Von's pov

I ran until my lungs burned and my legs turned to water.

The forest was a black maze of reaching branches and hidden roots. My bare feet screamed with every step, torn and bleeding, but I didn't stop.

The king's words echoed in my head—three seconds to run—and I'd used every one of them.

But why? Why had he interfered? Why had he saved me?

I burst through a bush and stumbled down an slope, nearly falling forward into rushing water. The river. I'd found the boundary ...