"You already know the answer."
The words echoed in her mind as the wind whispered through her hair.
If it was something she already knew…
No. She refused to believe that. Gritting her teeth,, she glared back at the man carrying her in his arms. "I don't."
She took a deep breath, bracing herself, "You expect me to trust you, when I don't even know what you are?"
Thorien's laughter rang from behind them. Mocking, amused.
It cut through the night like broken glass, as Enid winced. It was sharp and unsettling.
"Trust us?" He scoffed, cackling "Oh, you little lamb. If you hadn't noticed, we are the only reason you're still breathing."
Her heart thundered in her chest at the implication, and the truth of it. She could still remember the sharp jaws, the hunt.
She shivered, and felt the arms holding her tighten infinestimally around her.
"Ignore him." Kaelith muttered to her, even as she knew that Thorien could probably hear every word they said nonetheless, "He enjoys scaring people."
She swallowed, aware of Kaelith's gaze on her, his worry almost making the air around them thick.
Her breathing quickened as she hesitantly turned her eyes to Kaelith, unaware of her own actions.
"Because fear," Thorien interrupted her, thankfully, suddenly appearing at her other side as he ran with effortless speed. It seemed to her, that everything came easy to them both. His eyes glinted in the moonlight the hazel switching to sea green as he continued, "is the purest form of emotion. You can hide behind everything, but what you fear. It shows you who you really are."
Enid's pulse hammered as the trio travelled through the wood in silence. Between Kaelith's warmth and Thorien's terrifying calm, she felt like she was being pulled apart at the seams. Like she was being unravelled, laid bare with all her truths for the world to see.
Every instinct told her to get away from them. To run far, far away. Anything to avoid being seen for herself.
But impossibly, she knew. Her safety lied with them.
Her throat closed up as she realised her helplessness.
The forest finally opened up, as the trip arrived at the end of a ravine. The red of the moonlight bathed the area. Water rushed someone near, the sound almost drowning the ringing in her ears.
Enid struggled out of Kaelith's arms, pushing at his chest until he relented and let her down on her feet.
She stumbled, standing up. Her chest finally able to draw the breath it had been denied. Her ears cleared as she stood away from the men, turning her face towards the cliff to avoid the worried gaze of Kaelith, and Thorien's scrunity.
Taking deep breaths, she walked unsteadily towards the edge, peering down.
The red of the moon bathed the river in a similar glow, the jagged rocks looking like broken glass in a river of red blood.
She gasped as she took a step back. Enid knew that what she had seen was not really blood, but with the excitement of the evening she was a little bit on edge.
Hesitantly she looked back, at the brothers who were watching her a little too closely for her comfort. There was a worry in Kaelith's gaze that she did not want to assess, as he heaved more than his brother, his chest rising and falling with each exhale.
Probably because he was carrying you.
Her cheeks warmed inadvertently as she thought back on just moments before when she was pressed against his chest, her hands around his neck.
She swallowed harshly as she gave another brief glance to the amused gaze of Thorien. Abruptly, she turned back to the river, not missing the smirk rising on his lips.
"End of the road." Thorien muttered. He sauntered over to Enid as he too peered down along with her at the dark water below, before whistling softly. She didn't look up at him, her jaw clenching.
Kaelith joined her on the other side as he gazed down at her. She knew it, could almost feel it, but she daren't turn his way. Her cheeks had already betrayed her though. Again.
With her heart in her throat, she thought over her current situation in her head.
Trapped. That's what she was. Wolves behind her, predators with her, and an almost fatal drop into razor sharp rocks below and rushing river below.
She felt Kaelith's hand come to hover over her shoulder, before settling down. Enid turned towards him.
His eyes met hers with a dangerous softness in them. The same softness she had been spying all night, with only a hint of the overflowing sarcasm she had spied in the beginning.
It hit her like fire, curling her insides with a speed she was afraid of.
"You want trust, Enid?" He said in a low voice, gravelly with the run and something else. It threaded her to her bones, and she was unable to look away, "Then trust me now."
"Or trust me." Thorien interjected from behind her. She almost turned towards him, stunned at the offer when the hand on her shoulder raised to her cheeks, turning her back towards Kaelith, arresting her.
Well, not like she was trying to get away anymore. She didn't want to.
That scared her.
She pulled out of Kaelith's hold, turning her head away only to be met with the predatory gaze of Thorien. His haze was unblinking, chilling. The madness was there again.
Enid snatched her eyes away once again. But he was not done with her.
"Jump or stay, Enid. Your choice. But if you stay- the wolves will get you." Thorien finished the last words in a song, glee shining in his voice at the prsopect.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she gazed back at the river again. She suddenly felt a hand in her, fingers entwining with her own.
Kaelith.
She had no idea someone could have this profound an effect on her, as her breathing slowed and her tunneled vision returned to normal. She didn't know how he knew what to do, but she was grateful.
The wolves barked from behind, suddenly bringing with them the urgency of the situation.
And just like that, the choice was made.
She squeezed Kaelith's hand, looking at him briefly before stepping forward. He stepped forward with her.
The river loomed below, beckoning her with all the morbid curiosity that death had to offer.
Thorien held her other hand with his as the three of them stepped closer and closer to the edge. She didn't shrug it off, letting him -and herself- have that added layer of comfort.
"Hold on." Kaelith muttered in her hair.
They leapt.
The world plunged into freefall, her scream echoing in the night.