The wind tries to knock me off-course, hurtling this way and that over the mossy hills. I stumble through the thick grass and brambles. Thunder booms, shaking the ground beneath my feet, and I drop to my knees.
"This is insane," I mutter furiously as I push myself up and keep moving towards the lake. "The moment we're both dry, I'm going to kill him. With my bare hands."
If this storm doesn't kill us both first, that is.
I cling to my anger and frustration. I cling to the hope that we are both going to get out of this and that there is a future where I can rail against Samuil for scaring me this much, for putting me through this.
Because the alternative is unthinkable.
I finally make it to the loch's edge. My boots squelch in the boggy grass, heather whipping against my bare knees. Th
