She was wrong. Kyra heard a familiar sound behind her, and her heart dropped as she soon realized the rest of the pack was after them. Relentless, they chased them down through the rustling leaves, all as determined as ever. The death of one of their own only seemed to embolden them. These tenacious creatures did not seem as if they would ever quit.

Given their numbers, Kyra knew their situation was desperate: there was no way Andor and Leo could defeat all of them at once. She felt a sudden panic as she knew they would all die by these creatures’ hands.

“We won’t make it!” Dierdre cried out, fear in her voice, as she looked back at the pack, snarling and closing in.

Kyra wracked her brain, thinking hard as they galloped, realizing they needed another way—and fast. She closed her eyes and focused, forcing herself to tune in, to draw on all her faculties to save them. Despite the chaos all around them, she grew very quiet inside.

Kyra suddenly began to hear a noise, one she had not heard before. She opened her eyes as she focused on the sound of gushing water, and she remembered: the River Tanis. They were heading parallel to it, and it was hardly a hundred yards to their left. She suddenly had an idea.

“The river!” she shouted to Dierdre, remembering all those flat, wooden rafts she’d seen tied up along its shores. “We can take the river!”

Kyra suddenly pulled Andor’s reins, making a sharp left, heading toward the water; as she did, the hornhogs, but feet behind them, leapt through the air and missed, falling flat on their faces on the ground. The sharp turn bought them some time.

Kyra dug her heels into Andor and they galloped at full speed, as the sound of water grew louder. She raced past branches, weaving in and out of trees, scratched and no longer caring, breathing hard, hearing the pack behind them and knowing their time was limited.

Come on, she thought, urging the river to appear. Come on!

They finally burst out of the wood, into a clearing, and there, before them, the river lay in sight, hardly thirty yards away.

“What about Andor?” Dierdre cried out as they neared.

Kyra set her sights on a wide, flat boat, tied up at its shore and realized it would serve their needs.

“That will hold us all!” she cried back, pointing.

Kyra yanked Andor to a stop near the shoreline, and they all dismounted immediately. Kyra hit the ground running and raced for the shore, jumping onto the wildly rocking boat, Leo at her side, Dierdre beside her. She made room for Andor, yanking on his reins, but she was shocked as she felt him resist.