They steal through the forest as quietly as possible, moving from shadow to shadow, tree to tree. Adan stays right in front of them, and Edmund keeps his hand on Serena's lower back as they move. Edmund once again offered her the cloak and she'd been cold enough to accept it without question, so her arms are wrapped up in the heavy fabric as they slowly make their way forward.
It's not as windy today— in fact, the woods feel almost stiflingly silent— the tiny bits of sky she can see overhead are bright and blue. The light that manages to filter past the canopy above makes it easier to walk, too, when she can see the half-snow-covered obstacles ahead. She tries to talk herself out of the hopeful feeling swelling in her chest. She was more than happy to quit the line of conversation they'd been on before Adan's sudden return, and learning that this nightmare was almost over was enough to make her positively giddy. Even the countenances of Edmund and Adan, though still cautious, seem somehow lighter now.
But that all changes in an instant when they hear a clear and distinctly human shout from somewhere behind them.
In the next second, Edmund wraps his arm around Serena's back and yanks her toward the copse of trees they'd been passing. He forces through the tightly laced boughs which catch at Serena's legs and nearly trip her, pulling her tight against his side, dragging her forward and keeping her upright. Serena is too shocked to even be embarrassed about it.
Within the thickest of the branches, Edmumd comes to a sudden stop. He drops his arm from around her and quickly finds her wrist within the folds of fabric before yanking her down to the ground with him. She plops ungracefully onto the snow with her back against the rough trunk of a tree, and Edmund and Adan crowd in on either side of her.
"I'll circle back, drive them off your trail," Adan growls, so closely pressed against Serena's side that she can feel the rumble of his words. He turns his head in the direction of the shout, his lips curled back and his sharp teeth gleaming mere inches from Serena's face. She presses against the tree, rough bark digging into the back of her scalp.
"No," Edmund hisses back. His hand is still wrapped around Serena's wrist—almost painfully tight— and his weight, with his knee pressed into the snow between her shins, pins one of her legs to the ground. Adan shifts as another shout— this one somewhat indistinct and more distant— comes from the opposite direction. Serena pulls her other hand from under his paw as he whips his head around, but Adan hardly seems to notice. It can't be a good sign that their pursuers have abandoned stealth now, she realizes.
"Get to Cellox," Edmund whispers sharply, reaching across Serena to place a hand on Adan's shoulder and physically pull the Wolf's attention back to him. "Tell him we can't go one at a time," he says once Adan's eyes meet his. "Like we've practiced at the tower." Serena's eyebrows pull down in confusion. It must mean something to Adan, though, because with a quick nod he steps over Serena's legs and pushes back out through the branches.
As soon as the Wolf is gone, Edmund shifts into a crouch— freeing Serena— and slips his arms out of the straps of the pack. He dumps the heavy bag under the tree branches, and Serena pulls her feet out of the way of being crushed by it.
"There's a tower ahead?" she whispers, grasping for even the slightest shred of hope. A tower means civilization, doesn't it? Have we finally reached the border of Narnia?
But 'no' Edmund says sharply, and then, "Get rid of any extra weight you can." Serena stares at him, thoroughly confused. She watches as he yanks the tie at his neck and whips the blanket off his shoulders to toss it into the snow with his pack. His hand goes to the buckles of the bracer on his forearm next, but then he pulls a knife from his boot, wedges it under the straps, and slices through the leather. The arm guard falls to the snow, and he switches the blade into his other hand to repeat the process. He glances at her— still sitting motionless— before moving to slice the straps of his chest armor next.
"The cloak," he instructs. Serena flinches, then blinks hard to focus on what he's said. With numb, shaking fingers she fumbles with the toggle for a moment before it finally comes free. Edmund pulls his leather armor over his head and shoves it under the branches along with the knife and another dagger from his belt.
He pauses then, gripping his sword and running his thumb over the carved lion's mane. He closes his eyes for a moment— so still after so much frantic movement— and then with a quiet sigh he unbuckles his belt and pulls the sword free. The sheath and belt he discards with the rest of his things.
It's only then that he looks up at Serena again. He reaches for her shoulders, carefully angling the sword away from her, and pushes the heavy leather cloak off. Serena leans forward slightly, letting it slide to the ground between her back and the tree. Edmund scans her clothing, eyes stopping at the makeshift boots, but then he shakes his head and pulls her to her feet without another word.
He pushes carefully back through the tightly packed branches that snag on Serena's loose shirt, and then stops abruptly just before stepping out of the branches. One of his hands still clutches his sword, though it's pointed toward the ground, and the other is wrapped tightly around her wrist.
She wants to ask what's happening, why he's removed all his armor, why they're leaving everything behind, but she remains silent as Edmund scans the forest. Serena can't see past him or hear anything over the thudding of her own heartbeat in her ears. After another moment of studying the now quiet forest, he pulls her up next to him and then guides her slightly in front of him as they tread warily in the direction they'd been heading before. Serena keeps her eyes forward, toward where the light seems to shine brighter through the trees, and doesn't dare look too closely into the woods around them.
Edmund lets go of her wrist after a few meters, moving his hand between her shoulders and gripping the loose fabric of her shirt. He applies enough pressure to nudge her forward, but each time a distant shout sounds from somewhere behind them, Edmund pulls her down to a crouch. The voices are still far enough away that Serena can't make out what they're saying, which she takes as a good sign.
"Tightening the net," Edmund hisses from behind her. She glances over her shoulder at him, but his own eyes are focused somewhere to the right. He pulls her to her feet again, and Serena tries not to trip as they move forward. They continue like this for what feels to Serena an interminably long while, until she looks up and spots Adan bounding towards them.
"He's ready," the Wolf whispers, skidding to a stop. Edmund releases her shirt, then, and steps around in front of her. He kneels down, yanking the cords lacing her makeshift shoes uncomfortably tight and retrying them around her ankles. When he stands again, he grips her shoulders tightly— the sword still held in his right hand digging into her arm— and leans down slightly to look straight into her eyes.
"I need you to run." She sucks in a sharp breath and starts to turn her head to glance over her shoulder. Are they closer than it seemed? Edmund's grip tightens, though, and she looks back up at him. "As fast as you can." He does glance behind her then, but he drops his hands and grips her wrist again before she can do the same.
And then they run. Adan leads, weaving through the forest. They press through branches, swerve around tree trunks, the snow squeaking under their feet. Several times Serena stumbles, but Edmund catches her each time. He's careful to keep her slightly ahead of him, too, never running faster than she does. Serena tries to focus on the brightening light ahead of them instead of the aching of her lungs or the scratches on her arms or the burning fear gripping her chest.
She can just see where the trees end in the distance when suddenly it's Edmund that stumbles. His grip on her wrist nearly pulls her down too, and she comes to an abrupt stop. Before she's even fully turned toward him, Edmund pulls her further sideways and then drops her wrist to loop his arm around her waist and yank her behind a large, thick tree.
He presses her against the trunk, crowding in so close to her that all she can hear is his panting in her ear. His hot breath pours over her neck and his chest heaves against hers. She grips the fabric of his sleeves, and her mind flashes back to that terrible moment on the ledge— when her brain had yet to catch up to the fact that she wasn't falling to her death— and her body was reeling from the sheer terror of it. It feels like that now, the sudden fear and confusion. She has no idea what is happening or how to stop it. Just then she feels Adan pressed against her leg, though, grounding her in the moment.
"You're-"
"We're almost there," Edmund growls, cutting Adan off. He bows his head over Serena's left shoulder, looking down at Adan, she guesses. There's a beat of silence, and Serena tries to shift to the side, but Edmund suddenly lifts his head. His left arm grips her right shoulder, and as the pommel digs into her arm she latches onto the fact that he's switched his sword to his left hand rather than focusing too closely on his intense stare.
"We're going to jump," he says then. He's still so close when Serena lifts her eyes to his, her hair snagging on the bark of the tree as she looks up at him, that she feels sure he can feel the racing of her heart just as clearly as she can. She breathes a shaky 'what' as her grip on his sleeves cinches tighter. "When we reach the edge, we're going to jump." His voice sounds strained and Adan shifts against her leg, but she hardly notices as she stares past Edmund at the bright light where the trees end.
"The edge," she breathes, feeling her heart thud hard in her chest once before picking up even faster— impossibly faster— than before. Edmund's fingers stab into the back of her arm.
"It's a cliff," he says quickly. Serena can feel her shallow breaths hitch. "Cellox will catch us— he's an Eagle— but we need to jump. As far as possible." Serena's chest aches painfully, though she's not sure if it's from fear or panic or this insane man still pressing her against a tree, telling her to jump off a cliff, and she slowly shakes her head.
"I can't," she breathes. Suddenly Edmund's grip on her shoulder loosens, and she distantly registers the sound of his sword hitting the ground just before his hand moves to the side of her head, turning her face to look at him.
"You can." She clenches her eyes shut and shakes her head again, as much as his grip allows. "Serena," he says. She opens her eyes, her vision blurry with tears. "You can do this," he insists. He doesn't give her a chance to refute it this time, instead dropping his hand to her hip and pulling her shirt, forcing her in front of him again.
"I'll slow him down," Adan says behind them, but when Serena tries to look back at the Wolf he's already moving the opposite direction. Slow who down? Serena hadn't thought the others were that close yet, but she doesn't have more than a second to wonder because Edmund presses his left hand against her back, forcing her forward. She trips into a run, and soon finds herself sprinting towards what she now recognizes as the wide open sky in front of them.
When they finally break out of the trees and Serena sees the stark edge, where the land breaks off abruptly, she balks. She nearly stumbles to a halt, but Edmund grips the back of her shirt tightly and propels her forward. She tries to slow them, leaning backwards even as her steps take her right to the edge, but Edmund suddenly wraps both of his hands around the rolled up waist of the trousers she's wearing and, as they reach the edge, he launches them off.
Serena panics immediately. Her hands fly to Edmund's and she tries to pry them off, even though it's far too late for that. The wind rushes at her ears and yanks at her clothes and whips her braid into her face. She can't breathe, can't drag a single lungful of air in, and suddenly she finds herself clutching at Edmund's hands instead of pushing them away.
He pulls one hand free, then, and somehow twists her around to face him and wraps his arms tightly around her back. She presses her face into his shoulder. Suddenly, she feels the hard press of something around her back and legs. It squeezes, pressing her even more closely against Edmund and then she feels heat against her back. She hears Edmund shout, but the words are muffled and unclear to her, and then her stomach lurches as they start to fall even faster.
"It's Cellox," he yells near her ear. His arms shift and she panics, gripping pushing against Edmund and trying to get a little space to just breathe. Edmund lets out a pained grunt and tries to still her frantic movements. She lurches away, but her head hits the warmth behind her. Her eyes, which had been squeezed tightly shut, pop open, and she freezes as her sluggish mind registers that it's body heat— a body at her back. And she sees the cliff face rushing past them, too, followed by the tops of trees as they near the bottom and level out.
Flying, Serena's overstressed brain supplies. Her stomach turns over queasily when they change directions. Edmund groans again as her hand presses into his stomach, and then suddenly he yanks her hand away, causing her forehead to collide with his chin. She presses her face into his neck, though, clenching her eyes shut again, and he slowly shifts his other hand to pull her braid away from their faces.
"It's alright," he says in her ear, but she shakes her head, feeling as though she might be sick. Edmund's grip tightens on her wrist, and his other hand provides a slight buffer between her shoulders and what Serena realizes must be a truly enormous Eagle to carry them both.
The Eagle readjusts his grip on them, pulling them closer against his underside. A whimper escapes Serena, and she can feel the rasp of Edmund's chin on her forehead as she presses her face against his collarbone. She can hear another groan from him, but 'don't move' is all he says, unlocking a new fear that the Eagle might actually drop them. Serena manages a small nod, and for the next few minutes barely dares to breathe as they soar farther and farther from the cliff.
She does peer back a few times, but the speed and height have her quickly closing her eyes again after a few seconds. And each time she turns her head back into Edmund's shoulder, not even caring now that they've known each other barely two days.
It's only minutes later that Serena feels another shift in their flight. A quick peek confirms they're getting lower, and her grip tightens on the back of Edmund's shirt. The flap of wings gives them a jerky final descent, and then they're set down on solid ground.
Serena finds herself sprawled on top of Edmund, arms pinned under him as the Eagle backs away. She quickly pulls her arms free and scrambles off— which elicits a sharp hiss from him— but her eyes are drawn immediately to the huge Eagle as she sits up.
"Lucy," Edmund says, and the strain in his voice is more unexpected than hearing that name again. Serena looks down at his face, tilted toward the Eagle.
"Not far," the raspy voice of the bird replies, and Serena can't focus on anything but the Eagle's keen eyes and sharp beak. "This was as close as I could land."
"Can you…" Edmund trails off, but the Eagle ducks his head once in a deep nod.
"Right away," he says, backing up another step before launching into the sky in a burst of wind and wings. Serena flinches backward, and then, confused, looks down at Edmund again.
And it's then that she finally notices the blood.
His dark tunic is stained a darker red near his right hip, and there's smears of it all over the rest of his clothing. Serena looks down and sees that her hand is already covered too, and then sees the sticky stain on her own clothes, where she'd been pressed against him. Her eyes snap back to Edmund, and his hand is pressed against his stomach now.
"You-" she says, but it's all she can manage to squeeze past the lump in her throat. She thinks suddenly of his tripping as they ran— the only time he's ever stumbled like that. She can't tear her eyes from his bloodied fingers, and she can't seem to find the breath to even ask what happened.
"I need you," he says slowly, drawing her eyes from his wound to his clenched jaw, "to apply pressure." She shakes her head slowly, though of course he doesn't see with his eyes tightly closed.
"I- I can't," Serena stutters, her hands hovering uselessly over her lap. Edmund reaches for her arm, then, latching onto her wrist with his blood-slicked hand. He pulls gently, but insistently, guiding her toward the wound.
"Both hands," he urges. Serena's gaze darts to his face again, but his eyes are screwed shut again. Swallowing hard, she does as he's said, bringing her shaking hands together over his bloodied shirt. "Just press as-" he breaks off, his hand tightening around her wrist for a moment. "As hard as you can," he finishes, tugging on her wrist and forcing her fingers against the slick fabric of his shirt. She leans forward, slowly pressing on the wound. The metallic scent of his blood is all she can smell, nearly choking her.
She fights to stay here and not get sucked into the memories of blood and screams and things that haunt her dreams. She bites her lip, hard, and the pain helps her to focus. Edmund winces when she finally presses down on the wound. She nearly pulls back, but his grip pulses on her wrist.
"Hard as you can," he repeats, his voice more of a harsh whisper now. She doesn't want to— would really rather anyone else was here to help— but a glance around the clearing confirms she's the only one. So she presses down, letting all her weight settle on her hands. She can feel him tense under her, and then his slow, ragged exhale.
Serena can feel tears running down her cheeks, and she's embarrassed despite Edmund's firmly closed eyes. She tries to look anywhere but down. The trees directly ahead of her are blurry, though, and she shifts to wipe her eyes on her shoulder, eliciting a groan from Edmund.
"I'm sorry," she breathes, though it comes out more like a sob. His hand pulses around her wrist again, but he doesn't say anything. Serena focuses on trying just to breathe, and to not think about the warmth leaking over her fingers. The minutes seep by, marked by the blood flowing slowly over her hands.
When a horse and rider finally burst into the clearing, Serena flinches. Edmund's grip on her wrist tightens again, holding her still. She carefully wipes her eyes on her shoulder, trying not to jostle her hands again, and sees him squint toward the person now quickly dismounting.