Bound to the North {Complete!}

28| Bonds Forever Broken

Finn POV    

Guilt. That was all I could feel at the moment. Irene was gone...because of me. I didn't know who shot that arrow...they'd disappeared before I saw their face. But they'd been aiming at me. Unless it was a terrible misfire, which I doubted, Irene had jumped in front of that arrow in my place.

The funny thing was, the arrow was shot from the elf side of the border. Who in the elf kingdom would want me dead?

I looked out the window, and it was a little past sunset. The front door to my dwelling opened, and Amara stomped in angrily. "Where where you?" she demanded.

I looked at the wall, avoiding her gaze, not wanting to answer.

"You missed the entire day of duty!" Amara practically screamed.

"Amara!" I yelled. "Calm down."

"Don't tell me to c—"

"You're being ridiculous!" I scolded. "What happened to the Amara who would skip duty with me to hang out in town all day, going to bakeries and little shops?"

Lost for words, her mouth hung open slightly.

"I miss her," I concluded. "I miss actually spending time with my sister."

Her eyes then seemed to light up with an idea. "Why don't we go Beast hunting?" she asked suddenly.

"That was a little random..." I said hesitantly.

"Come on," she groaned, smiling and punching my arm. "We can spend time together and help the kingdom."

I sighed. "Fine," I muttered. 

                                       ***
"Why are we going toward the East Woods?" I asked worriedly. The one area on elf territory that even my father feared, the East Woods were rumored to be a place that elves went into and never came out of. "There's supposed to be—"

"—Alpha Beasts?" my sister scoffed. "Grow up, Finn. You know that's just a story. All Beasts are the same: weak."

I bit my lip nervously as the two of us stepped into the shadows of the trees. The canopy above our heads was so thick, I couldn't even see the moon.

We walked in silence, undisturbed for what seemed like miles. I began to zone out, focusing my thoughts back onto Irene and the previous day's events. I still felt so bad. I didn't even want to imagine what Serena was feeling right now.

Out of the blue, I felt a hand clap me on the back, pushing me forward. The ground then gave way under my feet, sending me tumbling into a gaping hole. I landed on a floor of hard rock, and felt my leg make a painful crunching noise.

"A—Amara?" I called fearfully. No reply. She couldn't have been the one to push me...could she?

A crackly hissing noise abruptly echoed through the area, which looked to be a cave in the dull light.

A huge, moving entity's shadow appeared in the corner of the cavern. I jumped to my feet, ignoring the stabbing pain in my leg, and drew my bow, preparing to fight.

The hissing creature moved closer to me, and the light illuminated its form. I recoiled in fear, not able to believe what my own eyes were seeing.

"H—Hydra!!!" I screamed, too terrified to move. All three pairs of its beady eyes stared menacingly right at me, and venom literally dripped from its three sets of sharp-looking fangs. It opened its mouths again and hissed, its long tongues making eerie rattling noises.