Hestian clenched his fists, trying to stop his hands from shaking. He was terrified that he would mess up and accidentally lose control and hurt Thea or himself.

  Hestian bit his lip. He didn’t have much practice, only using his powers to help him survive in the bitterly cold streets of his childhood. He had not been willing to take the risk of being seen. The boy had been young, but smart. He’d had to be. He would not have survived otherwise.

  Over the past few months - since he had sought refuge in the woods - he had tried to learn how to control his powers and make up for lost time. But, he had not made as much progress as he would have liked.

  He glanced at the girl. She was still asleep, her head resting on his shoulder. He knew that she would be embarrassed when she woke up, but Hestian didn’t mind the physical touch. It was almost comforting. He had never had company that lasted this long - he travelled too often to make or keep relationships. He didn’t know the first step to friendship.

  Hestian was learning as he went on. He had only met Thea a little over a week ago, but he felt that they were close enough that he could call her his friend. However, he wasn’t sure the feeling was mutual.

  From the time he had known her, Thea had been distrusting and suspicious. It seemed that she was only putting up with him to save her own skin. He hoped that wasn’t true, but Thea seemed extremely fed up with him, especially over the last few days. Hestian supposed it was his fault, though. He had led her down the wrong path and nearly gotten them both killed after promising to lead her to safety.

  A sudden bang and a chorus of angry voices startled him out of his thoughts. Hestian carefully sat up - making sure not to jostle the girl - and leaned forward, straining to see the cause of the outburst.

  The hunters were in a circle around their tree. One of them was holding an axe, prepared to strike the trunk. Another held a spear and gestured angrily to the two Uniques, talking to the rest of the group. The hunter glanced back at the tree and met Hestian’s eyes, glaring at the boy as he twirled the weapon expertly. He shouted something, and though Hestian couldn’t make it out, he was certain it wasn’t nice.

  Hestian gulped. The hunters had already tried scaling the tree, but the bulky men had given up before they had even reached halfway. One of the women had tried too, only to fall backward after attempting to balance on one of the branches. She had disappeared into the tent and he hadn’t seen her since. He suspected that she was more injured than she had initially let on.

  The hunters weren’t very good at archery either. The closest arrow that they had shot had been a few feet away from his foot. Hestian wondered briefly why a group of dumb, inexperienced cowards would be hired into the King’s forces. But, he supposed they did have one strength: the hunters were ruthless. They wouldn’t relent until the two Uniques were dead...or captured.

  Hestian shuddered. He had been in Rae’s prisons once before and it was not an experience he wished to repeat. He still had scars on his neck and back from the things he had been forced to endure there. He owed his life to the rebels that had broken him out.

  If he got thrown into prison again, the guards would search up his records and see that he was a criminal. Based on what he had done against the government in the past year, he had no doubt that they would hang him.

  That was why the plan was so important. They had decided to execute their strategy in the afternoon, where the bright sun would make sure that the smoke from the fire would be seen.

  Thea would distract the hunters and keep a lookout while he would jump to the next tree and get as far away as he could to set the fire. The hunters would likely notice, so it would have to be big enough that it would be impossible for them to extinguish. Once it was lit, he would stay by the fire to make sure nothing got out of control. He probably wouldn’t be able to get back to Thea until they were rescued.

  Hestian felt nauseous just thinking about it. He had used his powers a few times before, but it was always for small things. The bare minimum to ensure he didn’t freeze to death. He had never done something this big and risky before, and he was worried that he would screw it up. This was the first time that he had worked in a team. The first time someone’s life depended on him. He wasn’t sure if he liked the responsibility or not. He had already broken Thea’s trust by getting them into this situation, and he didn’t know if she would stay with him if he broke it again.

  They had a contingency in place in case the plan didn’t work out. Thea hadn’t liked it, but she had finally agreed that their options were limited and there was only so much that they could do.

  He wasn’t sure why Thea was so reluctant to fight the hunters. He was confident that they would be able to win a battle. But, she was strongly against violence, which he had a hard time understanding. How had she survived this long without fighting?

  Not only that, she had refused at the mere idea of using her powers. He understood her fear. Not many Uniques knew how to properly use and control their abilities. There was always the risk that one may hurt a loved one.

  But, at the same time, she was being unreasonable. They were in a position of life and death. Their time was running out and she would have to learn to get over it. Their chances of survival were slim without their powers. But, as much as he disagreed with it, he would respect her boundaries. He didn’t want to force the girl to do anything she didn’t want to.

  Hestian covered his eyes with one hand and tilted his head back to examine the sun. It was nearly on top of the sky. They would have to act now if they wanted a full day of sunlight.

  He gently shook Thea’s arm until she stirred and her eyes opened groggily. It only took a second for her to realize that she was leaning on him. Her eyes widened and she jerked upright to a sitting position, her hand going up to rub her cheek where it had been resting against his arm.

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  He chuckled, “I’m not coated in poison.”

  She blushed and her hand fell away from her face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. You should have woken me up.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t mind.”

  Thea ducked her head and her blush deepened. After a moment, she looked back up and glanced at the hunters.

  “Are you ready?”

  He nodded and ignored the pit in his stomach. “Yes. Are you?”

  She hesitated and finally shrugged, turning back to look at him. “I just hope everything goes according to plan.”

  Hestian laughed. “You think I’m going to mess up, don’t you?”

  Thea bit her lip. “No, I trust you.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Thea hesitated. “I just think we should prepare for the worst. Things rarely go according to plan.”

  There was something she wasn’t telling him. He could see it in her eyes. Even though probing her hadn’t gone so well last time, he couldn’t help himself.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Thea turned her head to look at him. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re worried about something.”

  “Of course I’m worried. Our lives are on the line.”

  “You misunderstood,” Hestian said. “You’re thinking about something outside of all this. What is it?”

  She chewed her lip and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It won’t interfere with the plan.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Hestian whispered. “I’m worried about you.”

  She stared at him quizzingly and tilted her head to the side. “What? Why?”

  “It doesn’t seem like you’re okay.”

  “I am,” she replied quickly.

  “You don’t have to be. It’s okay not to be okay.”

  “I’m always okay.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yes.”

  He studied her for a minute before sighing. “Then who’s Adam?”

  She reacted just like he thought she would. Her dark eyes widened and horror crossed her face before she shook her head again. “I-I don’t-can we just stick to the plan? We’re already short on time.”

  “Eight days ago...the night when we went to the river. You took watch in the tree and you said his name and how sorry you were. Why were you-”

  “Hestian.” Her voice was sharp as she interrupted him. “Please stop.”

  “Not until you tell me.”

  Their eyes met and Thea swallowed and looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Come on, Thea. What are you hiding from me?”

  “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I’m just trying to help.”

  “Well, you aren’t.” Her voice turned icy. “What’s your problem anyway? Why do you care so much?”

  Her question made him pause for a second and he hesitated. “I’m just worried, that’s all.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about me, I’m fine. Please just leave me alone.”

  He felt guilty for pushing her - she was obviously distressed and didn’t want to talk about it - but he knew that it wasn’t healthy to bottle things up. He knew what it was like to feel alone with no one to open up to and he wanted the girl to know he was there for her. He hesitated before relenting once more, not feeling very inclined to get into an argument.

  “If you need anything, you know you can always talk to me, right?”

  Thea glanced at him and she chewed her lip. “Thank you, but it’s not like that. It’s not something that I want to talk about. I know you mean well, but please don’t bring it up again.”

  “I was just trying to help.”

  “I know.” Thea gave him a small smile. “And that means a lot. It’s just too painful to talk about.”

  He nodded. “Sorry for prying.”

  “It’s okay.”

  They lapsed into an awkward silence until Hestian gestured to the ground and dug around in his pocket for the sharp sticks they had broken off the tree. “Cover me?”

  Thea nodded and she moved forward, taking the sticks from his hand as she studied the group. She bit her lip and her eyes narrowed before her arm reared back and she threw one. The large twig hit the back of a hunter’s head and the man turned around in surprise. His eyes searched the sky where the stick had come from. Despite the thick tension, Hestian couldn’t help but press a hand to his mouth to stifle a chuckle at the man’s expression.

  Thea threw another one and hit him again, straight in the forehead. The man shouted something and put his arms over his head to avoid more sticks.

  She had incredible aim and it made Hestian wonder what she could do with a dagger. She hit him in the arm the third time and the man's eyes wandered the trees until they rested on the girl. He snarled and clutched his spear threateningly.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Thea merely smiled at him and leaned forward to yell back, “Just having some fun. Care to join?”

  The man glared at her. “You just wait until I get my hands on you.”

  “It’ll take a few lifetimes for that to happen, judging by the pace things are going.”

  The hunter growled and recoiled in surprise as another stick hit him, this one poking him in the eye. His face screwed up in pain for a moment before he cursed loudly and clutched a hand to the wound. The hunter headed into the tent where the injured women had gone in yesterday and Hestian laughed, glancing sideways at Thea.

  He frowned at her expression. Her mouth was slightly open in shock and her face was pale.

  “You good?”

  She nodded. “I only meant to create a distraction, not hurt him.”

  His forehead furrowed in confusion as he tried to console her. “It’s okay, you didn’t mean it. It was a mistake.”

  She nodded again and gestured to the trees.“You should get going. With their leader incapacitated, for now, they probably won’t notice you. This is the best time for you to leave.”

  He dipped his head and began to climb quietly down the branch.

  “Good luck,” Thea whispered.

  He craned his head up to look at her. “Thanks. I’m going to need it.”