Guardian

I leaned against the cold stone of the cave wall, shifting slightly to keep the sharp edges from digging into my back. The darkness outside stretched endlessly, a vast and suffocating void that swallowed even the faintest hints of light.

The forest beyond the cave was nothing but a mass of shifting shadows, its silence as unsettling as the deep, slow breaths of a slumbering predator.

Rhiannon had fallen asleep almost instantly, curling up like a cat against the rocky floor, her body slack with exhaustion. I hadn't expected her to knock out so quickly, but then again, she had been through a lot.

Being carried at high speed through a deadly forest would do that to a person. I glanced at her, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest, the way a strand of her long brown hair had slipped over her face. Peaceful. Too peaceful.

Lucky her.

I couldn't afford that luxury right now. Someone had to keep watch, and that someone was me.