He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force his sobs back into his chest.
He couldn't bear to watch his whole life burn away all over again.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around.
There was no sound.
Maybe they had lost him. Maybe they had stopped looking for him.
He lifted his tearful eyes toward the sky. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds, just like him.
Slowly, he got to his feet. His arms tightened around the tiny body in his arms, and he began walking toward the dark, unknown path ahead.
The cold had reached deep into his bones, but he couldn't stop.
He couldn't stop thinking about his brother.
His body had been placed on a horse and sent back home.
His father had been left behind, badly wounded.
And his mother...
She had died while they were trying to escape. They had left her body behind and kept running.
His hand moved gently over the baby's face.
He didn't want to believe that his little brother would never make another sound.
His whole body trembled from the cold and the grief that weighed heavily on him.
Where was he supposed to go?
What was he supposed to do?
There was no one left for him to turn to.
He kept walking through the harsh, wounded trees until he noticed a few houses in the distance.
His heart began to beat faster.
A house.
Maybe someone there would help him.
He hurried toward the first one.
For a few seconds, he stood in front of the door, taking a deep breath. His hands were shaking.
He didn't know what he would say if someone opened it.
Still, he raised his foot and knocked several times.
Footsteps came from inside.
The door opened.
An elderly woman stood there.
At first, she said nothing.
Her eyes moved over the boy—his messy hair, his pale face, his clothes soaked with cold and mud.
Then her eyes fell to his arms.
A baby.
Completely still.
The woman's eyes widened.
For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.
She knew who this boy was.
Not personally, but she had heard enough about his family to recognize him immediately.
His brothers had been leaders of the rebellion.
Their identities had been discovered, and after they were captured, no one had seen them alive again.
Now the authorities were looking for the last surviving member of their family.
Even if he was only fifteen.
The woman stared at the boy.
He said nothing.
YOU ARE READING
Born to Repeat
Romance"Do you think I'm your misery?" Taehyung looked at him for a long moment. "Maybe some things aren't chosen. Maybe we simply inherit them... like a family name, wealth, power." His eyes never left Jungkook's. "Or a husband." "And you think I'm one of...
