The Beauty of Dawn by W.D. Seitz

Author:W.D. Seitz [Seitz, W.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W.D. Seitz Creative
Published: 2023-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Breathing harshly, Nathaniel guided the prince through the thorny thickets of the woodlands. Cassidy followed close behind. The forest seemed to go on forever. Nathaniel admired the beauty of it—how it spread into a vast sea of green moss and how the large, towering oaks blocked out the sky. Spiderwebs hung from tree to tree, glistening with dew, catching various bugs and orange fallen leaves. Ferns poked out of crevices between wide, flat rocks and boulders.

He didn’t want to quit moving. The Stoneguard could be on their trail. For all he knew, they were right behind him, maneuvering swiftly through the trees. He glanced behind himself just to make sure—but the forest was dark, and he could see little beyond the river.

“Nathan,” Peter choked, clutching the arrow jutting out of his back. “We have to take a break. It may not have been intended to kill me, but if we keep moving like this, it will anyway.”

Nathaniel glanced at Peter, then searched the area ahead. Protected by a ring of fat tree trunks was a small grove, invisible to the wandering eye. “Just a little farther,” he promised, hoisting Peter’s arm farther over his shoulder.

When they had pushed through the barrier of scraping branches, Nathaniel aided him carefully over a cluster of nettles, setting him down against an oversized rock, which was split in half by determined plants and weeds. Peter sighed. His face was white. Beads of sweat drizzled down his forehead.

“Okay.” Cassidy brushed a long, wet strand of hazel hair behind her ear. “Let’s get this arrow out of you.”

“You can’t just yank it out of me!” Peter hissed. “If you do, one end will detach from the other, and the arrowhead will get stuck inside.”

“Then what do we do?” Nathaniel knelt in front of the prince, his brow creasing.

Peter’s eyes were half-closed. He winced, as if the question pained him. “I— I don’t know! It’s not like I’ve ever had to do this before…You’ll have to make the wound bigger, I think, so there’s nothing the arrow can get stuck on when you take it out. Don’t just rip it out, either. Nice and slow. That way, you’ll know when it’s tugging.”

Nathaniel grimaced. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“I don’t think you can either. Cassidy!”

“I don’t want to do it!” Cassidy shouted.

Peter reached for his back. “Then I’ll do it, dammit.”

“You can’t do it.” Nathaniel grabbed his arm and told him to lie down. “I’ll do it, but I definitely don’t want to. Okay, Peter, this is probably going to hurt.”

The prince buried his face in his arm, clenching his teeth. Cassidy handed him a branch, but he hit it away, declaring that he wasn’t a dog.

Nathaniel began to pull at the soft, fleshy edges of Peter’s wound.

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