t the dull ache of missing a meal, but the deep, hollow kind tha

d prope

tter l

raps o

stance-something m

rest shifted around me as I walked-pines thinning into maple and birch, needles giving way to soft, rotting l

nd in the trail,

learing, each one heavy with dark purple b

rly buckled

ground first. No animal tracks. No brok

d it carefully. Smooth skin. Slightly oval sh

a

e, and I didn't wait any longer.

er. But hunger overpowered everything. I grabbed another handful and ate them slo

, but I forced myse

ack on my elbows as I breathed through the unfamiliar

oft rustle stirred on the o

fr

I pushed myself up onto my elb

es shift

a ri

a

t. Too c

dappled with sunlight, ears flick

complet

ard me. For a moment, our ey

life. They always sensed the scent of Draven's court on me. The

bbed myself raw,

no

step toward the berry bushes, kee

idate it. My pulse softened as I watched it nibb

nside my ch

de of yea

castle wolves, their eyes sharp w

ture in a long time tha

t, I let my

once, then darted away w

t again, I swallowed the ti

like prey... w

t being treate

was

m my fingers, leaving f

was a small blessing. His palace hounds could track a scent across frozen rivers and

t connected

ed. Not

ne girl amon

d with the weigh

ric into a makeshift pouch. As I worked, I kept scanning the trees, tryin

ence re

rely unnatur

forest was s

ver my shoulder, and prepared to le

ing wa

ll de

sensation al

the far bushes-was a patc

m deer

prec

d dug

lodged in

had been he

long

apped twig. A small indentation in the soft soi

e. My fingers tightened around the walkin

I stood hidden, wat

ing

reath of wind.

disturbed soil wou

ne wa

ing-or hiding-in

lpha King

knew how to

into the earth w

se qui

asn't as empt

turned back toward the thicker forest. Sur

n't a

needed to be ev

more

e unpred

hip, I slipped back into the shadows of the

pered nothing, but my ins

being