Chapter 13 BONDS FORGED IN BATTLE

Chapter 13 BONDS FORGED IN BATTLE
ETHAN'S POV
"They found us!"
Kiera's shout came half a second before the arrow slammed into the tree where my head had been. I dove sideways, heart hammering, as more arrows whistled through the air.
"How many?" I gasped, scrambling behind a fallen log.
"At least eight. Maybe more." Kiera crouched beside me, her green eyes scanning the forest. "Professional hunters. They won't stop until we're dead or captured."
A man's voice called out from the trees. "We know you're there, deserter! The Silver Covenant is offering one thousand gold now. That's enough to make us very motivated!"
One thousand? They'd doubled my bounty. I was worth more dead than I'd ever been worth alive.
"We need to split up," I whispered. "You run east, I'll go west. They can't chase both of us."
"No." Kiera's voice was iron. "We fight together or die together. Those are the only choices."
Before I could argue, three hunters burst through the bushes. The first one swung a club at my head. I barely blocked it with my sword. The impact sent shock waves up my arms.
The second hunter went for Kiera. Big mistake. She moved like lightning, dodging his axe and kicking his legs out from under him. He hit the ground hard.
But the third hunter was smarter. He circled around behind us while we were distracted. I only saw him because of the sunlight glinting off his blade.
"Kiera, behind you!"
She spun, but not fast enough. The hunter's sword cut across her shoulder. Blood bloomed on her shirt. She cried out in pain but didn't fall.
Something exploded inside me. Anger. Fear. Something else I couldn't name.
I charged the hunter who hurt her. My movements weren't graceful or skilled. They were desperate and wild. But sometimes desperation is enough.
I crashed into him like a battering ram. We both went down, rolling in the dirt. His sword flew from his hand. I grabbed it and threw it far into the bushes.
"You'll pay for that, boy!" He pulled a dagger from his boot.
I grabbed his wrist before he could stab me. We struggled, both grunting with effort. He was stronger, pushing the blade closer to my throat inch by inch.
Then Kiera was there. She grabbed the hunter by his collar and yanked him off me with one hand despite her injury. She tossed him into a tree like he weighed nothing. He slumped down, unconscious.
"Thanks," I panted.
"Don't mention it." She winced, clutching her bleeding shoulder. "But we've got bigger problems."
Five more hunters emerged from different directions. We were completely surrounded.
The leader stepped forward. He was tall with a scarred face and cold eyes. "You two have caused us a lot of trouble. Should've stayed on the main roads where we could catch you easy."
"We're not going back," I said, raising my sword even though my hands shook.
The leader laughed. "You don't have a choice, deserter. Drop your weapons and come quietly. We'll make your deaths quick."
"Quick deaths?" Kiera spat. "How generous."
"Better than what the Silver Covenant will do to you."
The hunters attacked all at once. It was chaos. I blocked a sword strike and ducked under an axe. Someone grabbed my arm. I twisted free and kicked him in the knee.
Kiera fought like a cornered wolf. Even injured, she took down two hunters in seconds. But there were too many. A hunter grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms.
"Let her go!" I shouted.
I ran at them without thinking. The hunter holding Kiera kicked out, hitting my stomach. Air rushed out of my lungs. I fell to my knees, gasping.
The leader raised his sword above my head. "Any last words, traitor?"
Time seemed to slow down. I saw Kiera struggling against the hunter holding her. I saw the sword coming down. I saw my short life flashing before my eyes.
Then Kiera did something impossible. She threw her head back, smashing it into her captor's nose. He screamed and let go. In one smooth motion, she grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.
The leader's sword hit empty ground where I'd been kneeling.
"Run!" Kiera yelled.
We ran. My legs burned. My lungs felt like fire. Behind us, the hunters shouted and gave chase.
"There!" Kiera pointed to a rocky slope ahead. "Up there! They'll have trouble following!"
We scrambled up the rocks. My fingers scraped against stone. Loose gravel slid under my boots. Below us, the hunters started climbing too.
Halfway up, my foot slipped. I started falling backward. My arms windmilled uselessly.
Kiera's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. She held me with impossible strength, her muscles straining as she pulled me up to safety.
"I've got you," she grunted. "Hold on!"
She hauled me onto a flat ledge. We collapsed there, breathing hard, as the hunters struggled on the rocks below.
"Keep climbing!" the leader shouted to his men. "Don't let them escape!"
But the slope was too steep. The hunters couldn't follow without proper climbing gear. After several failed attempts, they gave up and retreated, cursing.
"We'll find another way up!" the leader yelled. "You can't hide forever!
When their voices faded, I finally let myself relax. My whole body ached. My hands were cut and bleeding from the rocks. But I was alive.
"Are you okay?" I asked Kiera.
She was sitting with her back against a boulder, her hand pressed against her wounded shoulder. Blood seeped through her fingers.
"I've had worse," she said, but her voice was tight with pain.
"Let me see." I moved closer.
"It's fine"
"Let me see, Kiera."
She sighed and removed her hand. The cut was deep, still bleeding. Without thinking, I tore a strip from my shirt and pressed it against the wound.
"This will hurt," I warned.
"Everything hurts," she said with a weak smile.
I wrapped the cloth around her shoulder as gently as I could. My hands shook. I'd never done this before. What if I made it worse?
"You're doing fine," Kiera said softly, as if reading my thoughts.
When I finished, our faces were very close. I could see flecks of gold in her green eyes. I could feel her breath on my cheek.
"You saved my life," I said. "Again."
"You saved mine first. When you warned me about that hunter." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Why did you do that? You could've let him kill me and escaped alone."
"I couldn't," I admitted. "I couldn't just watch you die."
"Why not? I'm your enemy."
"Are you?"
The question hung between us like smoke. Kiera's eyes searched mine, looking for something. What, I didn't know.
"You're different from other humans," she finally said. "You see me. Not just an orc or a warrior or an enemy. You see me."
My heart beat so loud I was sure she could hear it. "I do see you, Kiera. I see someone brave and honorable and—"
I stopped myself before saying something I couldn't take back.
"And what?" she pressed, her eyes intense.
Before I could answer, she winced and touched her shoulder. "We should keep moving. Find shelter before those hunters come back with reinforcements."
She stood up, ending the moment. But as we started walking along the ledge, I realized something terrifying.
I was starting to care about Kiera Stone heart. Not as an ally. Not as a mission partner.
As something more.
And in a world where our peoples were tearing each other apart, that feeling was the most dangerous thing I'd ever experienced.
Night fell as we found a small cave to hide in. Kiera built a tiny fire that wouldn't be seen from below. We sat on opposite sides, not talking, both thinking about what almost happened on that ledge.
"Get some sleep," Kiera said. "I'll take first watch."
I lay down but couldn't close my eyes. My mind kept replaying the fight, the moment she saved me, the look in her eyes when our faces were so close.
What was happening to me?
Hours passed. The fire burned low. Kiera sat motionless, staring at the flames.
"Ethan?" she said suddenly.
"Yeah?"
She turned to look at me, and something in her expression made my breath catch. "When we reach the prison tomorrow... when we rescue Thorne... what happens after?"
It was a simple question with a complicated answer. Because after we rescued Thorne, after we exposed the conspiracy, after everything—what then?
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could speak, a sound echoed up from the valley below.
Horns. Lots of them. And they were getting closer.
Kiera jumped to her feet. "No. No, no, no."
"What is it?"
"Those horns. That's not the hunters." Her face went pale. "That's the Silver Covenant's elite forces. Someone must have reported our location." She grabbed her sword. "Ethan, we need to move. Now."
"How many are coming?"
She listened to the horns, counting. Her eyes widened with fear I'd never seen before.
"Fifty. Maybe more." She looked at me, and for the first time since I met her, Kiera Stone heart looked truly afraid. "They're not trying to capture us anymore, E
than. They're bringing enough soldiers to make sure we never leave these mountains alive."