Read Online Rangers of Linwood (The Five Kingdoms Book 1) by LeAnn Anderson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: LeAnn Anderson
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I…I wasn’t thinking…” Too little, too late, Arya quickly realized.
Tesni ran.
Chapter 7
By nightfall, Tesni no longer knew where she was. She had scampered up and down trees, running alternately along branches and along the ground, having learned from Arya that it was a good way to confuse someone who was tracking you. In some points she had doubled back, thrown rocks to break branches and twigs to make a tracker think she had gone a different direction.
Now, there were two things she knew with absolute certainty. The first was that even that wouldn’t throw Arya and Ryder for long if they decided to come after her. The second was that she hadn’t yet learned all that much about surviving on her own in the woods. All she knew was that she needed water, food, and a place to sleep, along with a fire if she could get one going. She was starting to wish she’d had her pack.
With a sigh, she sat down against a tree trunk. She felt the bark give a little beneath her slight frame and wondered at it. Turning around, she tested it with her hands. It continued to bend and flex as she pushed, and she dug her nails into the bark, pulling instead.
The bark gave way to reveal a hollowed out tree trunk. Inside was a pack, and she looked inside it. It contained flint, nuts, dried fruit, and a bedroll, as well as a small pot and canteen. Smiling, she realized that this was one of the many emergency shelters that Arya had told her were scattered throughout the forest. Now all she needed was water, and she could find that in the morning.
Smiling, Tesni rolled out the bedroll. She ate some of the berries and a handful of the nuts. It was still a little warm, so she forewent the fire. She wasn’t ready to make it easy for them to find her just yet. She pulled the bark ‘door’ back into place, climbed into the bedroll, and, using the rest of the pack as a pillow, drifted off to sleep.
As she watched Tesni run into the woods, Arya began to panic. She hadn’t taught Tesni everything she needed to know about survival, how to identify edible plants from poisonous ones, how to create a makeshift shelter, anything beyond the need to find food, shelter, and water.
Quickly, she quelled the panic inside and ran to Ryder’s tent. “Ryder! Ryder!”
“What is it, Arya?” Ryder asked, recognizing the panic in the bow mistress’s voice.
“It’s Tesni. She’s run off again and it’s all my fault.” Quickly, Arya explained the situation to Ryder as if Tesni’s very life depended on the speed with which she told the story. It probably did.
Ryder tensed. “Don’t worry, Arya. We’ll find her. We’re both experienced trackers. Even if she utilizes some of the tricks you showed her to hide a trail, we’ll have no problem at all finding her.”
They did, however. By nightfall, they could find no trace of her, and Arya was beginning to hyperventilate. “I can’t believe I just snapped at her like that.”
Ryder held her. “It’s alright, Arya. We’ll find her. We just need to set up camp for the night.”
“What if something’s happened to her? What if she’s already dead? It would be my fault.”
Arya’s hyperventilating was getting worse, and Ryder thought fast. He knew he needed to shock her back to reality, and so he decided to take Tesni’s suggestion from earlier. He kissed her.
Arya’s eyes flew open. Was Ryder kissing her? Suddenly, her head was spinning. Could Tesni have possibly been right about how he felt? Or was he just shocking her back to a normal breathing pattern?
Quietly, she decided to test the idea. She let her eyes close, and she leaned into the kiss, returning it.
Ryder couldn’t believe what was happening. Was Arya really returning the kiss? Was Tesni right? Was she really only even considering Knives because she thought he didn’t care? He wrapped his arms around her. He brought a hand up to her head, massaging the back of it as he deepened the kiss,
Tesni ran.
Chapter 7
By nightfall, Tesni no longer knew where she was. She had scampered up and down trees, running alternately along branches and along the ground, having learned from Arya that it was a good way to confuse someone who was tracking you. In some points she had doubled back, thrown rocks to break branches and twigs to make a tracker think she had gone a different direction.
Now, there were two things she knew with absolute certainty. The first was that even that wouldn’t throw Arya and Ryder for long if they decided to come after her. The second was that she hadn’t yet learned all that much about surviving on her own in the woods. All she knew was that she needed water, food, and a place to sleep, along with a fire if she could get one going. She was starting to wish she’d had her pack.
With a sigh, she sat down against a tree trunk. She felt the bark give a little beneath her slight frame and wondered at it. Turning around, she tested it with her hands. It continued to bend and flex as she pushed, and she dug her nails into the bark, pulling instead.
The bark gave way to reveal a hollowed out tree trunk. Inside was a pack, and she looked inside it. It contained flint, nuts, dried fruit, and a bedroll, as well as a small pot and canteen. Smiling, she realized that this was one of the many emergency shelters that Arya had told her were scattered throughout the forest. Now all she needed was water, and she could find that in the morning.
Smiling, Tesni rolled out the bedroll. She ate some of the berries and a handful of the nuts. It was still a little warm, so she forewent the fire. She wasn’t ready to make it easy for them to find her just yet. She pulled the bark ‘door’ back into place, climbed into the bedroll, and, using the rest of the pack as a pillow, drifted off to sleep.
As she watched Tesni run into the woods, Arya began to panic. She hadn’t taught Tesni everything she needed to know about survival, how to identify edible plants from poisonous ones, how to create a makeshift shelter, anything beyond the need to find food, shelter, and water.
Quickly, she quelled the panic inside and ran to Ryder’s tent. “Ryder! Ryder!”
“What is it, Arya?” Ryder asked, recognizing the panic in the bow mistress’s voice.
“It’s Tesni. She’s run off again and it’s all my fault.” Quickly, Arya explained the situation to Ryder as if Tesni’s very life depended on the speed with which she told the story. It probably did.
Ryder tensed. “Don’t worry, Arya. We’ll find her. We’re both experienced trackers. Even if she utilizes some of the tricks you showed her to hide a trail, we’ll have no problem at all finding her.”
They did, however. By nightfall, they could find no trace of her, and Arya was beginning to hyperventilate. “I can’t believe I just snapped at her like that.”
Ryder held her. “It’s alright, Arya. We’ll find her. We just need to set up camp for the night.”
“What if something’s happened to her? What if she’s already dead? It would be my fault.”
Arya’s hyperventilating was getting worse, and Ryder thought fast. He knew he needed to shock her back to reality, and so he decided to take Tesni’s suggestion from earlier. He kissed her.
Arya’s eyes flew open. Was Ryder kissing her? Suddenly, her head was spinning. Could Tesni have possibly been right about how he felt? Or was he just shocking her back to a normal breathing pattern?
Quietly, she decided to test the idea. She let her eyes close, and she leaned into the kiss, returning it.
Ryder couldn’t believe what was happening. Was Arya really returning the kiss? Was Tesni right? Was she really only even considering Knives because she thought he didn’t care? He wrapped his arms around her. He brought a hand up to her head, massaging the back of it as he deepened the kiss,
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