A Savior of Flames

Chapter 10

We aren't even an hour into our ride when I feel like something isn't right. I feel like the hair on my arms is rising. I dig my fingers into Rowan's arm, that is curled around me holding the reins. "Something is wrong." He stills, no doubt using that enhanced hearing of his.

"Hooves, someone is coming." He raises his voice. "We either need to run, or fight." I half turn, enough so he can see my face.

"Where could we run that they won't find us?" His expression is pained.

"I know. But not all of your siblings are ready to fight. And there are many of them following. It could be the general." Abraxis rides up next to us.

"If it's the General, we should run. He never travels with less than twenty Riders. Even in your Dragon form it wouldn't be an even fight. We need to run far and fast." Rowan nods in agreement, and with a silent command, we all don our facial coverings. There isn't an abundance of people traveling the roads, but we aren't going to take any chances. Rowan spurs our horse, and the rest follow close behind. Hours pass at the fast pace. Between my feeling of something still being off and Rowan's rigid posture, I know they still follow. We are still at least three hours from the next town at our fast pace, but with our pursuers, I don't know if we will stop. My eyes droop, despite my entire body being uneasy. I slouch against Rowan, and I feel him relax a bit.

"If you're tired Princess, you should sleep." I faintly feel bad that no one else can rest, but my eyelids betray me, and I sink further against Rowan. He frees one of his hands from the reins and it rests against my stomach, where the end of my dagger tattoo is. I smile up at him sleepily, opening my eyes a sliver. He smiles down at me, leaning over to kiss my forehead. "Sleep, you need rest." I still my mind and let his warmth lull me into sleep.

******

My eyes flutter open, and I'm still nestled in Rowan's warm arms. The moon has risen higher in the sky, but I haven't slept for too long. But while I slept, Rowan's stiff posture from earlier feels more relaxed. My eyes wander up to his face, and he steals a glance down at me. We share a smile, and I definitely know he is much more relaxed now.

"Are they still following?" His head shakes.

"No, we lost them about an hour ago." The horses are all walking now, our pace much more comfortable. Rowan pulls me up straighter against him. My back aches from the awkward position I was sleeping in. "We are going to stop soon, the horses are tired. We're not near any villages though, so we'll have to find a cave or somewhere safe." Rowan conveys the same message to the others. Rohanna and Abraxis say they might know of some caves nearby. Being Dark Riders, I wouldn't doubt that. They have probably traveled a lot. Rowan's free arm snakes around my torso, clutching me to him.

As Rohanna said, there were some caves nearby, but none of them were big enough to fit the entire group inside. Splitting up felt wrong, but we knew we had to. Celeste stayed with Rowan and I, Clarissa and Rohanna took one cave, and Rhiannon and Abraxis claimed the last one. If Celeste hadn't gone with Rowan and I, someone else was going to. I could tell by the look on Rohanna's face. But I have the feeling that Celeste has a lot of questions. We split into our groups, with the reassurance that at any sign of danger, we all gather at the agreed on meeting point. I tether my horse at the mouth of the cave, Celeste and Rowan doing the same. We grab our saddle bags and make our way inside. The cave floor is a fine sand, not a bad thing to sleep on, but it's going to be on my bedroll forever, I just know it. We all make our beds for the night, and Rowan prepares the fire. Rohanna had handed out some of the food Mrs. Laura packed before we had separated. I sit on my bedroll, munching on the sandwich. The cave is cramped, but with Rowan and I sleeping next to each other, there is plenty of room for the three of us and the fire to fit comfortably. Rowan folds himself down next to me, and I hand him the uneaten half of my sandwich. He practically devours it. Celeste has been watching us with interest. Rowan pulls out a second sandwich and eats that as well. I unlace my boots and belt, setting them to the side.