Andor stood on shore and refused to follow, bucking like crazy, and Kyra wondered what it could be. At first she thought that perhaps he feared water. But then Andor gave her a meaningful look and she suddenly understood: he was not afraid. He meant to stay behind and guard their rear, to fight the hornhogs to the death, alone, so that they could all escape without him.

Kyra was overwhelmed by his loyalty, but she could not leave him behind.

“No, Andor!” Kyra cried.

She went to get back off the boat and get him.

But Andor suddenly lowered his head and used his sharp horns to sever the rope. Kyra felt the boat jerk out from under her and immediately it was carried away by the rough tides, drifting quickly away from shore.

Kyra stood at the edge of the boat and watched, helpless, as Andor turned around, on shore, and faced off against the pack. She saw one of the hornhogs race past him, and was amazed to watch it leap into the water, swimming as fast as it ran, and treading right for their boat. She was shocked to see these hornhogs could swim, and she suddenly realized: Andor knew. He knew that if he didn’t stay behind, they could all be attacked in the water. He was sacrificing for them all.

As the hornhog approached, Leo snarled, snapping at the water as he stood at the edge of the boat. Kyra raised her bow, took aim, and fired, aiming right for its open mouth.

The arrow lodged itself in its open mouth, and the hornhog sucked in water and flailed as it drowned.

Kyra looked back to shore and saw Andor charge boldly for the pack, even though he was outnumbered. He must have known he could not win—and yet he did not care. It was as if fear did not exist within him. She was in awe of him; he was like a great warrior charging alone against an army.

Kyra could not stand the sight of him fighting alone—especially on their behalf. It went against everything inside her.

“ANDOR!” Kyra shrieked.

“It’s too late,” Dierdre said, placing a hand on her arm, as their boat drifted farther and farther from shore, the rapids more violent. “There is nothing we can do.”

But Kyra refused to accept that. She could not allow her friend, her partner in battle, to be left behind.

Without thinking, Kyra let her impulses take over. She rushed forward and leapt off the boat, into the raging river, instantly submerged in the freezing waters.

Kyra tried to swim, desperate to reach shore, to reach Andor—but the rapids were just too intense. She could not make it upstream; she could not even catch her breath.

“KYRA!” Dierdre yelled, as Leo whined at the boat’s edge.

A moment later, Kyra found herself flailing, sinking—and realizing, after all that, she would die by drowning.

CHAPTER TWENTY