Chapter 2

We begin to gallop ahead, trees blotting out the sun from the forest floor so that all our senses are tuned in on the deep thudding of hooves across dead leaves.

I send a quick glance behind me, to check on Yvo. He’s grasping the reins tightly, his eyes wide with adrenaline as his pupils dart around, taking in as much of the world as he can, looking for any threats.

I snap my focus back to in front of me, before veering off to the right. Yvo quickly follows, chasing after me into the undergrowth. The riding is harder, as there is no trodden path here, however if it’s harder for us it’ll also be harder for those behind us.

We can’t be certain that they’re hostile, but I don’t really fancy finding out. There’s five of them, and only one of me, plus I would have to defend Yvo. He follows more slowly after me, his riding skills good, but Yvo hasn’t exactly been in the same situations as I have.

Weaving through the trees, I keep my body low to the beast, making us as streamlined a unit as possible. A familiar whistle squeals overhead, and I flick my eyes to the arrow, now embedded in a tree to my left, before Yvo and I pass the tree, all signs of the arrow gone.

If there’s one arrow, however, there’s a good chance there’ll be more. Well, I have my answer - they’re definitely not friendly. Do they know we’re after the angel, and they are too?

I glance back at Yvo, making sure he’s still alright, and hasn’t been hit. And I have to say, his timing really couldn’t be any worse. His eyes are wide and bright as he stares at me, before they roll back into his head, and his hands drop the reins.

“For fuck’s sake,” I whisper under my breath, Yvo’s horse automatically slowing down from her fast pace, and an arrow whistles into her leg. She whinnies in pain, rearing up on her hind legs. There’s not time for me to turn my horse around and grab him, not time for anything.

I jump from my own beast, not really managing to catch the Diviner but stopping him from hitting his head on a rock. He’s going to have bumps and bruises, but hey. He’s alive.

Abandoning his injured horse, I jump back onto my own, Yvo’s unconscious form sprawled in front of me as I force my stallion back into a gallop.

We’re going to be slower now, with the added weight, and there’s no way we can carry the fallen angel on our one horse, so we’ll have to do some rethinking somewhere along the line.

The poor beast beneath us is starting to struggle, we’ve been on the move relentlessly for quite some time, but at least I haven’t heard any more arrows being shot at us in a good five or ten minutes.

Yvo, however, still hasn’t woken up. I’m starting to get a little nervous, but know better than to try and force him back to consciousness.

Night begins to fall, and I slow my horse down, the strain of galloping with two passengers having severely taken a toll on her. Finding a patch of thicker woods, I enter the denser forest, hoping that the dark and twined path will discourage any visitors.

Breaking through the thicket of trees, the sunset beams down on a small clearing up ahead. This worked out quite well, in the end.

Dismounting, I slide Yvo’s deadweight off the horse’s back, laying him down on the cool grass. I perch on a rock, stretching out my aching legs. A short moment after, Yvo groans, rubbing his temples before sitting up.

“Ugh, I have literally the worst news, like serious- huh? Where are we?” He asks, standing up and coming to sit next to me on the log.

“Had to leave your horse,” I explain, hoping he’ll just leave it at that, and not ask me anything else. “What? Why? Are you saying we’ll have to ride together the entire time?” He asks, looking rather put off by the idea.

I sigh, pulling my scarf more tightly around my neck, now that the evening chills are beginning to set in. “Injured. Would only slow us down, so. I just grabbed you and left,” I explain, removing the bow from my back and placing it on the ground at my feet.

Yvo is silent for a moment, and I expect him to complain about something, but he doesn’t. He only sits there, in complete silence. And then suddenly, he whispers “you just left her there?”

Side-eyeing him, I shrug. “Yes.” Yvo sighs, rubbing his eyes, before turning to look at me. “I get why you did it, I really do. I just- she’s there, hurt, all alone. Don’t you think that’s kind of lonely?” He asks, his eyes round with sadness.

I only shrug, turning away from him. “My job is to bring back the angel. That’s what I’ll do, and nothing will get in my way.”

I don’t need to look at him to know that he’s disappointed in me, but it doesn’t really matter, it’s not like I’m trying to be best friends with Yvo. I’ve never worked with others before, it’s really not in my style.

“Let’s get some sleep, and then in the morning we can keep looking for the- oh shit, I completely forgot to tell you!” He exclaims, grabbing my arm tightly. I glance over at him, trying to shake off his surprisingly firm grasp.

“We might be in a lot more shit than we originally thought,” he begins, his eyes wandering off to gaze at the steadily retreating sun, taking her beautiful fires with her, and slowly bathing our clearing in a deep, dark, nothingness.

“What is it?” I ask, my voice low and barely more than a whisper. Yvo bites his lip, his expression dire.

“Well, it turns out, that the angel’s already be caught. We’re going to have to fight for it.”

I stare at the boy for a moment, before shrugging. “That’s ok. We’ll just take the angel back.” He looks surprised by my kind tone, and I’m a little surprised at myself too. But, Yvo just looks so…young and scared, right now.

Reminds me that he’s nothing more than a kid.

“What if you get hurt?” He asks quietly as I shrug again, fiddling with a strand of my hair. “It’ll heal. Getting the angel is what is important here,” I confirm, my voice going back to its low and hard, stony tone.

Yvo flashes me a grim smile, before going over to the horse, and taking the blanket from beneath her saddle.

“Will you be cold?” He asks, and I shake my head. “You can have it.” I’m alright with the cold, I’ve slept outside plenty of times. Yvo, however, as a Diviner, hasn’t exactly been treated well, per se, but he has been given respect his whole life.

Well. Not from the Duchess, but then again, respect and compassion are alien words to her. She only knows cruelty.