Astrid was running through the night, chasing the moon, heels pounding into the snow briefly before lifting and charging forward again. Her legs wobbled every so often, warning her, but her furor could hardly be contained. The idea that she could have the Zitaflora in her possession by the end of the day was making her dizzy. Or maybe that was the hunger talking.

There she was, feeling almost optimistic, when a high-pitched whistle suddenly surged up from the trees around her. Astrid's heart dropped. She pushed forward even harder, wanting to get away, although she wondered vaguely if she was only hearing things as another side effect of using so much magic.

But just then, with a rush of air, a heavy object charged into Astrid from above, knocking her face-down into the snow.

Astrid turned her head and saw that she'd been attacked by a woman with a spear in one hand and two long silvery-blond braids stretched over her back. The immortal from Mavar Town?! She hadn't expected to see the Northern Stronghold intruders here.

The woman quickly readjusted her position on top of Astrid, making it so she could hardly move, much less stand back up. "Potential trespasser Ambassador Faizah apprehended," she announced.

Astrid swallowed the feeling of despair that was rising up in her, spit out some snow, and lifted her chin. Despite the cold she was sweating bullets. She could hardly muster up any magical energy. What was the point of all that training if she couldn't put it to use in this situation?

Well, she was trained in other things too. Keeping her voice steady, she said, "Are you from the stronghold? I'm in the delegation from Cleftis. We want to talk to you."

"Shut it!" said the woman. She smiled humorlessly as she stood and dragged Astrid to her feet with her. "We don't need you and we don't want to talk to you. All we want is the prince. Everyone else is extraneous. And now you've broken away from your group. What will you do about it?"

Astrid mind spun. What would she do? Fight? Talk more? And what did these people want with Jacob? Was this a coup?

"I…"

"Hold that thought," said the woman. She placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled again, and another person immediately dropped down from the trees. This one carried a rifle on her back, and she had short dark hair and many piercings in each ear.

The woman with braids continued, now speaking to her partner. "Frey, I'm going to take the ambassador back to base. You need to stick around and continue watching the rest of the delegation. Don't mess up."

Astrid's eyes narrowed. Frey…

The woman with braids turned to Astrid again. "I have orders not to kill anyone without necessity. So rejoice, vermin. You live to see another day. Let's go." 

Astrid was relieved that she wasn't going to die yet. But being captured was also catastrophic. She couldn't believe her own inability to stop it. If she fought back, she might actually be killed, and then what? 

She swallowed hard. All she could do was cooperate.