Free A Forest of Wolves by Chelsea Luna

chance.”
    â€œWas there a crowd?” I asked.
    â€œThe whole market was watching. The owner of the fish cart stood there. We knew him. He came into our shop all the time. He looked scared for the boys, but he couldn’t say anything to the guard. I didn’t know what happened at the time—Jiri told me later—but Kristoff had dared Jiri to steal a fish. He did, but the owner caught him and caused a scene. It was their bad luck that there happened to be a guard walking through the market.”
    I crawled closer to Marc, settling into the nook of his arm and laying my head on his chest.
    â€œHenrik confronted the guard and demanded the boys’ release. The crowd around the fish cart became unruly. Ruzena’s mother edged closer to the boys and, as Henrik caused a bigger scene, she grabbed her son. She melted into the mob and darted off with him. The guard drew his sword and went after her, but Henrik tackled him.”
    â€œDid Henrik have a weapon?”
    â€œNeither of us did. It was so stupid. We were kids, though, you know? We didn’t think about what we were doing. We’d come from a blacksmith shop full of weapons, and now we were fighting a grown soldier of the Royal Guard who was armed with a sword. We all could’ve died that day.”
    Marc exhaled. “Anyway, Henrik tackled the guard and I grabbed Jiri. His hands were bound, but I snatched him and ran. I looked over my shoulder and saw Henrik getting to his feet. But during the distraction Kristoff had taken off in the opposite direction.”
    â€œWhat was the crowd doing?”
    â€œThey closed in on the fish cart and made it difficult for the guard to move. Henrik reached me and we ran away with Jiri, but when I looked back, the guard was chasing Kristoff.”
    I glanced up at Marc.
    He absently kissed the top of my head. “I didn’t like Kristoff, but I couldn’t let the guard catch him. I told Henrik to take Jiri back to the shop. Henrik protested, but I ran off. I sprinted through the crowd and reached the guard as he was closing in on Kristoff. I jumped on the guard’s back.”
    â€œOh my God.”
    â€œAnd then I went crazy. I was twelve, but I punched and kicked with everything I had. I yelled at Kristoff to run and he did. My hands were bloody from punching, but I didn’t know how much damage I was inflicting. The guard shoved me off and drew his sword. It happened quickly, but the guard lunged and stabbed. The point of his sword sliced me here.” He absently touched the long scar on his torso.
    â€œMy God, you poor thing.”
    â€œI couldn’t believe it at first because I didn’t feel anything. When I looked down, blood had soaked through my shirt. The crowd swarmed around the guard, distracting him, and I was able to escape. I went back to our shop. Henrik, Jiri, Kristoff, and Ruzena’s family was there. Ruzena’s mother tended my wound and we stayed at her house until my dad came back from his deliveries.”
    â€œThen what happened?” I couldn’t imagine a man stabbing a twelve-year-old boy over a stolen fish.
    â€œWord on the street was that the Crown was searching for five unruly boys—me, Henrik, Jiri, Kristoff, and Ruzena’s brother. The guards ordered that we were to be delivered to the castle by the end of the day.”
    â€œWhat did you do?”
    â€œRuzena’s family smuggled us to Kladno. We stayed with Igor for a month while things died down. My dad sneaked out of Prague to see us when he could. Our neighbors knew what happened, but they never gave us up. They never revealed our identity to the guards. We stood strong as a community against the Crown.”
    I pressed my forehead against his. “That’s only one of the reasons you hate the Crown. Look at what they’ve done to you.”
    â€œThat’s why we’re fighting back.”
    â€œAnd Kristoff? Why do you hate each other? I