Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
The body of the horse was sturdy, and it galloped loudly as Mum shouted for it to go faster. I had the urge to lay my head on the horse, feel it’s warmth on my cheek.
“We must reach Vanora,” Mum breathed, then shouted at the horse again to pick up speed.
I looked back as the men trailed farther behind, and for a moment, I could taste the safety and the freedom, the feeling wrapping around me like a warm cocoon. We’d reach Vanora as Mum planned and we’d be safe from these random men. Mum would be happy, and all would be well.
But just as quickly as the bliss swam through me, our horse let out a bloodcurdling screech and buckled forward. Its heavy body crashed into the ground, sending us flying across the forest. In flight, Mum sucked in a breath and threw out a hand in my direction. Suddenly, I was wrapped in a bubble of blazing gold light. The bubble felt hot, but not enough to burn. I landed softly on the ground, cushioned by the bubble but Mum…her fall was much worse. Her delicate body slammed into a tree, and I was positive I heard the crunch of bone. The bubble surrounding me faded as his Mum rolled over on the ground with a pained groan.
“Mum!”
Not too far away from her was the horse we’d been riding. Its rear legs were gone and bleeding profusely. They’d been chopped off by something sharp and silver—something that was clearly thrown at it. The weapon, shaped like an oversized axe but without a handle, lay next to the bleeding horse and was cloaked in crimson. My heart wrenched for the horse as it whinnied in agony. It wasn’t the horse’s fault. How could they hurt a defenseless horse? How could they? I snapped out of my thoughts as Mum moaned and rolled onto her back.
“Mum!” I screamed, scrambling toward her. I stumbled over sticks and logs, but before I could make it to her, a large hand grabbed my upper arm and snatched me backwards.
“Get off of me!” I shouted. I thrashed about as the man wrangled me in his arms. “Mummy! MUMMY!”
“Shut up, boy!” the man hissed. The other man with a torch clopped around Mum while on the horse. He hopped off, picking her up by the single thick braid in her hair.
Instantly alert, she swung at the man and missed. The man laughed then kicked her in the back, sending her flying flat on her stomach.
“Caspian! I’m here,” she cried, digging her nails into the ground, and attempting a weak crawl in my direction. “Magnus, please!” she wailed, voice cracking. “You can’t take him from me! He’s, my boy! He’s all I have!”
“Shut her up,” the man in charge growled. The soldier bent over and grabbed her by the braid to yank her to her knees. She let out a scream as he curled it around his fist and yanked it backward. Blood was dripping from her mouth, and some was on her hand, where she clutched her rib. With his other hand, the man dug into the pocket of his trousers until it was coated in a white powder. He cupped her mouth with the powdered hand, and Mum moaned, trying to shove it away but failing.
“Mummy!” I cried, stretching my arms for her. I’d watched in horror as they hurt her, so young and weak and unable to do anything to help. Completely useless. That’s what I was. A useless little boy.
When her body sagged and her eyes closed, I screamed, “LET HER GO!” but it made no difference. The man in charge only held me tighter and squeezed my upper arm so hard, I was certain it would leave a bruise.
“Take her to the dungeons,” the man in charge demanded, reeling me back as I sobbed for her. I was crying so hard my stomach hurt. “I’ll teach her a thing or two about running away from me.”
Chapter 7
WILLOW
The vision hits me like a murky tidal wave. It drowns me, the suffocating water filling my lungs, and I find it hard to breathe, to see, to do anything.
Even when I try to pull out of it, I can’t. I’m trapped in it because I am that boy with worry and fear, hiding in the hole, waiting for his mother to return. I am him as he screams for her, begging for the big man to stop torturing them. I feel his agony as he reaches for her like his life depends on it, the woman who has clearly sworn her life to protect him.
That boy is Caz, once young and so full of life, now broken and in despair. My heart aches for him.
I sit back in the seat of the car, breathing as evenly as possible as the vision passes. I blink some of my tears away, then look to my right at Juniper who has fallen asleep. The side of her head is pressed to the window. In the back row, Killian stares out the window, and Rowan drives, fully alert. Maeve is rubbing her temples with the pads of her fingers, as if fighting a headache.