The pressure of the afternoon had long since turned into something colder and heavier. It sat deep in Kota's stomach as he pushed through another thick cluster of thorns.
His sleeve caught and tore, but he didn't slow down.
Behind him, Leiya's breathing had grown shallow and ragged. They had been moving since the sun was high, and now the horizon had faded into a thin bruise of purple and grey.
Every step felt like a gamble.
He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and looked down. Their tracks were deep in the softening dirt. There was no hiding them in this light.
He glanced at Leiya and saw her shivering. The temperature had dropped fast. Their breath was already visible in the air.
We have to keep moving, he thought. If we stop now, the cold will settle in and we won't be able to start again.
He reached out and took her hand. His skin was ice against hers.
I need to protect her. I have to mask the Yen.
He closed his eyes and tried to force the energy deeper into his bones. But the sickness made it impossible. The more he tried to pull it inward, the more it leaked out.
A patch of mushrooms beneath his boot turned brittle and grey. A squirrel a few feet away stiffened and collapsed without a sound.
He was a beacon.
The more he tried to hide, the more the world around him withered. Kota didn't know exactly who was behind them, but he knew the bounty on his head was high enough to attract the worst kinds of people.
Bounty hunters wouldn't stop. Not for a reward like that.
He kept his eyes on the southern horizon, where the mountains blurred into the sky.
Somewhere out there was the doctor who might be able to help with the sickness. The only hope he had left.
The woods were quiet except for their footsteps and the occasional snap of a dry branch. Kota kept his gaze fixed ahead.
He knew that once they cleared the next ridge, they would be completely exposed.
By the time they reached the river, the moon was high. The water rushed loudly over the stones, drowning out the wind.
A large cedar had fallen across the narrowest part of the river, slick with foam and dew. It was their only way across.
Kota climbed onto the log first and reached back for Leiya. She took his hand. He could feel her heart racing through her palm.
"Step exactly where I step," he said quietly. "Don't look down."
The wood groaned under their weight as they crossed. Halfway across, Kota glanced back toward the ridge they had just descended. The forest behind them was a wall of blackness. No torches. No lanterns.
Professional hunters didn't need light.
Once they reached the other side, he pulled Leiya beneath the shelter of a large willow tree. They needed rest, but every minute they stayed still was another minute the hunters gained.
"We'll stay here for a short while," he said, trying to sound confident. "Then we keep moving. We still have a long way to go."
He could feel the pressure behind his eyes growing worse. Across the river, the woods remained silent. He watched the far bank for a long time, but nothing moved.
He knew they were out there.
He leaned his head against the trunk and closed his eyes, trying to focus. His father had trained him to sense the distinct pulse of Yen and Yan, but the roar of his own sickness drowned everything out.
It feels like the whole world is waiting for me to fail.
Everything from his old life felt distant now. The only thing that mattered was the girl beside him. He hoped the doctor was as skilled as the rumors claimed. He had to stay ahead of the ghosts at his back.
After a short while, he stood and signaled to Leiya. It was time to move again.
They pushed deeper into the outskirts, where the trees grew taller and the air felt older. This land didn't care about kings or bounties. Kota felt a strange sense of relief as the signs of the civilized world faded behind them.
He was getting closer to the edge of everything.
Behind them, the forest was still being searched by those who wanted him dead. Kota didn't look back. He just kept moving south, gripping Leiya's hand tighter as they disappeared into the thick morning fog.
The river was behind them.
The unknown waited ahead.