The guardsmen from Haven made no allowances for his broken nose and ribs. They trained their pistols at his head and kept him moving. The trail twisted through the forest, climbing over knolls and descending into ravines. It would’ve been a grueling hike even if he wasn’t injured. John panted from the effort, his chest aching with every breath, but he didn’t complain. Keeping his face rigid, he stared at the back of Ariel’s head, which bobbed behind Conroy’s. The guard carried her piggyback, cradling her broken legs against his hips while she gripped his muscular shoulders. John focused on her long, swaying red hair and felt a surge of anger. She’d handed him over, turned him in. Once they reached Haven, the Elders would kill him. He was guilty of the crime of knowing too much. The sheer ingratitude of it, that’s what he couldn’t get over. He’d saved Ariel’s life, and this was how she repaid him! She said she’d had no choice, but John didn’t believe it. Did she really have to reveal that he knew her family’s secret?
