Aurora leaned against a large pine tree, deep in the forest west of Pinewood. She still felt out of breath, her lungs aching from the cold air and long run from the wagons. She pulled the fur-lined cloak she had taken from the wagon more tightly around herself. Her legs were trembling, but she didn’t know if it was from the cold or from the all-out flight through the trees.
She knew she wasn’t fit for this kind of life like her sister was. Carissa was strong and smart and brave, but Aurora didn’t feel like she was any of those things. All she wanted was to be somewhere safe and quiet, but now she was here following a man she barely knew to keep him away from another man they had just escaped from.
She sighed heavily, and wondered where Carissa was. Her sister had gone to scout the area, telling Aurora to stay put. The snow had stopped and night was quickly approaching, bringing a deeper cold that began to penetrate the cloak wrapped around her. She began moving around, trying to keep her body warm, and fight the chill that was creeping into her bones. She heard a rustling behind her and quickly turned around. She couldn’t make out what it was through the blackness, but something was coming closer, and her heart began to race. It wasn’t until the sounds were just a few feet away that she saw who it was. Carissa was moving towards her through the trees, and Aurora felt relief wash through her body.
“Did you find anything?” Aurora asked.
“Yes. Cade’s home is northeast of here,” Carissa replied as she neared.
“Any sign of Silas?”
“None that I could find. I don’t think we should take any chances, though.”
“So we go talk to Cade?”
Carissa nodded in response, and then motioned for Aurora to follow her. She fell into step behind her sister, and tried to keep as close to her as possible. The darkness that surrounded them made it hard for her to keep track of Carissa, but managed to keep up by following the sound of her steps. They traveled like this for a long while before Aurora saw lights through the trees, and knew they must be approaching their destination. They stopped a few moments later, and she saw a house sitting alone near the trees.
“That’s the one,” Carissa whispered.
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Aurora got a sudden feeling of panic.
“What if we get caught? What if Silas is already here?” she asked frantically.
“You are having doubts now?!” Carissa hissed.
“I… I just don’t know if we are doing the right thing.”
Aurora felt her sister take her by the arms and turn her so they were facing each other. They were standing so close that they could make out each other’s face in the dark.
“You chose this path for us,” Carissa whispered. “Right or wrong, this is our way now.”
“I’m not like you. I—,“ she began, but Carissa covered her mouth with a hand.
"Enough. We are here because you decided that Cade’s life meant something. I would have run away to protect myself. You took care not to harm those men who almost discovered us, but I would have threatened or killed them.”
Carissa removed her hand from Aurora’s mouth, and laid it on her cheek.
“You are not like me, and that is the best thing about you. Now shut up and stop whining.”
Aurora could see the faintest of smiles on her sister’s face in the darkness, and the panic inside of her receded. This was the only way they had now, and she had guided them. Now they had to get Cade and his family to safety.
A light caught Aurora’s attention, and her eyes were drawn to the house. The front door had opened and she saw a figure silhouetted in the doorway. She could not make out who it was, until she was the form of a wolf moving into the light spilling out of the entryway.
“It’s him,” she said quietly.
Carissa didn’t respond, and they watched as Cade closed the door behind him. He began walking towards the forest, and Zaka took the lead.
“Should we follow him?” Aurora asked.
“It’s the only choice we have.”
Aurora wondered where he could be going in the middle of the night, and she reached out with her senses to feel for him. She felt emotional turbulence surrounding him, and felt the same tingle she had back in Quill Market.
“He is searching for something,” she said absently.
“What?” Carissa asked quietly.
Aurora pulled her senses back and took a shuddering breath as the tingle crawled up her spine.
“He is looking for something that is connected to his past,” she said more clearly. “Something left by his father.”
“Let's see where he goes.”
They waited until Cade had moved deep into the trees before they broke from their hiding spot. They soon came across the narrow path that he had used to make his way through the forest. They began down the thin trail, and Aurora felt a chill grip her body that had nothing to do with the cold. Something bad was going to happen soon, but she did not know what it was.