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. Thebbed 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

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