“Hit a nerve, have I?” Yaliana laughed. “Who is it, then?”
“No one,” protested Ulissa hastily, but she wasn’t a good liar at the best of times.
“I knew it. Shall I guess who it is?”
Yaliana’s teasing burned in an unpleasant way, but a sudden snap of a branch sent a shiver racing down Ulissa’s spine. “Quiet!”
“Telling me to be quiet isn’t going to stop me.”
“No, I mean, be quiet…something wrong,” Ulissa stopped, listening intently.
Yaliana paused as well. There wasn’t a sound, not a buzz or a whir from any animals or birds. Their breathing seemed extremely loud in the quiet.
“What’s wrong?” Yaliana eventually asked.
Before Ulissa could respond, something large exploded out of the bushes behind them, snorting and trumpeting. She caught a blur of grey and brown hide, and far too many
