And yet, she just stands there.
Still. Silent.
Ijust stand there.
A keening sound tears from my throat. I slam my hands over my face, grinding my fists into my eyes.
No.No no no.
I dig my nails into my forehead, willing myself to wake up.
And when I open my eyes?—
She’s gone.
I slowly catch my breath. “Get a grip,” I mutter, my voice shaking. “Get a grip.”
I’m hallucinating. That’s all this is. My brain is fried from shock. From exhaustion.
But logic doesn’t calm the quake in my limbs.
I rub my arms, trying to chase away the cold, but my body won’t stop shaking. I need warmth. Rest. If I don’t get it, I won’t make it through the night.
Survival mode kicks in.
I shift onto my side and drag several fallen branchestoward me. They’re damp and rotting, but they hold my body heat.
My eyelids droop. My body aches.
I can’t keep my eyes open. Just a quick sleep. A few minutes. That’s all I need. With one last shiver, I let go.
Sunlight slashesthrough the dense branches.
I jolt upright. For a terrifying instant, I don’t know where I am.
Then it rushes back.
Callum. Donag. That freaky cabin.
I push to my feet, wincing as pain arcs up my ankle. My throat aches with thirst, my body weak with hunger. My muscles lock, stiff from the cold.
I need to get back—now—while I still can.
The inn, blankets, dry clothes, the way my bed smelled faintly of lavender and dust…I just have to get there.
Maybe I’ll call the cops. Or maybe I’ll just find Janet and leave.
For a delicious instant, I consider abandoning my mother here. She’s the one who ran off. The one with the secret past and the enemies scarier than she is. It’d serve her right to deal with that Donag woman herself.
But it’s all moot. The only thing that matters now is surviving.
I force one foot in front of the other, slipping into the quiet place in my head. The one that doesn’t overthink, just acts.
Then I skid to a stop, every hair on my body standing on end. “What the hell?”
There’s a castle in the distance, and I know—I know—there wasn’t one here yesterday.
Now, a massive gray hulk of stone rises from the earth, a turret clinging to one corner like an afterthought. It’s looming, unfamiliar. Except it’s not.
