I stumble away. The eyes are deep amber, like smoldering embers in a fire, and they flicker with fierce intelligence.
The wolf prowls to its feet, revealing its true size. Farron’s form before had been but a dog compared to this creature; in fact, now it would overshadow even Kel’s giant wolf.
It lowers its head and bares its sharp fangs, the face of pure predatory evil. Its body shakes with a deep and primal hunger. I am paralyzed in its wake, unable to stop as it measures me against some wild and unknowable standard.
Maybe… Maybe he’s still in there.
“Farron,” I whisper. “It’s me.” My voice is barely audible over the pounding rain. Huge, hot clouds of breath shudder out of its maw.
It was a mistake to come here. I thought I could be brave. I thought I could save him.
But there’s nothing left to be saved.
I turn on my heel, water splashing up, and sprint from the ruins.
A howl sounds behind me, loud enough to send pebbles skittering over the stony ground. If I can get to the Emberwood, maybe I can hide among the trees.
The wolf’s thundering gait pounds in my ears, but I can’t turn around. I run across the grasslands, ribs aching with the force of my heart. My fear threatens to paralyze me, but I can’t let it. I have to keep running, keep moving, or I’ll die.
My legs burn, and I swear my lungs may burst before I reach the treeline. I dare a look back to see the great beast snarling down the hill, teeth shimmering with saliva.
Its fetid scent drags closer, and I throw myself into the forest, pushing bracken and bushes out of my way. With the storm clouds and the towering trees, the forest is dark, and branches pull at my braid and clothes.
The wolf charges behind me, eyes wild with hunger. Brush flattens beneath its great weight, and it has no care for the bushes that snag its fur. It is made entirely of coiled muscle and sinew, and if I don’t think of something quick, I’ll be dead.
I dodge between trees, jumping over fallen logs and dipping under low-hanging branches. A scream pulls at the edges of my throat, but there’s no one to hear me. I need every precious breath. The wolf is close, too close, its rancid breath heating the back of my neck.
Never in my life have I ever run so fast: the forest is a kaleidoscope, trees whipping past, their leaves rustling in a chorus of warning.
My legs will tire. My lungs will give out.
He will keep hunting me until I am claimed.
The trees condense to a thicket ahead. Briars have sheltered me before; perhaps I can lose the beast in the dense underbrush. With a desperate cry, I fling myself into a small gap in the brambles. I belly crawl deep into the tangle of thorns, ignoring the pain as they scrape along my cheeks and hands.
A frustrated growl sounds as the wolf snaps at the entrance, its colossal shape hindered by the briars. It pulls out and stares at me with an intensity beyond any animal, as if to say,I will have you.
My whole body thuds with my rapid heartbeat. To my left, the brambles shake with thundering steps, and a powerful sniff sounds. It’s searching the thicket for a way in.
Tears and blood stream down my face. No, no. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed toendlike this. I was meant to find Farron.MyFarron. Not this beast that has stolen his body and soul.
I clasp my knees and curl up. What else is left? The beast has taken Farron, and it will take me too. I’ll never find him, never see that sweet smile again or hear his laugh or spend another moment in his quiet company.
He’ll be lost forever in the dark, trapped inside the rage and desolation of the beast. He’ll never realize what he’s capable of. How there is strength in stillness. How peace is his power.
My body shakes, but it’s not from fear. It’s from anger. My hands grip the wet ground, and I stare up into the brambles, letting the rain that filters through splatter my face.
“Who are you to judge him?” I whisper into the void, speaking to the Enchantress wherever she may be. “How can you say his heart deserves this curse when you have not seen how he struggles each day to be worthy of his realm? When you have not heard the kindness in his voice when he speaks to his family, both his blood and his chosen? When you have not felt what it is to beloved by him?”
Now, my voice is not a whisper. I don’t care if the wolf hears. Let him. Let the whole damn realm hear me. I push to my hands and knees, eyes wide and focused.
That achingthinginside my chest reverberates like sparks cracking from a hearth. Farron. He’s here somewhere, and he’s alone and lost and scared.
I will show him that the fire burns within us. I will show myself.
I creep out from the brambles and stand up among the rain-drenched woods. The wolf digs at the end of the thicket but straightens as it sees me. It bares its maw in a vicious snarl.
That blue light from earlier flashes in my vision again. Moving with graceful fluidity, a shimmering will-o’-wisp dances through the air between us.
