Slowly, I get my breath back, easing the backpack off my shoulders and waiting for the world to stop spinning. I look around, realizing I haven’t actually gotten that far from the house.
Failure upon failure.
I’m beginning to slide right into full-on despair when I hear a footstep nearby. I’m immediately on alert. Even though it could be someone just innocently on a hike, it could be one of the pack, too.
And I wouldn’t blame them for ripping my throat out. I’ve done such a terrible thing.
“Trina?”
Sadie’s voice flows to me from the nearby trees, and I look up to see her hurrying towards me with her arms out. I’m so relieved to see her; tears spill down my cheeks, and sobs rattle through my chest. Sadie hurries to me, kneeling on the ground next to me to wrap me in her arms.
“Shh, honey,” she says, hugging me tight. “It’s all going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not!” I wail. “Have you heard what happened?”
“Yes, I did, and it’s not your fault the curse suddenly got stronger. We’ll figure it out.”
I pull back a little so I can look into her eyes. “You really don’t know, do you?”
Owen must be keeping it a secret?
“Know what?” Sadie asks, a little suspiciously.
“I did a spell on Owen and me. I found it in one of the old books in the library. It was supposed to bind us and fix my powers.”
“Whoa,” Sadie mutters. “Do you have it on you?”
“No,” I answer, shaking my head. “It would still be in my room at Owen’s house—if he didn’t burn it.”
Sadie chews her lip a little, thinking. “I might need to see it, but if I work with you, then I can probably figure it out without the original spell.”
“Owen forbade me from using magic. He said I’d done enough.”
“Well, no one forbade me,” Sadie says. “And I have to look into this. It’s incredibly serious, and I can’t just leave it. Is that why you’re out here in the woods… having an unusually long hike?”
She gestures to the backpack, and I look away guiltily.
“Yeah.”
“You’re running away, aren’t you?”
I just nod in response.
“Trina, no matter what Owen said, he needs you. I’m sure he didn’t intend to drive you away. Please, don’t go.”
I want to protest, or maybe even get up and just keep running, but I’m too miserable.
And tired.
“I don’t know what to do,” I say, looking at the ground. “I’m so lost.”
“Come home with me,” Sadie says. “You can stay with us for a little while, and we’ll figure everything out.”
Again, I want to protest, but my body is clearly telling me that resistance is futile. I have to rest soon, or I’ll just collapse. I let Sadie help me up, and we walk through the woods to the other side, where Sadie’s car is waiting.
“How did you find me?” I ask.
“I heard about what was going on in the pack,” she says. “When I went to the house to see you, the residuals were so chaotic, I knew something terrible had happened, so I tracked you.”
