Panic tightened her chest as she hurried to fold the map and shove it into her bag. Alaric and Reuben had to be warned. They couldn’t stay here.
She grabbed her bag and reached for the door, but the moment her fingers grazed the handle, a shadow fell over the carriage. A smothering darkness, tightening like a noose and carrying with it a cold, breathless dread.
For a second, she saw nothing. Only black mist, curling and twisting through the cracks in the wood, wrapping around her limbs like invisible fingers. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. And Reuben stood before her.
But it wasn’t Reuben.
His face was frozen. His features were warped, his eyes black, a wicked smile slicing across his lips.
“Reuben?”
He didn’t respond. His skin looked pale and sickly, just as Cillian’s had been that night in the library. A warning bell screamed in her mind. She had to move. Had to find Alaric. But she couldn’t, because Reuben stood in the carriage doorway, unmoving and unblinking. Fear clawed its way up her throat.
“Alaric!” Her voice cut through the night, but she heard nothing in return. Was he still by the fire? Was he still here?
Reuben’s hand closed around her wrist in a flash, unrelenting as iron. Pain lanced up her arm, and she gasped, realizing just how unnatural his strength truly was.
“Reuben, let go!” She twisted and fought, but it was like trying to tear free from shackles.
Then he spoke—but the sound was twisted. No warmth, no familiarity. Just a chilling cruelty that wasn’t his.
“Foolish girl,” he sneered. “You were warned. Yet here you are, still sniffing around.”
His grip turned vicious, grinding down with bone-snapping pressure. He dragged her in close, voice laced with malice. “Consider this mercy my last.”
Whatever looked out through Reuben’s eyes wasn’t human anymore.
Evelyne could barely breathe, panic swallowing her whole. But then, the sound of footsteps rushed toward them.
“Evelyne—” Alaric was close now. But before he could reach her, the trees shuddered. A low, guttural growl ripped through the air just as a massive shadow lurched from the trees.
It was huge. And not just one figure, but…three.
Reuben blinked. His eyes snapped back to normal, and the haze lifted. He looked down at Evelyne’s wrist, his grip still crushing her bones. Horror spread across his face. He released her instantly, stumbling back.
“I—I’m so sorry, my lady.” His voice trembled.
She hardly heard him. Her focus had narrowed to the hulking shapes emerging from the dark. Creatures built to hunt. The snarls grew louder, closer, and her heart thrashed violently against her ribs.
Alaric’s urgent voice cut through the moment. “RUN!”
Evelyne pushed ahead, branches snagging at her cloak, hair, and skin. The forest closed in around them, trees pressing from all sides. The ground was rough and uneven, but she couldn’t stop.
They were close. Growls split the night, vibrating through her bones. She sprinted harder than she ever had, but the pounding of paws stayed just a breath behind.
“Keep running!” Alaric yelled.
She nearly tripped on a jagged root but caught herself at the last second. A sharp branch sliced across her cheek. Warmth trailed down her skin. But she couldn’t slow down. Not as the footsteps became louder—
Her ankle twisted in a hidden ditch. She went down hard, face-first into the mud. A curse had barely left her lips before a massive weight crushed into her back, and hot breath ghosted over the nape of her neck.
The sting of claws raked across her back. She braced for the end, squeezing her eyes shut.
THUMP.
Something struck the back of her head, and the world vanished into blackness.
Chapter 25
