Page 69 of Blackheart

“Maybe from you.”

I don’t know what had possessed me, but even the ice up to my thighs couldn’t stop my face from flushing. I tucked a loose strand of hair back, pulling myself together.

Riven pushed on, picking up his pace and leaving me to fall behind again. He turned to check on me every so often, and when he did, I would catch myself longing for him to walk beside me.

Maybe spending days hanging from a tree had given me brain damage, or perhaps I was ill.

My mind wandered to Luna, and all of the things I would tell her if I ever saw her again. She wasn’t one to die. What adventures was she was having outside the walls?

When we finally stopped, it was only for water and for Riven to have a smoke.

My legs ached, but my feet were worse. How was I going to tell Riven I could not keep up like this? How was I supposed to meet my brother,who everyone regarded as a ‘great warrior’ when I could not even walk a day through snow?

I wanted nothing more than to take off my icy, wet boots and change into something dry.

God, I hated winter.

Riven exhaled a cloud of smoke before flicking the ash and pushing himself away from a tree. My legs had gone numb to the point I wasn’t sure I would be able to get back up.

“Ready?” he asked, peering down at me.

“I believe we’re only waiting on you.”

Several arduous hours later, Kostini and Riven were still doing fine. I was not.

The path became a downhill slope through the trees, and while I thought that would be a nice treat, it was the opposite. Keeping my balance was a feat, and my pace continued to drag. Riven slowed some for me, but even the horse easily kept ahead.

Pain may have radiated through me, consuming my weak body, but determination sang louder. I would not stop.

A day of discomfort would not kill me, but failing to make it to Castivian could kill thousands.

With every slippery, miserable movement, I picked which trees to balance against and what patches seemed the safest.Pure willpower took over, and time seemed to go by faster. As we continued down the hill, the snow lessened, and in some areas, the grass showed.

I carelessly stepped on a seemingly clear patch, but it was camouflaged ice.

My ankle rolled, and down the hill I went.

“That’s one way to catch up,” Riven said, lunging in a failed attempt to stop me.

I cursed and flailed as I slid past him, crashing right into Kostini’s legs.

Kostini bucked up in a panic. His hoof came down, crushing the center of my arm.

The crack and my following scream were deafening.

Riven raced down the hill, shooing Kostini back as I gagged in agony, holding my sagging arm as if it would mend the bones back together.

Crouched down, Riven surveyed the injury with a grimace, cursing under his breath. Not daring to touch me.

No matter how little I moved, every shattered piece of my arm wailed in misery. The King's Mark looked like a melted puddle, unrecognizable. I exhaled sharply through my nose, teeth chattering at the pain.

“I’m going to have to wrap it,” Riven said with finality, hopping up to get the pack.

As miserable as it was going to be, I didnothike through trenches of snow all day just to miss the ship over a broken bone.

Riven returned with two torn shirts tied together.

I held my wobbly arm out through the fiery pain. It was practically a sack of bones, with no proper structure.