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“I already told you, you are not my sister. Whoever you are, you have unlawfully entered our village, and you will suffer the consequences of your actions.”
“Radulf!” I begged, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks, but Radulf was done talking.
He lunged at me, his mighty form bearing down on me like a snow-boulder. I had never found myself on the receiving end of my brother’s furious attacks, but as scared and confused as I was, I knew I had to defend myself, and quickly.
I backed away from him, letting his punches fall just short of my face. I felt the force of his swing as it cut through the air in front of me, and I knew, I could not let one of those land, or I might not get back up again.
He threw another punch, and I ducked underneath it, this time spotting a way past him. I scurried around him while he followed through with the swing, and then I was moving, racing out of his tent and barging past the fresh couple of Fae who had moved in to try to block my escape.
A wolf came charging up at me from between a couple of small tents, and I had to launch myself into the air and vault over it to avoid getting impaled on its huge, sharp teeth. When I landed, I threw myself to the ground, took on my own wolf form, and started running as quickly as I could.
I didn’t know where I was going, at first—the place was a mess of tents, startled Fae, and guards trying to stop me from leaving. I wanted to find the cave I had entered in my dream, but no matter which way I looked, I couldn’t spot it. I also couldn’t smell it, which was odd, considering my nose never missed a single scent.
I tried to focus on it, to remember it, to wrap myself up in the aroma that purple mist gave off, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t follow it, because it wasn’t there. It wasnowhere.
“She’s over there!” someone yelled.
I ducked under a tent flap, raced through it, and shot out of the other side, but not before crashing into everyone andeverythinginside and making a horrible mess.
“Stop her!” I heard Radulf call out over the commotion.
That hurt. My own brother wanted to apprehend me; he had wanted to punch me. What the hell was happening? It was as if nobody knew who I was, as if nobody remembered me.No. Wait. It was worse than that.
Radulf had said he had a sister, and that I wasn’t her.
Was I supposed to believe that? How was that even possible? Maybe I was dreaming again; maybe, if I shook my head hard enough, I would wake myself up and all of this would be over. Everything would go back to the way it was.
But that wasn’t how the world worked.
I bolted out of the tent and decided to make my way toward the mountain pass and the portal out of here. It was the only way to go, now. I wasn’t safe here. Not anymore. I had to get out of the village of the Moon Children and then go… somewhere.
Anywhere.
Anywhere but here.
I ran up along the mountain side at full pelt, knowing full well I was being followed by Radulf and some of his people. A buzzing green light shot past my ears and went racing up ahead of me, leaving a trail of Pixie dust for me to inhale. Instantly the cloud tickled my nostrils, and within only a manner of seconds came the first sneeze of a violent fit.
“Gullie!” I yelled, “What are you doing?!”
But the Pixie didn’t respond. Instead, she flew off to the side, away from the mountain pass—away from me. I kept running even as I continued to sneeze. It was impossible to keep my eyes open, and I found it incredibly difficult to stay steady with my nose constantly going off like that. I was slowing down, but that was what Gullie had meant to do.
Slow me down so my brother could catch up to me.
But I wouldn’t slow down. I refused. I wasn’t going to let them catch me, because to them, I was an interloper, an invader, someone who didn’t belong here. Who was to say what they would do to me? Staying here was a bad idea—I had to make it to the portal. I had to throw my head back, howl, and get myself away from the Moon Children; as far away as I could.
And that was what I did.
Though my brother was hot on my heels, I made it to the circle of stones. After sneezing once more for good measure, I arched my neck and howled high, long, and deep. The portal activated, my stomach churned, and when I opened my eyes again, I was in the woods; the same woods I had run through to get here in the first place.
I didn’t wait, even for a moment.
I ran, and I ran, and I ran. With my head down and my limbs pushing me as hard as they could, I shot through the forest, taking a detour from the main path and heading for the small creek not far from the portal. The Moon Children used the trickling stream to wash away their scents and confuse pursuers trying to get into the village.
I used it to confuse my brother and the Moon Children pursuing me.
Though the water was cold, I only had to bear it for a few moments before I made it to the other side. I cast one look across my shoulder and listened to the hunting pack’s threatening howls before deciding I couldn’t take another second of it. I kept running, avoiding the main road and sticking to the deeper, more dangerous parts of the woods.
Where are you going, Amara?I asked myself.What are you doing?What is happening?
