EMMA'S POV
The order to kill him fractured the air like glass.
Afin did not think. He moved.
The first bolt tore through the space where his head had been a heartbeat earlier, burying itself in the trunk of a birch with a violent crack. The second went wide as Afin dropped, sliding across damp earth on one knee, his shoulder slamming into the bound child and carrying her with him into the shallow depression behind a fallen log. The rope around her wrists snapped under his blade in a single, efficient motion.
"Listen to me," he said, close enough that she could feel the vibration of his voice through her bones. "You run north. You do not look back. You do not stop. When you see stone walls, you scream until someone answers. Do you understand?"
Her eyes were huge, her face streaked with dirt and tears, but she nodded.
"Now," Afin said.
She ran.
The clearing erupted.
