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Pieces of her twisted as they fled. Parts of her heart that remembered running from danger too often. Parts that had been thrown into hunts in which she was the prey.

Though Tarkyn held her hand and they only walked briskly, rather than running, she couldn’t escape the creeping dread, the tingling sense of horror that at any moment they might be ambushed, or an enemy might break through the trees behind and launch towards them.

They were forced to walk silently for almost an hour, Tarkyn warning her that there were patrols and stations throughout this area of the forest, still close to the Tree City.

They spoke infrequently through the bond, but most of Tarkyn’s focus went on their surroundings and their passage. He applauded her more than once for keeping herself so quiet, and commented that she could teach some of the Anima a thing or two. But he obviously felt her fear, because his forehead was creased, and he never let go of her hand.

She was glad-she needed something solid to hold onto. And having his great bulk nearby, his sharp eyes and ears, and his command of the forest... it kept her from jittering fear.

But she couldn’t hide the creeping dread within her, and some of it seemed to infect him, until finally, they slowed and he crouched down behind a fallen stump, motioning to her to do the same.

‘There’s heavy guard patrol in this area, but once we get beyond it, we shouldn’t meet anyone unless we’re very unlucky. I want to wait here until we see a patrol. That should give us a few minutes-but we’ll need to take care with our trail.’

Harth nodded, trying hard to keep her heart from pounding quite so hard. She knew that even if they were to be caught, no one was going to shoot their Captain. She knew that they were leaving with the War Chief’s permission-and likely the Queen’s as well, from what Gar had said.

.....

Yet her mind kept conjuring crisis-a guardsman who didn’t recognize Tarkyn right away and shot his arrows before he asked questions-or who’d met with Zev and was feeling vengeful and might seek to take any Chimera out of this life.

Her stomach wouldn’t stop knotting, and her heart wouldn’t calm.

‘Harth, what is it? Do you sense something?’

She shook her head. ‘It is only my body’s response to fear,’ she said, frustrated with herself.

Tarkyn tore his eyes from the forest and turned to look at her, his warm eyes pinched with concern. ‘Give me another hour or two, Harth. Then we’ll have a true rest. True freedom. True solitude. And I’ll hold you as long as you need so you can feel safe.’

Tears pricked her eyes, but the vision he put in her mind was so lovely and she yearned for it so desperately, that she wiped her face and focused on her breathing.

A couple of hours. She could do anything for a couple of hours.

The humans had certainly proved that much to her.

The moment when one of the guards stepped onto the trail not far from their tree was incredibly tense, but her mate had positioned them beautifully. The breeze blew the guard’s scent to them, but kept them from him-and where the trail passed, the stump they crouched behind was slightly behind him.

Within minutes, Tarkyn had pulled her from the spot and they were running, first in their human forms, then after taking a moment for Harth to undress and tie her clothing to her leg, in their beasts.

But something happened when Harth shifted. Something she couldn’t quite pinpoint at first. An... emptiness. In her chest-and in her head. At first she tried to dismiss it as just a consequence of her stress.

But when Tarkyn-bold and beautiful in his lion, his thick mane trailing halfway down his back and stomach-turned to look at her over his shoulder and his beast made a strange call, then drew up quickly to a halt, Harth whirled, wondering what he’d seen or scented that she hadn’t-

“Harth?” he whispered her name and she turned to find him in human form again, standing there, staring at her, his face a mask of worry.

She shifted quickly back to her human form. “What? What’s wrong?”

‘Can you hear me?’ he asked quickly through the bond.

‘Of course. Why?’

Tarkyn blew out a breath. “Don’t shift,” he murmured.

Harth nodded, still confused, but Tarkyn shifted-he didn’t have to remove his clothing, which she found very curious-and then he watched her.

His broad muzzle was much lighter than the rest of his tawny coat. His eyes a brilliant gold, and full of intelligence. But after a long moment of staring, he made that strange call again, then shifted back.

‘You couldn’t hear me,’ he said, his voice tight with concern. ‘When I was in my beast, you couldn’t hear me.’

Harth blinked. “You spoke?”

“In your mind, I tried to. But you couldn’t hear me. I tried when we were running also. That’s why I stopped, because you weren’t responding. I was worried something was wrong.”

Harth frowned, then shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard of that before, but... but I suppose if your beast is different to mine... I don’t know, Tarkyn.”

“We have to remember that,” he said fiercely. “We have to remember that we can’t communicate when I’m in my beast.”

She nodded, then took his hand when he looked so fierce. “I’ll remember,” she said, trying to soothe him. “Please don’t worry, Tarkyn, I’ll remember.”

Squeezing her hand, he turned and looked through the trees in the direction they’d been traveling. “Should we travel more swiftly in our beasts, but not able to touch minds? Or... should we stay in human form? I don’t like losing that connection with you, Harth,” he said quietly. Seriously.

Harth couldn’t stop the smile that broke on her face. “Me either,” she breathed. “Let’s just walk. I’ll be fine, Tarkyn. I just want to be with you and not... not have to think about others, that’s all.”

“We’re going to be fine. We’re outside the main patrol range now-and those that might have wandered this far have been assigned to... the current surveillance. I don’t think we’re going to see anyone after this, Harth. It’s just you and me.”

And then he smiled.

His handsome face lit up, his eyes sparkling.

Harth couldn’t help but return it.

Then he offered his hand, and she took it, and they darted deeper into the forest together.