Chapter 11
Nina had been lost in what she thought was a dream, pulled underneath the dark paths of her innermost fears, stumbling through
them blind and alone. When she woke, she was being tackled by Kasik, the flash of a winged beast flapping and screaming above
them. She’d thought she was still in a nightmare, until Kasik pressed his lips to her ear and spoke, the warmth of his words
breathing life back into her.
She heard his instructions, and she obeyed. He yelled, Go, and she scrambled away, hands over her head as if they could protect her from that terrifying beast. She pushed herself
as hard as she could. The gnarled fingers of branches clawed her face. The edges of thick leaves sliced her skin. She felt
the sharp sting of hair tearing away, but she didn’t stop.
The sounds of rustling wings and piercing cries faded, slowly replaced by her frenzied breaths and the buzz of insects. She
searched the trees for Kasik, waiting to hear his footsteps, but there was nothing. Silence surrounded her.
Then, in the distance, she heard a crash and a cry of pain.
It was one man against one beast. Kasik seemed capable, trained to survive and kill, but what if there were more? What if
those bird cries were a call?
And what could she possibly do about it?
Once again, Nina begrudged her lack of training. Had she known how to fight, or how to wield a weapon, she wouldn’t have been
so hesitant to go back. If Sacha was there, the answer would have been simple. Her sister would never have left anyone behind.
But Nina wasn’t Sacha. She wasn’t sure she was capable of that same selflessness.
If she died, did her agreement with the kunay also die? Would Sacha no longer be safe?
But what would happen to her if Kasik died? How would she get to the emperor then? Or would his death prompt her freedom?
In a roundabout way, Kasik had saved her life. He had come to collect her and forced Mamakuna Dusi to free her from that cell,
and she wouldn’t survive this forest without him. She couldn’t leave him behind.
Nina turned back, dodging branches and leaves as big as her head, praying that Kasik was still alive, that she wasn’t about
to stumble upon a bloody feast. Her stomach roiled at the thought.
A flash of a shadow darted between two large trees ahead. She ran straight toward it.
Kasik was nowhere to be seen, but the bird was hovering high, its large wings beating the air, sending dirt and leaves swirling
around her feet. Its attention was pinned to a spot on the forest floor where three trees had fallen into each other. An arrow
shot out from within the enclosure. The bird tipped sideways, narrowly avoiding being impaled.
A plan quickly formed in Nina’s mind. All she had to do was get the bird’s attention and give Kasik the chance to aim true.
The clouds parted just enough for hazy moonlight to illuminate the shadows. Her eyes darted over the floor. There, a rock the size of her fist. It was cool and heavy against her palm.
It left her hand and soared through the air.
And fell just shy of the bird’s feet, pathetically crashing to the ground with a quiet thud.
But it was enough that the bird turned its head sharply, unblinking eyes meeting hers. Nina could have sworn they were made
of achilla. That the gods were watching her through its fathomless orbs. For a moment, she saw her death reflected in them,
bloody and gruesome and excruciating.
And then an arrow punched through its right eye.
The bird shrieked and flapped once, twice.
Another arrow lodged into its chest and sent glossy feathers the size of her arm floating into the air.
It opened its blade-sharp beak in a silent scream, stretched its talons as if seeking purchase, and then it plummeted to the ground, tearing leaves and branches in its wake.
Nina fell to her knees, chest heaving. From her periphery, she saw Kasik stumble out of the downed trees and make his way
toward her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the dead beast.
It was easily three times her size, its wings wide enough to wrap her in a deadly embrace several times over. The entirety
of it was a vicious, gleaming black, except for a white band around its neck and on the tips of its wings. In the dark, it
had looked like an evil spirit. A creature straight from her worst nightmares.
In death, she saw it for what it truly was. A creation of the gods, much like the achipuma. She only wondered which god, and for what purpose.
From not so far-off, she heard an unnatural screech. A response to a call made not long ago.
“Up, Nina, now.” Kasik’s hands slid under her arms and hoisted her to her feet. Then he grabbed her hand and tugged her away,
slowly at first, just a limping gait, and then faster as the cries grew louder and closer.
They ran with seemingly no direction in mind, sometimes slipping through trees so dense she had to hold her breath to make
it through. It was a labyrinth of unfamiliarity. An endless abyss of shadow. She tripped over a root and caught herself with
her free hand, hissing as her skin gave way over a sharp jut of rock.
Again, Kasik lifted her to her feet. Again, he pulled her along as quickly as she could go.
There was no air for speaking, no energy for thought.
She followed for what felt like an eternity, until Kasik tugged her underneath a canopy of low-hanging branches, thick enough that the sky couldn’t be seen through the leaves.
He crawled in first and then yanked Nina between his legs, her back to his chest. One arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other around her mouth, quieting her frantic breathing.
She clung to his wrists and strained to see beyond their hideaway.
All was quiet. They stayed as they were, wrapped around each other, their chests surging as one.
Finally, Kasik’s arms fell, his body going limp behind hers.
She whirled around and steadied him with two hands on his shoulders. “Are you hurt?”
“My back” was all he said. Nina nudged him forward and supported his body against her chest. It was almost impossible to see,
but she could smell the sharp tang of blood. Carefully, she prodded the skin, shivering when his hiss of breath caressed her
neck.
When she held her fingers up, she found them glistening in the dim light.
Kasik pushed away from her with a groan. “I’ll be fine,” he said unconvincingly. “I just need to rest a moment. We’ll stay
here until it’s light.”
Nina nodded, but his eyes had already closed, and she stared at his face hidden in shadow, the way the lines of him were once
again sharp and unknowable.
Except, she knew now that, regardless of why, his convictions were strong enough to compel him to risk his life to save hers, and she was afraid that it would change
everything.