Our Infinite Fates

I RAN FOR THE stables and the fields beyond, darting between the outbuildings and their shadows, slipping through the cracks of humanity like I had for a millennium, tears blurring my vision, my heart beating so painfully in my chest that I struggled to breathe.

I ran down the farm track, the way illuminated only by the moon and stars, the night air cold and ripe, the scent of manure, of wet grass and spring earth, and I thought I could be anywhere, anywhere in history.

I ran, half expecting Arden to jump out at any moment, but I had the curious sensation that he would not be able to catch me.

I ran faster than I ever had in this life, further and more furiously than I had thought myself capable of. The weakness in my hip made my gait strange, but there was little pain, thanks to the adrenaline and the myriad drugs I’d been pumped with. There was just me, and my feet, and the earth beneath them.