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“Leave me alone!” I scream. “I did nothing wrong!”
“You’re a stain on this family!” the voice yells. It’s getting closer. “Nothing but trash to be disposed of. I’ll feed you to the worgs!”
I pick up speed, hoping it is enough to get away from my pursuer. I dive behind a large tree trunk, holding my breath as I shrink in size.
Please… Please spare me, gods! I have a life now, a man who does not yet know my true feelings for him.
I hear rapid footsteps approaching, hoping they continue past me, but they slow as they enter my vicinity.
“There’s no point hiding,” says the strange voice. “I know you are here somewhere.”
Who is trying to kill me?
I want to peek my head out but fear says my pursuer will spot me. Their laughter cackles and echoes through the chilling air, igniting a wave of goosebumps up my arm. I feel sick to my stomach.
Why do they feel so familiar? Their name is on the tip of my tongue.
I have to escape.
Silently taking a deep breath, I muster the courage to slip out of my hiding spot. I rear my head above the tree trunk, only to be met with my pursuer’s face staring at me dead on.
Their mouth opens to let out a blood-curdling scream that stops me from breathing. I cannot see their face, their features are a blurry mess.
I turn the other way and run. This time I’m far slower than before. The faster I pick up the pace, the less I move in reality. Behind me, my pursuer, or soon-to-be killer, teasingly ambles toward me.
I fall to the ground as they suddenly disappear, but the nightmare isn’t over. Something pours down my throat, and I have a deja vu feeling that this has already happened before.
The pain is almost too much for me to bear. It is like being drowned from the inside out.
Alas, what hurts more than anything else is not being able to see Valkus again. I can only think of his face, his smile acting as a temporary painkiller.
As life slowly drifts away, I realize that he and I were never meant to be. After all, I am only human.
“Don’t!” I yell.
For a moment, I see the blurry face in front of me again.
“It’s me!” says a familiar voice.
My vision clears up, revealing a panicked Valkus looking over me. At that moment, a wave of relief like I’ve never known washes over me. Clinging to Valkus, I mumble about thoughts of dying, but he shushes me, telling me to rest.
I’m afraid of closing my eyes in case the nightmare returns, but Valkus’ presence helps reassure me that it’s all in my head. I try to relax as he stabilizes my aching body.
“It’s a miracle that you’re alive,” he says after a while. “This case was far worse than the previous one.”
“It certainly feels that way.”
“How is your head, Althia?”
“Clear and free of pain, surprisingly.”
Valkus looks at me intensely as he wipes his hands with a cloth.
“Then now is the time to tell me everything that happened while I was gone.”
“That’s the part I don’t remember.” I sigh. He scoffs, visibly frustrated. “Oh, are you going to get mad at me now? I almost died, mind you!”
“And that’s why we need to figure this whole thing out. Remember what I said about getting lucky when we saved your life last time? I don’t know how I managed to pull it off this time, but there may not be a next time given how this happened again so soon.”
