The carriage jolted again—harder this time—its wheels skidding over the gravel road. Emma braced against the armrest, muscles coiled like a spring.
Then, without warning, the horses screamed.
The sound was raw, shrill, and ended far too abruptly.
Emma's blood ran cold. Horses didn't stop like that. Not unless—
Something silenced them.
She lowered herself slightly, keeping her center of gravity low as her other hand reached for the hidden compartment beneath the seat.
Her fingertips brushed the cool surface of a small, rune-etched talisman. A single squeeze would ignite the defensive wards she had brought for emergencies.
But activating it too soon might reveal her position.
The carriage shuddered to a halt.
Not a single creak of harness leather followed. Not a breath of wind.
Only silence.
"Driver," Emma said evenly, though her voice held the chill of sharpened ice. "Answer me. Now."
Still nothing.
She bit the inside of her cheek, tasting the copper of blood.
