Chapter 15 BREAKING OUT OR DYING TRYING

Chapter 15 BREAKING OUT OR DYING TRYING
ETHAN'S POV
"Run!" The young orc warrior shoved me forward. "Commander Vex's trackers are coming!"
We crashed through the forest. Branches whipped my face. Roots tried to trip me. Behind us, war horns echoed off the mountain.
Thorne stumbled. Kiera and I caught him before he fell.
"I'm slowing you down," Thorne gasped. Blood dripped from his mouth. "Leave me."
"Not happening," I said firmly.
An arrow slammed into a tree next to my head. I ducked instinctively.
"They're getting closer!" The young orc looked back, his eyes wide with fear. "We need to—"
A net fell from the trees above. It landed on two orc warriors, tangling them completely. They crashed to the ground.
"Ambush!" Kiera shouted.
Silver Covenant soldiers dropped from the branches. They'd been waiting for us. Hiding like spiders.
We were surrounded again.
A soldier grabbed my arm. I twisted free and punched him in the face. My knuckles exploded with pain but he let go.
Kiera fought three soldiers at once. Even helping Thorne stand, she moved like lightning. Her sword flashed in the sunlight.
But there were too many.
A soldier kicked my legs out from under me. I hit the ground hard. Air rushed from my lungs. Someone put a boot on my chest, pinning me down.
"Got the traitor!" the soldier yelled triumphantly.
I struggled but couldn't move. The boot pressed harder. I couldn't breathe.
Then the young orc warrior was there. He tackled the soldier off me and helped me up.
"Thank you," I wheezed.
"Thank me later. Run now."
We ran again. My chest hurt with every breath. Thorne leaned heavily on both Kiera and me. His leg dragged with each step.
More soldiers appeared ahead of us. Behind us. To the sides. They were herding us like sheep.
"They're pushing us toward the cliffs," Kiera realized. "They want to trap us against the edge."
She was right. Through the trees, I saw open sky. We were running out of forest.
"What do we do?" I asked desperately.
"Fight," Kiera said. "We fight until we can't anymore."
We burst out of the trees onto a cliff overlooking a river far below. The drop was terrifying. At least a hundred feet straight down.
Behind us, soldiers emerged from the forest. So many soldiers. Fifty. Maybe more. They formed a half-circle, blocking our escape.
We stood at the cliff's edge with nowhere left to run.
Commander Vex walked through the line of soldiers. Up close, he was even more frightening. His black armor had scratches and dents from countless battles. His eyes were cold and empty.
"Well, well," he said smoothly. "The rabbit runs right into the trap."
"Let them go," Kiera demanded. "Your fight is with me."
Vex laughed. It was a terrible sound. "My fight is with anyone who opposes Lady Seraphina. And you've all opposed her quite publicly."
"The war is based on lies," Thorne said, his voice weak but steady. "Lady Seraphina attacked her own villages. She started this war for power."
"I know," Vex said simply. "I was there when she gave the orders. I helped burn those villages myself."
The casual way he admitted it made my blood freeze.
"You killed innocent people," I said. "Your own people. How could you?"
"Because Lady Seraphina promised me something precious." Vex smiled. "Power. When she rules both kingdoms, I'll command all military forces. Human and orc. Everyone will bow to me."
"You're a monster," Kiera spat.
"Perhaps. But I'm a monster who always wins." Vex drew his sword. "Now, you have two choices. Jump off this cliff, or die by my blade. Either way, you're not leaving this mountain."
The soldiers advanced. Their swords pointed at us. We backed toward the cliff edge until our heels hung over empty air.
I looked at Kiera. Tears filled her eyes but her jaw was set with determination.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry I got you into this."
"You didn't get me into anything. I chose this." She squeezed my hand. "I chose you."
My heart broke and soared at the same time.
The young orc warrior stepped forward, placing himself between us and the soldiers. The other orc warriors did the same. They formed a shield wall with their bodies.
"You'll have to go through us first," the young orc said.
Vex sighed. "How noble. How pointless." He raised his hand to signal the attack.
This was it. We were going to die on this cliff.
But then something impossible happened.
A soldier screamed. An arrow jutted from his shoulder. He fell.
Another arrow. Another soldier down.
"What—" Vex spun around, confusion crossing his face.
Arrows rained from the forest. But not at us. At the soldiers.
"It's another ambush!" a soldier yelled. "We're under attack!"
Through the trees, I saw movement. Lots of movement. More orcs were coming. Dozens of them.
"How many warriors did you bring?" I asked the young orc in shock.
"I only brought twelve," he said, looking just as surprised. "These are—oh no."
"Oh no what?" Kiera demanded.
"That's my father's war horn. He brought the entire clan."
Orc warriors exploded from the forest like a green tide. They crashed into Vex's soldiers with overwhelming force. The battle became chaos instantly.
"Move!" Kiera grabbed Thorne and me. "While they're distracted!"
We ran along the cliff edge, away from the fighting. The young orc and his warriors stayed behind to fight, buying us time to escape.
My legs burned. My lungs screamed. But I kept running.
Behind us, Commander Vex roared orders. "After them! Don't let the traitors escape!"
We plunged back into the forest. The sounds of battle faded behind us but not far enough. Never far enough.
"There!" Kiera pointed to a narrow path between rocks. "That way!"
We squeezed through the gap. It led downward, away from the cliff. Away from the prison. Away from certain death.
But we weren't safe yet.
Hours passed. Maybe days. Time blurred together. We walked until our feet bled. Rested only when Thorne collapsed from exhaustion. Ate nothing because we had no food.
Finally, when the sun started setting, we found a cave hidden behind a waterfall. We stumbled inside and collapsed.
"We made it," I said, hardly believing it. "We actually escaped."
"Did we?" Thorne asked quietly.
Something in his voice made me look up. His face was grave. Sad, even.
"What do you mean?"
"Ethan, you just broke into a Silver Covenant prison. You freed a prisoner they were torturing for information. You fought royal soldiers." Thorne met my eyes. "You're not a deserter anymore. You're a traitor. They'll hunt you for the rest of your life."
The words hit me like a punch. He was right. I could never go home. Could never see my father or sister again. My name would be spoken with disgust. Everything I was, everything I could've been—gone.
"I had to," I said. "They were lying about the war. They were"
"I know." Thorne reached out and gripped my shoulder. "You did the right thing. But doing the right thing doesn't mean it won't cost you everything."
Kiera sat beside me. She didn't say anything. Just put her hand over mine.
"Thorne," she said after a long silence, "you said you had information about the conspiracy. Information worth torturing you for."
"Yes."
"Tell us."
Thorne took a shaky breath. "I wasn't always a soldier. Before the war, I was a peace negotiator between our peoples. I worked with humans and orcs who wanted to prevent exactly this kind of conflict."
"What happened?" I asked.
"Lady Seraphina happened. She discovered our peace talks and destroyed them. Had most of the negotiators killed. I only survived because I went into hiding." Thorne's voice cracked. "But I kept investigating. Kept gathering evidence. And I learned something important."
"What?"
"There's someone in the human royal family who knows the truth. Someone who's been secretly investigating Lady Seraphina for months." Thorne looked at both of us. "Princess Elena. The king's daughter."
My heart leaped. "Princess Elena knows about the conspiracy?"
"Not just knows. She has evidence. Documents. Proof that could end this war and destroy the Silver Covenant forever." Thorne leaned back against the cave wall, exhausted. "She's our only hope of exposing Lady Seraphina."
"Then we go to the capital," Kiera said. "We find Princess Elena and give her our evidence too."
"It's not that simple." Thorne closed his eyes. "Elena is in the capital city, Silverpeak. She's surrounded by nobles, guards, and advisors half of whom work for Lady Seraphina. The Silver Covenant has spies everywhere."
"So we sneak in," I suggested.
"Sneak into the most heavily guarded city in the kingdom? With every soldier looking for you? With a bounty on your head that's probably triple by now?" Thorne shook his head. "Even if we somehow reached the city, getting to Princess Elena would be impossible. She's watched constantly."
"There has to be a way," Kiera insisted.
"Maybe. But I don't know what it is." Thorne's voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Princess Elena is our only hope. Without her, we have no proof anyone will believe. Without her, this war continues until one side is completely destroyed. But she's in the capital city surrounded by the very people who want us dead."
He looked at us with hollow eyes.
"We'll never reach her alive."
Silence filled the cave. The waterfall rushed outside, drowning out all other sounds.
I thought about my father. My sister. My home. Everything I'd lost.
I thought about Marcus, who probably hated me now.
I thought about all the soldiers dying in a war based on lies.
"We have to try," I said quietly. "Even if we die trying, we have to try."
Kiera nodded. "Agreed."
Thorne studied us both for a long moment. Then, slowly, he smiled.
"You're both either the bravest people I've ever met, or the most foolish." He struggled to sit up straighter. "Probably both. But you're right. We try."
"So how do we reach a princess in a guarded city?" Kiera asked.
Before anyone could answer, a sound echoed from outside the cave. A sound that made my heart stop.
Footsteps. Many footsteps. Coming toward our hiding place.
Kiera jumped to her feet, sword drawn. "Someone followed us."
"Impossible," the young orc warrior whispered. "We covered our tracks."
The footsteps grew louder. Closer. Dozens of people approaching through the forest.
We pressed against the back of the cave. Trapped again. Nowhere to run.
A figure appeared at the waterfall entrance. Then another. And another.
They wore black cloaks with hoods covering their faces.
The first figure lowered their hood. My jaw dropped.
It was Marcus.
My best friend stood at the entrance to our cave. But he wasn't alone. Behind him were at least twenty soldiers. All armed. All staring at
us.
"Hello, Ethan," Marcus said. His voice was cold. Empty. Nothing like the friend I remembered. "We need to talk."