Free When Goblins Rage (Book 3) by Lucas Thorn

seen must've been he owl returning from hunting. She must've caught a glimpse of it and mistook it for a hundred other dangers which lurked in the forests of the Deadlands.
    She wondered at how such a small and seemingly insignificant creature could wire her so full of fear she would lose her mind at the surprise of its flight.
    How the Deadlands could lure her into fearing the worst at every second. And it was then she knew she wanted more than anything else to be far from this cursed place.
    As far as she could go.
    Maybe even as north as Icereach. Up where the snow never melted. And into the arms of the city which was rumoured to be so beautiful it would break your heart to see it.
    She could use more beauty in her life.
    “Bastard,” she choked at last, breath coming in gulps. “Fucking bastard owl.”
    Her eyes flickered toward the shadows, noticing how dark it was getting. And then she caught a smudge of light. She cocked her head, peering intently. Definitely light.
    Not her imagination this time.
    And light, she thought, meant food. It had to.
    Sure, it meant people, too. But she would respond to those however they chose to deal with her.  
    All she wanted was the food.
    And then sleep.
    She pressed onward, leaving the owl behind. Kept her gait determined. Almost desperate to reach the light.
    So, when she finally managed to squeeze from the clutches of the last of the thorns and found herself on a path leading toward a large fort in the distance, she almost wept with relief. Saw the lights came from the watchtowers positioned at each corner, and headed as quickly as she could down the path.
    Felt herself stumble more than once, but her mouth kept its grim line and her violet eyes never moved from the fort's gates as she forced each step.
    She knew where she was now. Knew she'd made it to Tannen's Run at last.
    Knew beyond the fort was the path through the mountains. Through the Bloods.
    She was nearly there. So close she could taste it.
    The snow fell more thickly, each flake gleaming like deflated stars. Soon, her boots were wet and ice crunched with each step. The darkness bled across the sky, muffling the landscape and leaving her eyes burning as they stared only at the lights flooding the area around the fort.
    Could see a few black shapes scurrying about along the walls. Walls with crenels through which a few guards were peering out. She noticed some had bows already notched, but they hadn't fired at her.
    Heard a few shouts.
    Exhaustion lapped at her bones. A part of her began to wonder if she could make it.
    But the other part. The part which had grown up on the cruellest streets in the world. Which had once gutted a nobleman and thus given birth to one of the coldest killers ever trained by the Jukkala'Jadean. That part refused to give in.
    It clenched her jaw and gave her expression something of a snarl as the air misted through her teeth. Her fists balled at her side.
    Fuelling herself on a rising tide of hate. Hate which had no focus. No direction. Just a swirling hot vortex which grew in heat as she finally drew so close she could make out the little details. The walls stained with old blood and mould.
    The gates, reinforced and recently patched with timber from the forest. Steel scrap.
    A handful of men at the tower closest to her approach, peering down at her in surprise. Pointing. Mail shirts freshly cleaned and glittering.
    Spears bright.
    A guard high on the walls called down to the gate; “Open the gates. Fast! It's an elf! Open up. An elf can't be one of them! Quickly, lads! Let her in!”
    The gates moaned terrifically as they opened, but only wide enough to allow her passage.
    Shivering, she pushed past a few grasping hands and fell to her knees in the mud beneath the shadows of the walkway above. Stayed there, hunched over. Tightly gripped her knees with her fingers and let the shivering slowly subside as the satisfaction of having survived washed her clean.
    One of the guards knelt beside