The night was a torrent of cold rain and terror. The screams from my burning village echoed behind me, a symphony of agony and despair that spurred my feet forward, even as my mind screamed to turn back. I hated myself for being such a coward, for being so utterly useless. My skin tore on the thorns as I ran, a searing pain that was nothing compared to the desolation in my heart. The pirates, those monstrous shadows, had taken everything. Most of the villagers were gone, the women dragged to their warship, and three of them were hot on my heels.

I burst from the woods, gasping, only to find myself at the edge of a treacherous cliff. Below, the churning sea promised either drowning or a skull-shattering impact on the rocks. My heart hammered, a frantic drum against my ribs. Footsteps crunched behind me in the dark, and I stumbled backward, a scream tearing from my throat as the thin earth crumbled beneath my heels. My eyes slammed shut, bracing for the fall, but instead, a strong, muscular hand seized mine, pulling me back from the abyss.