The Three Nations Box Set by Aaron Hodges

Author:Aaron Hodges [Hodges, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780995129665
Publisher: The National Library of New Zealand
Published: 2019-12-12T22:00:00+00:00

19

“We should ride on,” Alana insisted, looking around at the others.

Their exhausted faces stared back at her. Dark shadows ringed their eyes. Her brother was barely on his feet, and his skin had turned an unnatural shade of yellow.

Shaking her head, Tillie stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We can go no further today, Alana,” she said kindly. “I know you’re afraid, but the riders will not reach us tonight.”

Alana’s heart beat faster at the mention of the Stalkers. Devon had warned them of the riders’ presence as the sun was setting, and they had ridden hard through the fading light, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and the hunters as they could. They had reached the second river Devon had mentioned, fording it as the last light slipped away.

They had only been halfway across when darkness found them. Alana shivered at the memory of the black water lapping at her legs, only the power of the horse beneath her keeping her from the cold. Without sight to guide them, they had kept together using the sound of each other’s voices. Only when she had felt the thud of her horse’s hooves touching solid ground did Alana realise she’d been holding her breath.

Now though, an urgent need to continue was building in her chest. According to Devon, the riders were still at least half a day’s ride away—but that lead would be cut down to nothing if the Stalkers rode on through the night.

“We can’t let them catch us,” she whispered, her eyes flickering to her brother.

“If we press on, the horses won’t make it through the night.” She looked around as Kellian spoke, and he went on. “They’ve hardly rested in two days. Another night of riding through the dark and their strength will give out. They need a respite as much as any of us.”

Alana clenched her fists, a helpless frustration gnawing at her soul. She wanted to be galloping with her brother across the open fields, to put as much distance between themselves and the hunters as possible. Yet she could not argue with Kellian or Tillie’s words—if they continued now, they risked losing everything.

Her shoulders slumped and she nodded quickly. Wordlessly, she moved across to her brother and drew him into her arms. She felt his thin body trembling, the cold and exhaustion wearing him down, and squeezed her eyes closed.

The boom of thunder forced her to look around. She caught a flash of light as lightning forked across the sky to the north. Beside her, Devon swore.

“There’s a storm rolling in,” he growled. “Come on, I spied a grove of trees before we crossed the river.”

A groan came from her brother, and despite her earlier argument, Alana found herself echoing him. Separating, Alana took up the reins of their horse and lead it after Devon. She could already feel the temperature dropping as the storm raced in from the north. Air burned in her nostrils as she sucked in a breath.

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