Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (z-lib.org).mobi

the Darkling’s guard. His bleary glance took in the scene: the man on the ground
and me standing over him.
“What’s all this?” he slurred. The girl on his arm tittered.
“I’m blind!” wailed the man on the ground. “She blinded me!”
The oprichnik looked at him and then peered at me. His eyes met mine, and
recognition spread across his face. My luck had run out. Even if no one else was
looking for me, the Darkling’s guards were.
“You …” he whispered.
I ran.
I bolted down an alleyway and into a maze of narrow streets, my heart
pounding in my chest. As soon as I’d cleared the last few dingy buildings of
Ryevost, I hurtled off the road and into the underbrush. Branches stung my
cheeks and forehead as I stumbled deeper into the woods.
Behind me rose the sounds of pursuit: men shouting to one another, heavy
footfalls through the wood. I wanted to run blindly, but I made myself stop and
listen.
They were to the east of me, searching near the road. I couldn’t tell how many
there were.
I quieted my breathing and realised I could hear rushing water. There must be
a stream nearby, a tributary of the river. If I could make it to the water I could
hide my tracks, and they would be hard-pressed to find me in the darkness.
I made for the sounds of the stream, stopping periodically to correct my
course. I struggled up a hill so steep I was almost crawling, using branches and
exposed tree roots to pull myself higher.
“There!” The voice called out from below me, and looking over my shoulder,
I saw lights moving through the woods towards the base of the hill. I clawed my
way higher, the earth slipping beneath my hands, each breath burning in my
lungs. When I got to the top, I dragged myself over the edge and looked down. I
felt a surge of hope as I spotted moonlight glimmering off the surface of the
stream.
I slid down the steep hill, leaning back to try to keep my balance, moving as
fast as I dared. I heard shouts, and when I looked behind me, I saw the shapes of
my pursuers silhouetted against the night sky. They had reached the top of the
hill.
Panic got the better of me, and I started to run down the slope, sending
showers of pebbles clattering down the hill to the stream below. The grade was
too steep. I lost my footing and fell forward, scraping both hands as I hit the
ground hard and, unable to stop my momentum, somersaulted down the hill and
plunged into the freezing water.