Risen

Prologue

Run. That is what Damen told me to do when we played hide and seek.

Run. It's what Nikolai would shout when Anita caught us doing something we were not supposed to be doing.

Run. The word people kept screaming as they tried to escape the bloodbath behind me.

Run. What I was doing when my Aunt Deena found me in the woods. When she scooped me up and hauled me over the saddle in front of her. Arrows flew passed our heads as my aunt's horse galloped farther into the woods. Farther from the enemies invading my home.

Down. An arrow our horse and it slowed enough to be hit with another. And it fell taking my aunt and me with it.

Crawl. My aunt wriggled her way from under our fallen horse's body and dragged me with her. Dragged me until I could stand upright on my own and we were running again. We ran until they no longer chased us. We ran until I couldn't feel my legs. Until I didn't know how to breathe. Until I wasn't sure how I was still running at all. But we didn't stop. We didn't stop until the tree line thinned and then there were no more trees. We stopped at the edge of those woods trying to catch our breaths. We did not speak. Aunt Deena just grabbed my hand and walked. We walked and walked until we came across a farm. We took shelter in the barn, up in the loft, and laid on piles of hay.

Sleep. She told me to sleep. I did not know how to even close my eyes. Did not know how to steady my racing heart. Did not know how to not panic at every slight sound of the night. But somehow, eventually, I managed.

When dawn broke Aunt Deena shook me awake. "Your name is Arya. These people are going to be your family."