"We'll stay here for tonight. Tomorrow, we will reach the pack."
Emira nodded quickly, her head bowed low, and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Every step was a battle. Her lower body felt as if it had been beaten into the ground, crushed under weight and pressure she was not made to bear. Her legs trembled, her thighs screamed with soreness, and the muscles along her calves burned with every movement.
The long hours of riding-nearly eight without proper rest-had worn her down completely. Her thighs and legs ached from being pressed tightly against the saddle seat for so long, and her backside throbbed not only from the ride but also from the 'interrogation' that Prince Kael had so mercilessly put her through earlier. It felt as though the pain overlapped, one wound piled on top of another, until she could hardly tell where one ended and the other began.
