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Chapter One

Aurora

“You can run but you can’t hide.”

The warning from the guard echoed behind me like a bad omen. Still, I ran.

I ignored the sharp cutting edges of the rocks piercing the bottoms of my feet, the prickly branches cutting through my skin, and the pain licking at my shins as I sprinted wildly through the forest.

I was breathless. I felt like I was suffocating as the thick plumes of smoke from the fire blanketed around me. My lungs were running on empty, pulling in shallow breaths as I tried to flee from my enemies.

I promised myself that if I could just make it outside the walls of the settlement, only if it was just for a brief moment, all of this would have been worth it. My inevitable punishment would seem pale in comparison to a taste of freedom.

The sirens are blaring. More of them than before.

Something had happened in the prime settlement. Something awful. A breach, maybe. Chaos had erupted in the streets and marketplace as citizens raced to safety.

Soon after, a blaze erupted from the courtyard and black smoke floated up toward the sky. I remembered looking up and seeing a wave of stars in the black sky, moving along like the speed of lightning. Maybe I was hallucinating then because stars had never moved that fast.

I didn’t wait around long enough to find out what was going on. I saw that the stone gates had fallen and that the citizens were no longer contained. I took one last look at the Governor’s daughter who whispered one word: Go, and I fled the city. I wasn’t the only one who ran. But, I was no ordinary citizen, so the guards came after me.

Now, I was running for my life.

I stumbled on a rock and fell face flat on the ground. I wiped the twigs and dirt from my busted lip, got up, and began running again. My eyes were blinded by the sting of poisoned air. My nostrils were filled with the putrid stench of pollution.

They say that beyond the northern ravines, tucked away among the mountains is a sanctuary guarded by rebels. I didn’t know if I’d make it there but it was worth a try.

Heavy footsteps closed the distance behind me. I could feel the vibrations in the air. Branches and twigs snapped underfoot as the guards grew closer. I turned and saw a flash of red and then dived behind a row of thick bushes.

I stayed there, cuddling like a scared rodent with my fingernails and knees digging into the rough earth. Earth was in ruins. Nothing was the same. Even the dirt smelled of a nauseating gasses.

Two shadows moved near me. I held my breath until I heard their footsteps and voices go away. And then, I slumped against the ground and took a moment to gather myself.

Big mistake.

Someone grabbed my ankle and jerked me out from under the bushes. “There you are, wench.”

I screamed.

I looked up into the blackened eyes of the guard. His face was covered with a filter to prevent taking in too much of the pollution outside of the settlement walls. I kicked at him and struggled, but he managed to wrap a rope around my legs, binding them together like I was fresh kill. Sooner or later, I knew I’d be dead. I’d known others who attempted escape and were put to death.

“Please let me go, please,” I pleaded.

The guard didn’t speak. All he did was secure the ropes tighter around me. The second guard appeared next to him and pointed to the thick, smoke billowing up toward the sky.

“We’re under attack. The whole city is on fire,” he said.

“We still must take her back. You best check the rest of the forest. I’ve got this one. If she managed to get out, others have too,” the first guard responded. When the second guard was gone, the first one said to me, “You have such an easy life in your position, little one. Why try to escape?”

“I’d rather die than go back there,” I spat.

He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled me up. “And so you might die after all,” he snarled against my lips.

One moment he was grinning evilly and in the next moment, he wasn’t. Suddenly, he began sputtering up blood. I dropped my gaze down to where he clutched his side to find an arrow protruding from his gut. He dropped to the ground on his knees in front of me and keeled over dead. Someone had shot him.

I squealed in panic and still, thinking that I’d met the same fate. An arrow through my body. What an awful way to die.

My eyes danced across the dark landscape in search of the killer, but I saw nothing but fog.