Ivelle ran.
She had no idea how long she had been running anymore.
The streets had blurred together, one dark alley becoming another, one crooked road leading into another unfamiliar passage. The capital that had seemed so magnificent beneath the afternoon sun now felt like a maze designed to swallow anyone unfortunate enough to become lost inside it.
Her breath came in ragged bursts.
Her foot burned with every step, the old wound protesting violently beneath the pressure she continued to place upon it. She could feel the makeshift socks shifting beneath her shoe, and every time her foot struck the ground, a sharp pain traveled up her leg.
But she refused to stop because behind her, the footsteps continued.
Three men.
Still following.
Still gaining.
Ivelle’s heart hammered against her ribs as she pushed herself harder, clutching the fabric of her dress in one hand so she would not stumble over it.
Why won’t they stop?
She had expected them to give up eventually perhaps, they would grow tired.
Perhaps they would decide she was too much trouble.
Or they would find another woman to harass.
But they had continued following her through every turn she had taken.
The sound of their footsteps had become a dreadful rhythm behind her.
Three sets.
Three shadows.
Three men who seemed determined not to let her disappear.
Ivelle gritted her teeth.
"What kind of beasts are you?"
She didn’t expect an answer.
She only ran.
Her lungs burned, and her legs felt as though they no longer belonged to her. Sweat had dampened her hair, causing several strands to cling to her face, while her chest rose and fell violently beneath the strain.
She stumbled.
Her injured foot nearly gave way but Ivelle caught herself against a wall.
For one terrible second, she thought she would fall.
Then she heard the men behind her.
Closer.
Her eyes widened.
"No."
She pushed away from the wall and continued running.
She couldn’t stop.
Not here, not now.
She had to get away.
Then, through the pounding of her heartbeat and the harsh sound of her own breathing, something else reached her ears.
Water.
Ivelle slowed for half a second.
Her head turned and there it was again, the unmistakable rush of water.
Her eyes widened.
A river.
Hope suddenly surged through her exhaustion, She knew how to swim.
More than that, she was an excellent swimmer.
As a child in Briarhollow, whenever she could escape her chores, she had spent hours near the river outside the village. She had learned to swim before she had properly learned how to mend her own clothes, and over the years, the water had become one of the few places where she had ever felt completely free.
Bless her mother for that!
A smile almost broke across her face.
For the first time that night, she saw a way out.
"They can’t catch me in the water."
The thought gave her strength and she turned toward the sound and ran.
The men behind her shouted something, but Ivelle didn’t bother listening.
She followed the rushing water, moving faster despite the agony in her foot.
Then something dark flashed at the corner of her vision.
Ivelle’s head turned instinctively.
Nothing.
Only the narrow passage ahead and the darkness gathering around the buildings.
She frowned.
Had she imagined it?
There was no time to investigate, she only kept running.
The sound of water grew louder.
The road beneath her feet began to slope downward.
She could feel the dampness in the air now, the scent of river water filled her nose.
Then the darkness opened before her.
Ivelle stopped.
Her breath caught.
She had expected a river.
Instead, she found a steep drop beyond the end of the stone path.
Water rushed down from somewhere above, cascading over the edge of the cliff before plunging into the dark river below.
It looked almost like a waterfall.
Moonlight touched the falling water, turning it silver for brief moments before it disappeared into the darkness beneath.
Ivelle stared.
There was no bridge, Nor safe path around it.
Only the rushing water below.
Her relief vanished.
Behind her came the sound of approaching footsteps and Ivelle slowly turned.
The three men emerged from the darkness.
They were breathing heavily, but unlike her, they did not look ready to collapse.
One of them smiled when he saw where she had ended up.
"That’s far enough."
Ivelle backed toward the edge.
The river roared below her and the man stepped closer, "Come quietly," he said. "You’ve run enough."
Ivelle’s chest rose and fell rapidly, she glanced toward the water then back at them.
The man noticed and his smile widened.
"Don’t even think about it."
Another man stepped beside him.
"If you move backward, you’re going to die."
Ivelle looked over her shoulder, the water churned far below.
For an ordinary person, perhaps it would have been terrifying.
For Ivelle, it was different.
She knew water and she trusted it.
And she knew exactly how deep she could go before panic became dangerous.
The first man extended his hand.
"Come here."
Ivelle stared at his hand.
Then at his face, and then at the water and a strange calm settled over her.
"No."
The man’s expression hardened. "What did you say?"
Ivelle lifted her chin. "I said no."
"Don’t make this difficult."
Ivelle gave him a bitter smile. "Over my dead body will I come to you."
The man’s face twisted.
"You foolish—"
Ivelle stepped backward and the men immediately lunged forward but she was already moving.
She turned and threw herself over the edge.
"Hey!"
Their voices exploded behind her and for one brief moment, the world disappeared.
There was only wind.
Then—
SPLASH!
The cold water swallowed her whole.
The impact drove the air from her lungs.
Darkness surrounded her as she sank beneath the surface.
Above her, the moonlight fractured into trembling silver pieces, Ivelle forced herself not to panic, she had done this countless times before.
She kicked upward and her body broke through the surface.
She inhaled sharply.
Cold water streamed down her face as she looked toward the cliff.
The three men stood above her.
One of them was staring at her in disbelief.
"You damn witch!"
Another cursed beneath his breath.
"She couldn’t have taken the easy way and saved us all this trouble!"
Their voices became faint as Ivelle moved away from the cliff.
She didn’t answer.
She simply turned onto her back for a moment, allowing the water to carry her farther from them.
Then she began swimming.
Her movements were steady and practiced.
Stroke after stroke.
The current pushed against her, but she adjusted her body and continued moving.
She had escaped like she had actually escaped!
A small laugh almost escaped her lips.
Perhaps the night had finally decided to show her some mercy.
Ivelle swam farther into the darkness, leaving the waterfall behind.
She didn’t notice the figure standing at the edge of the river and she didn’t hear the faint movement from the rocks nearby.
She didn’t see the shadow watching her approach.
Her attention remained on the water ahead.
Then—
Something cold touched the side of her neck.
Ivelle froze.
A sharp blade pressed against her skin and her breath caught.
Slowly, very carefully, she stopped moving the water continued flowing around her.
Her heart began pounding again.
But this time, it wasn’t because she was running.
A voice came from behind her, low and dangerously calm.
"Don’t move."
Ivelle’s entire body went rigid.
She swallowed... How had she not hear that someone was her?
The blade pressed slightly closer.
And suddenly, the river she had believed was her escape felt like another trap.