RAVENNA ALMOST LOST her footing. Her heart thumped inside her chest. She rushed across the water's surface, the hem of her skirt dipping into the water. The horses began to make more nervous sounds, their hooves stomping against the earth. She jumped out of the water and ran to where Vyses's laid. She crouched down and shook his shoulder. "Wake up, Vyses. Wake up!"

He groaned and rolled away from her. She persisted, shaking his shoulder even harder. His eyes fluttered open. "What? What's going on, lass? What's wrong?"

"There is someone coming this way," she hissed at him. "I just heard the sound of hooves and several dogs howling. We need to get out of here before they find us."

A moment of silence passed between them as Vyses blinked, her words registering. Then that silence shattered, broken by an angry growl.

Vyses shot upward and grabbed Ravenna's arm. In one swift movement, he yanked her behind him, shielding her as two dogs burst between the trees. Before she could blink, four horses joined the dogs, carrying four guards.

Ravenna's lungs stopped working. The dogs sniffed around the campsite, searching for something. She glanced around Vyses's arm, watching one of the guards dismount. Vyses sternly asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

"I apologize for interrupting your night," the guard said. He didn't seem mad or like he was about to attack them. "We are searching for a murderous witch that is wanted by the Capitol."

The guard reached for his horse. He opened a small satchel pinned to the saddle and pulled out a scroll. Ravenna tensed as the guard unrolled the scroll, half expecting a spell of some sort.

Instead, a strange image was printed on it. A woman's face stared back at her on the scroll, somewhat crudely drawn. She had sad eyes and uncolored, straw-like hair. Her nose was long --too long, and covered with bumps. Crooked. The woman looked like a witch from one of those old fairy tales.

"Have you seen this woman?" the guard asked.

Vyses shook his head and relaxed. "She does not look familiar," he told the guard. He turned toward Ravenna and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "My wife and I haven't seen anybody who looks like her in our travels."

Ravenna tried not to look suspicious. The guards seemed to glance her over, unconcerned. She couldn't help but notice that their gazes lingered on the bodice of her dress. Slightly annoyed, she crossed her arms over her chest and shifted closer to Vyses.

A growl sounded behind her. She jumped and whipped around. Both dogs slunk toward her, their lips curled back sharpened teeth.

"Call off your dogs," Vyses told the guard, his voice cold. "Our son is sleeping and we shouldn't wake him."

Lyth seemed to stir a bit, though Ravenna didn't quite believe that he was actually asleep. She played along with Vyses, though. "He's just a boy. Knowing that a murderous witch was on the loose would frighten him."

The other three guards dismounted. The dogs continued to growl. "Where exactly did you say that you three were traveling from?" one asked.

Vyses's eyes narrowed. "Ravenna," he said. From the corners of her eyes, she could see Lyth climbing to his feet.

She glanced up at Vyses, her brows furrowed.

"Do me a favor, lass," Vyses murmured. His voice was so low that only she could hear it. "Close your eyes. Don't open them until I tell you to."

She blinked. "Alright."

Ravenna squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with her hands. Within seconds, she felt Vyses leave her side. Metal clinked as the guards moved. Swords rustled in their scabbards, scraping against the sheath as they were drawn. Then the screaming started.

The sound pierced her eardrums, tempting her to open her eyes and look around. She resisted, her nose scrunching as she squeezed her eyes shut harder. She flinched when the horses squealed and moved her hands to cover her ears.

There was another sound --an indescribable slosh mixed with screams and gurgles.

Then silence washed through the air.

Ravenna jumped when hands lightly touched her own. Her eyes shot open. Vyses stood in front of her, his expression grim. She lowered her hands and looked around. The guards, their horses, even their dogs --they'd all vanished.

"Where did they go?" she asked.

Vyses shook his head. "Don't worry about them. Come on, we should probably get out of here. I'm sure that the commotion garnered some attention from the nearby towns."

She frowned and nodded. The sun had already started to rise. Rays of light began to break through the mixture of clouds and treetops that made up the horizon. Lyth and Vyses made quick work at packing up the campsite. Ravenna gathered her spellbook and hugged it to her chest. As she walked toward the horses, she noticed a crumpled-up piece of paper discarded on the ground. She bent down and picked it up. It was the scroll with the drawing on it --the drawing that was supposed to depict her. Beneath the crude image of her face, were four words: "Wanted Dead or Alive."

It was her wanted poster.

She folded it up into a tiny square and then slipped it into her dress. If someone found it near where the guards went missing, they might assume that she had something to do with their deaths. Or that she was still roaming the forest, looking for another victim.

Her lips pressed into a firm line. She didn't like the idea of that.

Once the camp was packed up, the horses were fit with their newfound saddles. "Where did you get these?" Ravenna asked as Vyses helped her onto a horse. She frowned at him. "The other horses? You didn't kill them, did you? It wasn't their fault. They weren't trying to hurt anybody."

He nodded. "Don't worry. I set the other horses free. They'll have plenty of grass to chew and space to roam around in."

"And the dogs?" Ravenna asked quietly.

He grimaced at that. "They were hunting dogs, lass. I had no choice."

Her lips wrinkled together.

He heaved a sigh and patted her knee. "They're in a better place now, rest assured. Are you ready to go? I think it we should be able to find a town to rest in tonight. The dogs were the only reason the guards seemed to recognize us. "

She nodded. "That's fine with me."

It would be nice to practice magic within the confinements of a room, where nobody could sneak up or watch. Plus, if she managed to get a separate room from Vyses and Lyth, she'd be able to study Caelan's spell book.

She silently stroked her horse's mane as Vyses mounted his horse. Then the three of them took off.

so some of you may be wondering why this chapter is being posted right now, as i literally just updated last night and I usually only post once a week. i am posting this chapter to celebrate the fact that ICE MADE IT THROUGH THE FIRST ROUND OF THE WATTY'S AND HAS BEEN LONG-LISTED!!!

so what does this mean?

a) that i am ugly crying really bad right now because...like...what.

b) that if you go to the watty's official profile, you can actually find Ice in their reading list titled "The 2018 Watty's Long List" which is INSANE. 

c) that this book somehow, miraculously made it to the top 800 books in The Watty Awards and that i am so incredibly excited about that and feel really honored that it made it so far. Like I honestly feel like I am still sleeping and that this all a wild dream. 

I know this may come across as super cheesy, but I have to say it anyways. Just thank you guys so so so much. Thank you for even choosing to read this book. There are so many books that are available on this website, so many awesome, kick-ass stories that are beautifully written, and the fact that y'all chose mine to add to your reading selection is just seriously amazing. Just thank you for taking the time to read this book. It really genuinely means the world to me.