#Chapter 54: Twenty-four Hours

Evelyn I rode through the forest like the trees were chasing me. All the while, blood roared in my ears as my hands clenched the reins enough to bleach my knuckles. Every heartbeat pounded against my ribs like a drum of war. Fear and urgency spurred me on deeper and deeper. Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours. The deadline I had been given echoed in my head mercilessly. That’s all the time I had before Jesse expected an answer. Within that timeframe, I had to decide between my freedom and a world of bloodshed, or my imprisonment and pack peace. I knew that this was not a decision I could make lightly, nor was it one I could make entirely alone. If I were going to throw myself into the fire, I needed to tell my father. He would need to be aware of the ultimatum for many reasons. But I suspected that I already knew which way his decision would lean. Leaves snagged in my hair, and thorns bit into my exposed skin as I blurred by, but I didn’t slo