A Savior's Worth (Book #3)

Chapter Nineteen

"Everything good in there, little one?" the younger male inquired. Elouise moved closer, pressing herself against the wall of the hut where she could peek outside. The two men were in perfect view and had their attentions locked on Noemi.

Noemi nodded then asked, "Do you know where Mini is? I wanna talk to her."

"We've been here the whole time. How should we know?"

The older man nudged his companion. To Noemi, he kindly said, "Don't listen to 'im. Minerva should be in the family cottage with your pa." Noemi thanked him and started walking toward the right, their gazes following her. Before they could completely look away, however, Noemi dropped to her knees and whined in pain, causing both men to rush over.

This was her chance, Elouise nervously realized. She clutched the white sheet, inhaling sharply, and took off.

"What is—wait... stop!" one of them shouted. Elouise spared a glance over her shoulder, finding them chasing after her, entirely abandoning Noemi who continued to feign her illness.

Without facing forward, Elouise tripped over a tree's root and plummeted down a rocky hillside, every inch of exposed skin colliding with the arid ground. She landed on her back and agonizingly gasped as the wind was knocked right out of her.

Even so, she refused to lie there and wait until she could properly breathe again. The men were carefully treading down the hill, calling out for assistance behind them.

Elouise rolled over. She bit down on her tongue. Unfortunately, she couldn't resist the whimper as she rose to her feet. She stumbled over to the nearest tree and slumped against it, taking in the burns from the scrapes on her forearms, calves, the side of her face, and—worst of all—her already damaged wrist. She checked her wrist first and nearly gasped when she noticed the skin peeling off.

"Where'd she go?" one of the men asked, his voice dangerously close.

Elouise mustered her strength and crept over to the next tree. She switched to the side of it, shielding herself from them as they walked further ahead. She almost kept moving until she noticed the group of people heading down. Some lost their footing and slid down. She knew if they turned their heads even slightly, they would spot.

Elouise ducked before that could occur.

Her best option was to run... run, run, and run until she felt safe. And though her body protested such movement, she forcefully stood again and dashed through the narrow trees, her footsteps annoyingly snapping twigs along the way and her skirts ruffling against shrubs and getting caught in a few, causing her to pause and pull them free. Someone—if not everyone—must've heard her. She could hear them yelling in her direction.

Elouise was nearing a stream when she heard a childish shriek from higher ground. Her heart dropped. Another scream instantly followed—desperate and terrified. Her father must've figured out that Noemi had helped her escape...

And now she is being punished because of me, Elouise's mind echoed as panic rose within her.

"No," she breathed, shaking her head. "No." The group chasing after hadn't caught up yet. Elouise took the opportunity to sneak her way back up the hill, hoping her pursuers would assume she'd crossed the stream and kept going.

As she heard their approaching thumps, she hid behind another tree and peered around. The two men who'd been standing guard outside the hut were in the lead. The younger one turned to the group. Elouise heard his mumbled voice and could see him nodding and making hand gestures, but she could not decipher what he was instructing. He then used the boulders in the stream to cross it, and he was followed by half of the people while three others followed the older man down the path. Two lingered there, observing the area.