Kieran

With Raven’s last words—I love you more than you can imagine—ringing in my ears, I pound across the open plain toward the river that is apparently our only hope of survival. We left the forest half an hour ago, and since then, my father’s forces have been gathering behind us. More men stayed with him than I hoped. Fewer than I feared. I still don’t know that we could take them in a fair fight.

Luckily, we have Raven on our side.

We reach the river. At the ...