Cassandra did not know how long she had been inside the woods, nor how far she had travelled. Wind whipped across her face, ruffling loose strands of her hair.
The trees closed around her on every side, their branches tangling overhead and casting the forest floor into shifting patches of shadow and light.
Behind her, hurried footsteps pounded against the earth.
They were close. Far too close.
Cassandra glanced over her shoulder for a split second but in the darkness she found nothing, only the trees and shrubbery she passed.
Yet multiple footsteps still sounded in the distance, seemingly coming from all directions.
She had come this far already and couldn’t afford to stop now.
Fear made nausea churned in her stomach as adrenaline took over. She felt as though her entire body were coming apart from the inside, every muscle protesting the demands she continued to place upon it.
She was going to collapse, she knew it.
Another few minutes at this pace and she would fall.
But stopping was not an option.
Escape.
The word repeated itself in her mind with every frantic beat of her heart.
Escape.
She had to escape.
Her heart stuttered as she stumbled over a protruding root, lucky enough to catch herself on a tree truck before she could plummet to the ground.
Her hand trembled against the trunk but she forced herself upright.
What had they truly intended to do with her? The question was like a burning rash on her skin.
The wedding could not possibly be the end of it.
She had heard the way Whitmore and that man spoke. They had spoken about girls as though they were cargo. As though their lives could be measured in losses and profit.
And now she had been brought to him, dosed up with something that left her weak and helpless. Transported against her will. Prepared for a marriage she had never consented to.
What if the marriage was merely another means of obtaining control over her?
What if, once she belonged to Whitmore, she would become another one of those shipments?
The thought was so horrifying that Cassandra forced herself away from the tree.
She ran again.
The footsteps behind her grew louder. Against her better judgement, she looked back once more. Still nothing.
The woodland concealed her pursuers almost as effectively as it concealed her.
But that could not last forever. Outrunning them in this state was impossible and she needed somewhere to hide.
Her eyes darted across the trees.
There.
A dense cluster of fallen branches and thick undergrowth formed a narrow hollow between enormous roots. It was barely large enough for her, but it was hidden from the path.
Cassandra stumbled toward it.
She lowered herself into the hollow, pulling branches and leaves over herself with shaking hands.
Then she covered her mouth.
The footsteps were almost upon her.
She held her breath.
A man crashed through the undergrowth several yards away.
"She came this way."
Another voice answered from farther behind him.
"Then search the trees."
Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut.
Her heart hammered so violently that she was certain they must hear it.
The first man moved closer. Branches snapped beneath his boots.
Cassandra did not dare to move an inch.
She could feel sweat trickling down her back despite the coolness of the woods.
The footsteps stopped.
For one agonising moment, there was nothing.
Then—
"Nothing here."
"Then let’s keep moving."
The footsteps sounded again before fading into the distance.
Cassandra remained where she was.
She did not trust the silence. It could have been a trap for all she knew, a way for them to lure her out of hiding.
She waited until her lungs ached from holding her breath before finally allowing herself to inhale.
Even then, she remained hidden for several more minutes.
Only when she could no longer sense them did she carefully push the branches aside.
Her limbs protested as she crawled from the hollow.
She rose unsteadily to her feet, aware that she could not remain here.
She had to keep moving.
This time, she did not run. She moved cautiously through the trees, keeping low and stopping whenever she heard anything that might indicate her pursuers had changed direction.
Eventually, the trees began to thin. Beyond the woodland lay a small village.
She could see the roofs of cottages clustered along a narrow road, smoke rising lazily from several chimneys. A few people moved about in the distance, going about their business.
Hope stirred faintly within her.
People.
She could ask one of them for help. Her pursuers would not try to abduct her in clear view of others, right?
She remained on her alert regardless.
But she had scarcely taken a few steps toward the village when a shout rang out behind her.
"There!"
Cassandra froze when another voice followed the first.
"She’s ahead!"
They had found her.
She turned and hurried toward the village, passing the first cottage, then another, keeping to the edges of the buildings rather than venturing onto the main road.
Behind her, the pursuit grew louder.
She rounded the corner of a small building and saw a narrow space between it and the next.
Without thinking, she squeezed herself into it. Her back pressed against the rough wall.
She covered her mouth with both hands and tried to silence her breathing.
Footsteps thundered and she peered through the narrow gap between the buildings.
A man appeared at the end of the lane.
He looked around keenly then began walking toward her, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.
Her heart climbed into her throat the closer he came.
Closer.
Cassandra hardly blinked, praying he doesn’t find her.
The man passed the entrance to the narrow space without looking inside, continuing down the road.
Exhaling a deep breath, joy perfused her entire body at evading them once again. But the feeling turned to ash when she felt something touch her shoulder.
Cassandra nearly cried out.
She spun around to see a young woman behind her.