EPISODE 6 — ELVES

(POV: Aileen) "Careful!" Hercules rears up, neighing wildly. Dorcha throws himself at me. We hit the ground and he shields me with his body. I can feel his heart pounding fast—he's scared. He leans his mouth close to my ear. "You were about to be skewered. Stay down," he whispers. I hear a sharp hiss, then a dull thud. I lift my eyes toward the tree trunk behind us: an arrow is embedded in a branch, barely half a centimeter from my head. I swallow. If he hadn't been there… "Th-thank you," I murmur. A melodic song, amplified and impossibly sweet, rises into the air. Hercules calms down at once. "Elves… and they were supposed to be peaceful!" Dorcha snaps, glaring at me as he jumps up and draws his sword. I understand—maybe I shouldn't have trusted so easily. "And who says we aren't? It…