Chapter 1
Abeautifully vicious voice taunts me, day and night.
The voice whispers of threats. Of temptations to give in.
I’m tired—tired of running and tired of hiding. But I’m stuck in my worst nightmare, and there is no way out withouthim. I’m waiting desperately for him to find me.
Kalix wants me, and she’s patient in the darkness—listening and waiting for her turn to take over. Time passes differently here—wherever here is—and every second I remain stuck in this misery, I feel myself slipping. Wanting the bitter taste of madness to stain the very depths of my soul.
Anything that distracts me from what lurks in the obscurity of my personal hell.
I think I’m dreaming—I must be—but this feels too real.
Silas hasn’t called my name, but I wait and listen—just like Kalix—for my chance to escape.
Except, I’m running out of time.
With each passing moment, it gets harder to ignore her offers. I hear screams in the distance, just as desperate as mine to be freed, but I can’t make out who they belong to.
I’m slipping.
I’m fading into the darkness of my own mind, and I’m lost—so verylost. Barely a whisper leaves my dry throat, and I crumble.
Silas.
Help.
The trees hum in my presence, as if they are on my side, helping me remain hidden from the Great Wiitch. She has stalked me since I escaped her grasp, which feels like weeks ago. The breeze calls to me but never whispers the word I so desperately need to hear—my name from the lips of the person I love.
My kingdom burns around me again, an awful reminder of what my future will look like if I can’t stop this. If we can’t stop Carobon.
I crouch behind a tree to take a moment's break, my lungs burning from the falling ash and the lack of rest I’ve allowed myself. My legs are covered in scratches from the sharp brush, and hot blood drips down my legs. Creatures move around me—nearly invisible, except for the faintest glimmer of light when they approach, like a subtle distortion of reality. A slithering sound disrupts the silence every now and then, chilling me to the bone.
If I stay still for too long, Kalix or the invisible creatures will find me, so I propel my aching body forward. My feet ache against the uneven feel of the sharp rocks as I move over the rough earth, desperate to find anything to conceal me for a second’s break. A murder of crows follows me nearlyeverywhere, and the beating of their wings fills the space like battle drums.
“Briar, my darling,” an angelic voice whispers, traveling over the breeze. “I won’t hurt you, my child.”
I cover my ears, refusing to listen to her lies.
“Why do you fear the one who can bring you greatness?”
With each passing day, resisting the call to join her gets harder. She promises that my suffering will end, but I have to be strong. I have to get home without giving in to temptation.
But I’m struggling. My chest feels like it’s fractured, my eyes are bloodshot, and I can feel myself fading.
The breeze calls once more, a gurgled whisper in the darkness pushing me to continue—to move forward—even though each step feels as if it’s my last. A patch of trees moves in the wind, and I squint my eyes, my eyelids slowly blinking away the grit.
It can’t be.
I’m dreaming, and this is just a cruel illusion she has cast once more.
Everything here is a cruel daydream.
A figure stands in the tightly overgrown trees. No cloak hangs over its body. No freakishly long arms hang by its side. It’s tall and moves with a familiar, strong grace. The figure before me appears almost translucent, like it’s not quite here. Each pounding step echoes in my ears as the figure races closer, its body growing larger as the distance between us closes. I take a step back, afraid of what or who charges my way, when the breeze halts—the calm before the storm. A strong gust of icy wind snaps my hair in all directions, blinding me for a moment, and my gut twists, like roots beneath a large tree.
Unable to move, I slam my eyes closed when I hear it.
The voice.
