There was a difference in the air that sent Erinna’s hackles up.
A distant sob drifted through the air. She was coming. The Weeping Queen.
Terror spread through Erinna, threatening to freeze her joints in place, but she knew better.
She needed to run.
She needed to hide.
Erinna darted to the trees. She didn’t know if it would be safer, but the distant sobs would only get closer the longer she stayed still.
Still was death.
A flitter of shadow in the distance. Whispers from new voices. She had to get to safety fast, or the Weeping Queen would find her.
Tall pines rose to meet her, feet still slapping against shallow water. The pool stretched far into the forest, like it was the soil itself.
The Weeping Queen’s sobs echoed closer.
Mother Goddess spare me.Erinna scanned for anywhere to hide. Nothing but the trees, water, and the stars above.
She pushed through the forest, willing her sleeping mind to wake.
Movement flickered in her periphery.
Erinna froze.
The faint silver of starlight danced across the bark, catching her eyes. On closer inspection, Erinna realized it wasn’t wood at all.
Not all of it.
A body lay encased in the trunk.
It was the woman from the market. Erinna’s gaze snapped to the next tree. Then the next.
The woman’s children, entombed beside her.
No. Erinna summoned the courage to run. She searched the trees, darting through the forest, eyes scanning the number of slumbering souls. There were dozens trapped in this nightmare.
The sobs grew louder. Erinna pushed faster. Lungs burning as she swallowed cold, stale air in ragged puffs.
If the woman from the market was there, that meant…
She stumbled to a halt in front of a massive, towering pine.
There he was, stuck in this forest like the rest.
“Dad.” Erinna choked. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks. She reached out to stroke his face. The stubble along his jaw tickled her palm, but there was no warmth in his body. No sign of life.
Erinna tried to pull at her Talent. She coaxed the power, but it wouldn’t wake. She had spent too much of it already. Had nothing left to give.
Sharp nails dug into her legs, pulling her beneath the surface before Erinna had time to scream.
Down.
Down.
Down she fell, dragged far below the surface.
