OverRun ~ Excerpt

Secrets are truth,

that have never been told.

Hidden and buried,

pain they withhold.

Words hold more power,

than arrow or magic.

Play the game right,

or the reveal will be tragic.

OverRun ~ CHAPTER ONE

Nova rode in silence, following a man she shouldn’t. His hips swayed in the saddle, his legs hung against his mount. His traitor head swiveled as he scanned the forest, and Nova forged forward, following Chael’s lead only because of his promise— that he would find her family. He would show her where the queen had hidden them. But he made a similar promise before, one that resulted in a fight to the death, nearly a fight to her own demise. And Nova knew she didn’t trust Chael any more now than she did then.

Chael twisted his torso, glancing back. Nova sat up straight, meeting his eyes. Her horse, River, perked his ears, responding to her sudden movement. Even in her emotional fog, Nova assessed Chael’s every move. She was continuously looking for any hint of defiance, for any reason to run or to fight.

“We should find a place to sleep. Won’t be long ‘til sunset,” Chael noted. Nova glared back, not wanting to stop until she found her family. She could do without sleep or food.

“The clouds are low,” Chael added when she didn’t respond. “If we ride into the night, there’ll be no moon to guide us. It’s too dangerous. And the horses need a break.”

Nova slatted her eyes, not appreciating his stab at her thoughts, but also annoyed that Chael managed to hit her soft spot. Nova could go on, but she wouldn’t risk River’s health. 

Chael rode up a sharp bank and the weapon slung across his back shifted. As Nova followed in his tracks, she couldn’t take her eyes off his sword’s hilt. It jutted out from the leather sheath and was enough to remind Nova of Chael’s final act in the menagerie— when he slit the queen’s throat with one swift jerk.

Savage.

Both Nova and Chael had washed the Queen’s blood from their bodies, but Nova felt stained by its touch, like she’d never forget the sick feeling it gave her. Chael, on the other hand, didn’t seem disturbed.  He acted like today was just another day. That unsettled her.

“Let’s ride as far as we can before sunset,” Nova announced. “I don’t care where we sleep.” Sleep came at the end of the day, when all tasks were complete— not when her dad and Asher were out there somewhere, imprisoned by another demented monarchy.

Nova ran her fingers through River’s red mane, letting the tresses soothe her skin and her anxieties. Then she took a deep breath. If he leads us astray, I’ll kill him, she decided, only trusting Chael’s navigation because she had no other choice. Seeming to agree with her thoughts, River gave a snort and Nova scratched his neck. Not now, Riv. We’ll only kill him if he deceives us . . . again.

Chael hopped off his horse’s back and Nova jerked, his dismount breaking her thoughts.

“We’re not going to make it much farther,” he said, gathering his horse’s reins and leading the gray steed into deep brush. “Let’s settle here for the night. There’s a stream for the horses to drink.”

Reluctantly, Nova followed Chael into the brush, scanning their surroundings as she ducked under low hanging branches. She rode straight to the stream, knowing River was thirsty. When they reached the water, he immediately lowered his head and gulped. Wanting to get a drink herself, Nova slid to the ground. She completely forgot about her injured foot until she hit the earth and a searing pain nearly buckled her knees.

“You okay?” Chael asked as Nova bent over and made a hissing noise, followed by a few cuss words. Then she pressed her elbows into her thighs and tried not to yelp.

When the shooting pain subsided, Nova looked up from her folded position. Three sets of eyes stared back at her. River nickered from the stream, water droplets falling from his bottom lip. The gray horse stood tall, looking offended by her hissing and cussing. Chael was walking toward her.

“My foot,” she reminded Chael, and immediately put a palm in the air to stop his advances. “I’m fine. It’s just swollen from the ride.” And from your girlfriend trying to cut off my toes, Nova thought, remembering how Jade had pulled a sword through thin air with her magic and then sliced into the top of Nova’s foot.

“You should take your boot off,” Chael said. “Soak it in the stream. That will help with the swelling.”

“I will,” Nova replied, turning away, not wanting his help. She straightened up and hobbled over to the edge of the stream, trying not to wince with each step. Once on the ground Nova tugged desperately at her boot, wanting to release the pressure on her swollen foot. When the boot finally gave way, the bandage came with it and the gash across the top of her foot hit the open air.

Chael sucked in a breath behind her. “That looks awful.”

“Can’t be any worse than my other injuries,” she said, and lowered her foot into the shallow stream. The cold mountain water immediately whooshed through her toes and a swirl of red plumed up and floated away. As the cold water cleaned her foot and dulled the pain, Nova thought of all her other bruises and bumps. She’d been wrestled, choked, and knocked out multiple times in a matter of a few days. Nova wondered if she should just lay flat in the stream and let the icy water numb her whole body.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Chael moved upstream and filled two canteens full of water. “I packed bread and smoked meats. You hungry?”

Nova watched him crouch by the stream and wondered what else Chael had packed. His saddle bags were bursting at the seams. “I packed bread, too,” she replied, pointing to the pack on her back, not wanting to accept more help than necessary.

“Suit yourself, but keep your energy up. We’ve got a long trek ahead of us,” he replied, and walked back to his horse, where he tucked the canteens in his already full saddle bags.

Suddenly, Nova wondered how far they had to go. She had one loaf of bread, a bundle of carrots, a knife, a cloak, and bandages for her foot. Would that be enough? “How much farther?” she asked, realizing she’d been so caught up in her thoughts of magic and murder that she hadn’t thought to ask Chael for details before she’d followed him out of Sterling.

“We’re headed straight up the mountain,” Chael replied, not looking back as he buckled the saddle bags. He hadn’t answered her question.

“How far is that?”

“A few days’ ride to Gelida, I think.”

Nova thought she might have heard him wrong. “You think?”

Chael cleared his throat. “I haven’t been there myself. But I do know the way.” At this, Chael replaced his horse’s bridle with a halter and led him to the stream.

Nova watched Chael walk, her mouth gaped. When his horse lowered his head to the water, she snapped, “What?” Both horses jumped at her retort. “You’re showing me the way to somewhere you’ve never been?”

Chael didn’t seem as bothered by her response as the horses were. Instead of jumping, he raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “You shouldn’t travel alone. It’s dangerous out here, for a list of reasons. And just because I haven’t been to Gelida doesn’t mean I don’t know the route. The trek was common for the Larkspur army, and I’ve studied the maps.”

“You’ve studied the maps? Oh, that makes me feel better.” Nova couldn’t believe her ears. What was he doing with her? What was he trying to prove? Thinking she might be better off finding Gelida her own, Nova stood and limped out of the stream, her foot fully numbed by the icy water.

“You’ll just have to trust me,” Chael said as she limped away, and his comment made her stop in her tracks. 

Nova shot Chael a glare over her shoulder, knowing she didn’t trust him with any fiber of her being. “How about you tell me where Gelida is, and I’ll find it myself?”

Chael stared at her, unwavered by her challenge. Then he pointed up the mountain again. “It’s that way. And you’re welcome to find it on your own.” Dusk was creeping in around them, making dark shadows under Chael’s sharp features and even darker shadows in the brush. “But it’d be safer if we stayed together. This is unclaimed territory. It’s a sanctuary for outcasts, thieves, murderers.”

“Like us?” Nova asked, disgusted by what the past few days had turned her into. “Are you saying we fit right in?”

“I’m saying we need to watch each other’s backs,” Chael said, and Nova decided she’d had enough. She didn’t want to hear his voice for the rest of the night.

Instead of another word, Nova walked to a grassy patch surrounded by ferns and tall fir trees. She shimmied the pack off her back and unclasped her bow from it, setting the weapon at her feet. Then she plopped herself down and called to River.

“We’ll leave at daybreak,” Chael noted. Nova didn’t like his casual use of we. She was traveling with him, but they weren’t a we. Instead of responding, she looked to River and watched as her horse pawed the ground next to her. Then he lowered his chest and curled his legs under his belly, making himself comfy in a nest of wispy grass.

“You’re the only thing that makes me feel safe out here,” Nova whispered as she nestled herself in the crook of River’s front leg to settle in for the night. Then she grabbed a carrot from her pack. She offered the carrot to River. He took the whole thing in his mouth and crunched it to bits. Then he nibbled on the tall grass around him, all while keeping an eye on Nova. “You and my bow,” she added.

Nova pulled the hood of her cloak up and snuggled against River’s cushy shoulder. She chewed on a chunk of stale bread and gazed at her bow and quiver, which sat near her bare, marred foot. Her wound only reminded her what could happen in one instant of distraction. But despite her unease, River’s rhythmic chewing and breathing eventually lulled her to sleep.

In the morning, her bow was gone.

So was Chael.