Kayla nodded, following him

Kayla followed obediently, feeling a bit safer with weapons on-hand

As Gale moved through the dense forest, the weight of his body and the tension in his muscles began to catch up with him. His feet moved quickly, but each step carried the sting of exhaustion. The pain from his previous injuries, the result of the king’s brutal interrogation, began to seep back into his consciousness—slow, sharp, and relentless.

It wasn’t just the bruises or the soreness in his ribs that gnawed at him; it was the deep fatigue that threatened to pull him under. Every movement felt heavier, like the weight of the world was pressing down on him. His muscles, already strained, ached with every step, and the tightness in his shoulders made it hard to breathe.

Then, as he pushed forward, his foot caught on a root hidden in the underbrush. He stumbled, his vision blurring for a fraction of a second. His body lurched forward, and for a moment, it felt like his legs might give out entirely. He cursed under his breath as he caught himself, his hand shooting out to grab a nearby tree for support.

The pain flared up like a fire inside him, particularly in his side, where the bruises from the king’s torturous questioning still burned. The wound throbbed, and for a split second, Gale almost lost his balance completely.

But he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright. Focus, just keep moving, he thought, but the reality of his condition hit him like a wave.

His breath came harder now, each inhale sharper as the pain followed him like a shadow. The exhaustion pressed in on him with every step, and the longer he pushed forward, the harder it became to ignore.

Despite the strain, he kept walking, moving through the thick foliage. His hands were trembling slightly now, not from fear, but from the toll his body was taking. Every muscle screamed at him to stop, but stopping meant danger—not just for him, but for Kayla as well.

Gale shot a glance over his shoulder, the cold, distant look in his eyes betraying nothing of the pain inside. He forced his pace to remain steady, keeping his thoughts focused on the immediate danger.

His mind was running through the same relentless calculations: How long before they catch up? How far can we go before I’m too weak to fight back?

The pain didn’t relent, but he couldn’t afford to let it show, not now. Every step felt like it could be his last. But he kept moving, no matter how much it hurt. He couldn’t let her down. Not when they were so close to being free.

“We keep moving,” he muttered under his breath, though his words were more for himself than for Kayla. The forest blurred around him, his vision darkening at the edges, but he pushed it away, clenching his fists and forcing his legs to continue forward. He wasn’t going to stop—not now, not ever.

Kayla was momentarily scared for him as he stumbled, but breathed a sigh of relief as he caught himself. When he turned to her, she didn't look at him but nodded at his words.

Gale pressed forward, the forest stretching on endlessly before him, but each step seemed to drag more than the last. His muscles were burning, his breath ragged, the weight of his exhaustion threatening to pull him under. But he refused to stop. The pain in his side was relentless, biting into him with every movement, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue.

Behind him, Kayla’s footsteps were quieter, more hesitant, but Gale didn’t dare slow down to check on her. Every instinct screamed at him to keep pushing, to get farther away, to put more distance between them and the guards.

The world around him blurred with a fog of pain, but his mind stayed sharp, focused on the immediate. He had to keep moving, even if his body was screaming for him to rest, to lie down, to close his eyes and escape the searing throb of his wounds. He could feel the blood rushing to his head, the dull throb of his body demanding he stop, but he couldn’t. Not yet.

His foot caught on another branch, and this time, he didn’t catch himself in time. He staggered, his knees buckling as the world tilted around him. His hands shot out, grabbing hold of a tree just in time to keep from falling completely. His breath was heavy, ragged, and his vision swam for a moment as he fought to stay conscious.

The pain flared again, sharp and searing, as though it were trying to swallow him whole. He closed his eyes for a brief second, willing himself to regain control. He could hear Kayla’s footsteps growing closer, a soft whisper of concern in her movements, but he couldn’t afford to let her get too close. She couldn’t see him faltering—not now.

He steadied himself, taking a deep breath, and with a muttered curse, forced his legs to keep moving. He couldn’t show weakness. Not when there was still so much at stake. The air in the forest felt thicker now, almost suffocating, and the distant calls of birds overhead seemed muffled in his ears.

His thoughts flickered to Kayla. He hadn’t said much to her—hadn’t really talked at all—but that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was getting them out of this mess. He had to protect her. He couldn’t afford to slow down.

“Stay close,” Gale murmured to her, his voice more strained than he intended, but there was no time to correct it. He barely heard her reply, but the sound of her footsteps was still there, faint but present, keeping pace behind him.

Every step felt like an eternity. His heart was pounding, his legs were growing weaker, but his mind stayed locked on survival. They needed to keep moving. There was no turning back.

Gale didn’t dare look behind him again, afraid that if he did, he’d fall apart. So, he pressed on, one foot in front of the other, his thoughts narrowing to nothing but the relentless ache in his side and the burning need to escape.

The forest around him grew darker as the hours wore on, the trees closing in like an oppressive cloak. His breaths came in shallow gasps, his pulse racing in his ears, but still, he moved. We have to make it. Just a little farther.

Then, just as he thought he couldn’t take another step, the crack of a branch underfoot pulled him back to reality. He stopped suddenly, his body tensing at the sound, but he heard no response. No movement from behind.

He turned his head sharply, eyes narrowing.

The pain in his side flared up again, but he ignored it. There was no time. He had to stay alert.

Kayla's head spun, gazing around the forest in alarm as she tried to find the source of sound

Gale's vision swirled, the world around him spinning as the throbbing pain in his side intensified. Every breath was shallow, strained, and his body felt as though it were made of stone. His legs were shaking beneath him, muscles threatening to give way. The forest seemed to sway in a nauseating blur, the trees bending and twisting like shadows in the fog.

His grip on the bow weakened as the darkness crept closer, and for a moment, it felt like the ground was rising up to meet him. He staggered, his breath coming in jagged gasps, and his hand reached out, grasping a nearby tree for support. His pulse hammered in his ears, and the weight of his exhaustion was a crushing force.

With a strangled noise, he sank back against the tree, the rough bark digging into his back. He tried to steady himself, but the world continued to spin, dizzying and relentless. His head was spinning faster now, the edges of his vision going dark. His hands shook violently as he fumbled to pull the bow off his shoulder.

Everything felt far away, out of reach. His fingers were clumsy, the movement sluggish, as if the very air around him was thickening. Stay awake, he ordered himself, but the words barely registered.

He loaded an arrow with a practiced hand, but even the motion felt distant. His vision blurred again, his hands trembling as they set the bow in his lap. He clutched it with all the strength he had left, the cool wood beneath his palm grounding him, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t shake the growing darkness.

Just a little longer, he thought desperately, but the words seemed to slip away, his mind clouding.

His eyes darted briefly toward Kayla, but he couldn’t focus on her. His body was rebelling against him, every muscle screaming for rest, but he couldn’t—not yet.

The last thing he heard before his mind began to close in on itself was the sound of his own voice, weak and strained.

“We need to go,” he whispered, but the words felt foreign on his tongue, the sounds slipping away into silence. His grip on the bow faltered, and his hand slowly slipped off, the weapon falling from his grasp with a dull thud.

In the space between one heartbeat and the next, the world went completely dark.

Gale’s body went limp, his back sliding further down the tree as unconsciousness finally claimed him.

Kayla's face paled as she turned to see Gale dropping. She darted forward and grabbed his bow to prevent any injuries and barely caught him before he slumpped to the side. She breathed a sigh of relief as she laid him on his side and grabbed one of the knives. She stood, leaning against the tree beside him and her eyes darted around