, every muscle in his body growing more and more tense as they continue to speak.
One pulls his horse up short on the road before us.
“I have to stop a moment, fellas.”
They stop, and he dismounts. I hold my breath as he moves in our direction, worried he’s somehow spotted us. Instead, he walks to the bushes and unfastens his trousers. I avert my eyes, and a moment later, the sound of splashing water fills the silence as he urinates nearby.
I look up again after it stops and watch as he refastens his clothing. He turns back to his friends, then halts, his gaze zeroing in on the torn fabric of my skirt left behind on the bushes.
“Hey,” he says to his friends. “Take a look at this.”
To my great dismay, the other two dismount. They look at the piece of torn skirt and then lift their eyes to scan the forest.
“I think we might have some company,” one of them says.
Another shrugs. “It could be old.”
An evil grin forms on the third man’s face. “It’s worth investigating. Especially after how much fun we had with the last one.”
I’ve never been much of a praying person, but right now, I’m sending several silent prayers to whoever may be listening for these guys to just get back on their horses and go away. I’m terrified after hearing them talk about what they did to the last woman they found. Although they didn’t specifically mention the fate of her companions, I doubt they left anyone alive.
Cael holds me even tighter as my heart thunders in my chest. I don’t want to be captured, and I certainly don’t want to die today. I palm the knife handle sticking out of my boot and wait in silence as the men scan the forest.
Chapter 18
Cael
The men search the woods, unknowingly moving closer to our position. It’s only a matter of time before they spot us. As we kneel on the ground, I sweep my hands over the damp earth and grasp a large stone.
I look at Kyra and open my palm, showing her the rock. Worried blue eyes meet mine a moment before I toss it far and away
