The exhaustion was bone-deep. Every step I took felt like dragging lead, and the night seemed colder, pressing against my skin like ice. I had nowhere to go, no one I could trust. I clutched my belly, feeling my child stir, reminding me of the life I was fighting to protect. But the weight of fear gnawed at me—I was out of my depth, lost in rogue territory with danger around every corner.
Suddenly, a faint sound echoed in the darkness, barely a whisper of movement, but enough to freeze me in place. I strained my ears, heart hammering. A shadow slipped between the trees, moving swiftly, purposefully.
Instinct screamed at me to run, but where? I turned, only to find myself cornered by another figure emerging from the shadows. My stomach clenched as I recognized the insignia on his sleeve—a mark of Daniel’s assassins. He’d sent his men after me, determined to drag me back or worse. Panic surged, and I backed up, but there was nowhere left to go.
“Going somewhere, Luna?” the assassin sneered, his eyes flicking over my pregnant belly with a mocking smirk. “You know he won’t let you leave so easily.”