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My adrenaline soared as I charged toward the section where the wolfsbane grew, unsure where I was going, and why I’d decided this was a good decision. I thundered through the bushes, stomping them, and sprinted into the forest to where I’d seen others carrying theplants.
Inside the Den’s woods, an eerie silence engulfed me, and chilliness bit into myflesh.
“Get her now!” the priestess yelled. “I want hercaught.”
Everything about today rolled through me. Basically, I kept making mistake aftermistake.
Guards bulleted straight after me. I darted past more workers, who stared at me with frightenedexpressions.
I ran. Ducking under branches. Leaping over evergreens. Weaving left and right to shake my pursuers. I never should have gone for wolfsbane. Or stuck my nose in. Or hung around after seeing the priestess whipping a person. Now, I’d be lucky to survive theday.
Around me, trunks blended into the grayish backdrop. Where was I? But I had to escape and work out a solution to my problemslater.
Two guards still chased me, their heavy breaths labored, so I hooked a sharp left where the land sloped downward, speeding my pace. No stopping. No slowingdown.
On my next step, I hit a dip and the toe of my boot snagged onto a dead branch. My world shuttered as the ground came rushing toward my face. I slammed down, the air thrust out of my lungs. I rolled down the side of the hill, screaming. Leaves and twigs poked my back; rocks stabbed mysides.
Next thing I knew, I was airborne and for those few seconds, I gawked at the sharp cliff I’d just flownoff.
“Oh, shit!” I pin-wheeled my arms, fallingfast.
My screams faded in the rush of air crashing against me, ripping at my clothes, myhair.
I hit thewater.
Iciness sank its fangs into me, freezing me at the core. Air bubbles rushed over my face. Tightness clamped around my lungs, squeezing them from the lack of oxygen. I thrashed my legs, not ready todie.
When my head broke the surface, I panted for air, waves splashing me in the face as the current carried medownstream.
The river sprayed in my face, and I dog-paddled, swallowing a mouthful. A sudden electric charge buzzed through me. I convulsed, my head bobbing beneath thecurrent.
Time vanished fast, and panic hammered against my ribs. No one would ever find me and everyone would assume I’d gotten eaten by wild animals. But when the pinpricking sensation returned to my legs, I thrust them through the water, rising toward the sun-specked surface and gulping at theair.
Trees crowded the edges of the rapids on both sides, but my thoughts numbed as I battled the waters. A boulder rose out of the waves. I reached out and latched on to it, my fingers digging into stone, my legs wrapped aroundit.
Each inhale shivered on the way to my lungs, and the coldness lapped against me. I stared back to the cliff I’d fallen from, so high, I could have died. But there was no sign of the guardians. Guess there was one bright outcome. Yeah, right. I was lost in theDen.
Yep, great way to get yourself killed, Scarlet. Even if the priestess didn’t imprison me for life, now the wolves will tear me apart.A paralyzing hurt spread through me, and every part of me twitched with the urgency to run, to dosomething.
Any other place and I’d love the location, the sun basking on my head, the lush greenness, the snow-peaked mountains in the distance. Except I was in a tailspin oftrouble.
The priestess would now visit my store and wait for me or worse yet, arrest Santos. I’d landed somewhere in the forbidden territory—the Den—with wolves that apparently warred. Oh, and I was soaking wet and had to get to dryland.
“Wonderful work, Scarlet. What’s next on the to-do list? Killing someone?” I shuddered at the thought. What was wrong withme?
“Okay, first get out, dry off and get mybearings.”
By some miracle, my bag had remained on myshoulders.
I stilled, listening. The hiss of a waterfall told me what I needed to know. Death awaited if I didn’t get out of the river. Nearby, I saw another boulder and yet another ahead, closer to shore. So I inched to the side of mine and kicked off, letting the rippling currents drag me to the next one. By the time I reached the third rock, exhaustion claimedme.
The stream passed me, and the cold cramped my calves. But salvation wasn’t far. My head pounded; every ounce of my body screamed for a timeout. I swam across the river, water sloshing everywhere. Inches away. Almostthere.
Pushing farther, I strained my muscles and fought the steady flow dragging me toward the waterfall threatening to swallow mewhole.
With every bit of my remaining strength, I took long strokes, fighting thedeluge.
When I clasped the lip of the shore, a new sense of vigor struck, but a torrent of water snaked around me, ripping me away from salvation. I yelped and swam harder than ever before. Always go against the current, I’d once been told, so I pushedmyself.
The moment I reached the bank, my feet finally found purchase on the ground. “Freakin’hell.”
I crawled out, trembling, and slumped onto the grassy field encased by loftypines.
Every inch of me screamed with pain. Above, the sun eased my chills. And when I closed my eyes, I let myself believe I was safe, that I’d find a way home, that my world didn’t balance on a knife’sedge.
The last time I’d felt this lost and alone was when my grandma had died. When my future had seemed bleak. I pictured her smile, the way she’d always pinch my cheeks, then try to feed me six meals a day because I was too skinny. My throat thickened. There was so much I’d wanted to share with her, like how well the store performed, or how my new technique on drying herbs made the whole process faster. Whenever I’d had a problem, she had been my go-to person. My rock. Now… I wiped the tears running down the side of myface.
A deep guttural snarl carried on the wind.Sweet bunnies.I didn’t want to glance up and find awolf.
I couldn’t remember how to breathe, speak, or move as terror ricocheted inside my skull. Bile rose in my throat. And just like that, my situation got a million timesworse.
