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I hadn’t made it a dozen steps when I had to stop, sweat breaking out on my lip. I slumped against a tree, each breath a struggle as the vines I was using as a rope dropped from my wrist. Weakness sent a tremble coursing through me. I brushed the back of my hand against my mouth, swallowing hard.
This wasn’t normal.
That was my only thought as my knees gave out and I collapsed on the ground, my rib no longer my concern as my strength drained from me. I managed to roll onto my back, desperate to see the sky above me, if these were to be my last moments. I stared through the bare limbs of the trees to where the stars glittered in the night sky. Something ran down my temple and my finger shook as I touched the skin. My finger came away wet and I stared at the droplet as another ran into my hair, and realized I was crying.
I didn’t understand what was happening to me, nothing Gran had ever done had come close to the paralyzing weakness that had overtaken me now, but as I lay there only one regret overwhelmed me.
Caleb.
His name whispered across my mind as the night sky blurred above me.
Dru.
My breath hitched at his faint response.
You’re here, I murmured, as the tight band squeezing my chest eased.
Wouldn’t be anywhere else, he answered glibly, too glibly as his voice caught. What do you see?
Stars. They’re blanketing the sky.
Are they as stunning as you?
Far more stunning than I could ever be, I replied, warmth curling through me at his compliment.
Somehow I doubt that.
Apprehension crept in as I noted how pale his voice sounded. Caleb, I urged, panic piercing the lethargy taking over my body. What’s wrong?
I need to break the connection between us, he mumbled indistinctly. It might….hurt a bit.
Why? I cried, struggling to sit up but too weak to move more than a couple of inches. What’s happening?
Nothing, he tried to reassure me, but his voice faded in and out. You’ll be safe.
What about you? The stars magnified as tears pooled in my eyes, my body growing numb while I waited for his reply.
White hot heat seared through me, arching my back as my brain felt like it was being carved into pieces and I heard Caleb’s voice in the clearing, clear as a bell, “Stay safe, Princess.”
“Caleb,” I gasped, the worst pain of my life hitting me as it felt like my head was being split open. I rolled over, puking into the damp leaves, my mind terrifyingly silent. I laid there for several minutes, each heartbeat sending agony spiking through my head, until one heartbeat it hurt a little less, then another, and my fingers managed to curl into my palm.
“Caleb,” I didn’t recognize my voice, it was so rough and hoarse, and thought I must have been screaming without realizing it. “Caleb.” He didn’t answer and my temple throbbed in time to the beat of my heart. I sat up, swaying as some of my strength returned.
Moisture ran down my face and I swiped angrily at the tears that dared to fall, but when I looked at my hands, one was covered in blood. I reached up, touching the corner of my amber eye and when I pulled my finger back it was coated in blood. I touched my blue eye, but came away with only a single clear droplet.
“What did you do?” I muttered, struggling to my feet, my naked body coated in sticky blood and leaves. “Caleb, what did you do?” I screamed, but my voice was gone, the scream barely a whimper and I stumbled, falling against a tree as my feet wobbled. My body felt awkward, heavy, and almost useless, each motion as new as if I’d just learned it. I stepped forward, determined to find Caleb and force him to undo whatever it was he’d done, unable to deal with the empty echo of my own thoughts, his comforting presence far more apparent now that it was gone.
A snapping branch brought my head up, and instinct took over. I scuttled backwards, grabbing the dead boar and using the darkness to hide me as I curled into the hollow of a dead tree.
“You heard it.” I recognized Strickland’s voice and settled deeper into the tree’s trunk, curious as to why he was out here and who was with him.
A voice I didn’t know blustered, “Some animal dying. Why are we searching for it?”
“I don’t want to find it,” another voice squeaked, sounding suitably creeped out.
“If there’s something out here I want to know what it is, besides that didn’t sound like no animal,” Strickland answered. “It sounded human.”
“Again, I don’t see why we need to find it.”
“There’s traps out here,” Strickland reported. “One of ‘em might have caught something.” He paused and I held my breath. “Like a wolf shifter.”
