Page 179

Slow, I tell myself.

Drawing out my breaths, the forest around me comes back into sharp focus. I can hear animals chittering, branches creaking, leaves trembling, twigs snapping—

They’re getting closer.

After a quick check on the knot at the back of my head, I slip a finger underneath to scratch—

That wrist is suddenly captured in a tight grip.

“Oh, shit!” I wheeze out a strangled laugh. I didn’t know anyone was that close already. The horn just went off.

“How—”

They take hold of my other wrist.

“Oh.” Okay.

Both wrists are lifted above my head, making my back arch forward and my boobs stick out.

Another laugh leaves me as Guy’s name sits on my tongue. Is this him? It doesn’t feel like him.

Is it…Khaos?

Realistically, I know the person in front of me could be anyone that was at the bonfire, but Guy and Khaos are the only two people my brain seems to be capable of conjuring images of right now.

They’re close enough that I can feel their heavy exhales on my face but they’re not doing anything to identify themselves.

If neither of them is my Hunter, who is?

“Do you—”

Something wraps around my wrists, binding them together.

Bending my wrists as much as I can while restrained, I attempt to feel the material with my fingertips. Smooth, cold, thick…ish. A belt?

Was Guy wearing a belt?

Was Khaos?

I’m walked backward until rough bark bites into my shoulder blades, then I’m pulled onto my tiptoes by my bound wrists.

I inhale through my nose, picking up salt water, pine, earth, and…smoke. A lot of smoke. Damn it. That fire got everybody.

The belt gets hooked onto something over my head, leaving me stuck in place, stretched out before my Hunter. Whoever the hell it is.

Would Guy do this? It’d be out of character but that’s the point of this game. Everybody gets a pass to be someone else—or more accurately, something else—during 7 Minutes in Sea Haven.

Khaos though…

I could totally see Khaos doing this.

Adrenaline races through my veins, doubling, tripling the anticipation along every nerve ending until I feel like I’m vibrating.

Even my voice shakes when I ask, “How far do you want to take this?”

My attempt to identify my Hunter by voice doesn’t work. Other than the leaves beneath his shoes crunching, he doesn’t make a single sound.

I may be bound but I don’t feel powerless in the slightest. On the contrary, I feel like I hold all the power. My Hunter’s fixated on me and only me right now.