Thirty four
*Freya*
I was so certain I was doing the right thing when I decided to leave Rafe and the palace, but now that I was lost in the forest, the wind and tree wigs snapping at my skin so harshly, I was rethinking my decision.
It was so dark that I could barely make out a thing. I was completely lost and it felt like it would rain anytime soon. It seemed like even the world was against me at this point.
I ran breathlessly through the forest, my heart pounding in my chest. The trees towered above me, their branches reaching out like skeletal hands ready to ensnare me in their grasp. Though it was daytime, the dark forest blocked out most of the sunlight, shrouding everything in an oppressive gloom. Shadows danced at the edges of my vision. I could barely see where I was going.
Sticks cracked under my feet as I sprinted blindly forward. I had no idea where I was, no sense of direction in this huge wilderness. What was I thinking, running into the woods all alone? Away from the palace, from the people I cared about.
“I can’t go back,” I whispered to myself between panting breaths. “Not with Kelly there, making my life a living hell.”
My stepsister would stop at nothing to torment me, to push me out of the way so she could have Rafe all to herself. Her cruelty was what drove me to this desperate escape. But now, lost and terrified amidst the looming trees, I began to second-guess my impulsive decision.
My mind went to Rafe. He must have discovered I was missing by now. My heart ached picturing the devastated look on his handsome face, his eyes filled with anger and heartbreak.
“I’m… sorry” I choked out, slowing to catch my breath against a tree branch.. Leaving Rafe was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. I wanted him with every fiber of my being.
But I couldn’t endure Kelly’s viciousness any longer. Her jealousy-fueled attacks had become too much to bear. Staying meant surrendering what little happiness and self-respect I had left.
I leaned my forehead against the rough bark, squeezing my eyes shut as hot tears spilled down my cheeks. “I did what I had to do” I whispered. “I had no choice. I only hope they all understand.”
Drawing a shuddering breath, I pushed off the tree and continued my desperate flight into the menacing forest. I didn’t know what dangers lurked out here. All I knew was I had to keep running, had to survive this ordeal. Somehow I would find my way through – I had to believe that. The alternative was too awful to consider.
I was past the beginning of the forest when I heard a terrifying, inhuman growl suddenly piercing through the dense foliage, freezing the blood in my veins. My steps faltered and I whipped my head around, frantically searching for the source of the bone-chilling sound.
Oh God, what was that? My pulse hammered in my ears as primal fear gripped me. I had to get away, had to move faster.
Forcing my exhausted legs into action, I crashed through the undergrowth, heedless of the branches that whipped across my face and snagged in my hair. Whatever creature had made that hellish noise, it was far too close for comfort.
Another snarl ripped through the air, louder this time. Closer. A sob caught in my throat. Dear Lord, it was gaining on me.
“Help me!” I cried out, knowing there was no one to hear my desperate plea. “Someone, please!”
But only the rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs answered me, mingling with the ragged gasps of my labored breathing. I was utterly alone out here. Alone with whatever nightmarish beast was hunting me.
Tears blurred my vision as sheer panic threatened to overwhelm me. I blinked them away furiously, not daring to take my eyes off the path ahead for even a second. If I stumbled now, it would all be over.
I couldn’t let the creature catch me. I had to keep going, had to stay ahead of it somehow. Even as my lungs burned and my muscles screamed in protest, I pushed myself harder, faster, flying blindly through the wilderness as the horrifying snarls and growls drew ever nearer.
As I was running, a root seemed to materialize out of nowhere, snagging my foot and sending me sprawling face-first into the damp earth. I screamed as searing pain lanced through my ankle. Gasping, I rolled onto my back – and found myself staring into the empty sockets of a human skull. My scream caught in my throat, emerging as a strangled whimper. Bones. Hundreds upon hundreds of bones littered the forest floor, bleached and broken. Ribcages with splintered sternums. Femurs snapped in half. Skeletal hands with fingers curled into claws. Oh my God.
I had stumbled into a mass grave.
The horrifying realization crashed over me like a frigid wave, turning my blood to ice in my veins. This wasn’t just a forest. It was a hunting ground. A twisted playground for whatever ungodly creatures fed upon the souls of the living. That was why people never ventured into it. Because whoever ventured into it was going to be their victim.
And I was to be their next victim.
“No,” I choked out, my voice hitching on a sob. “God, no.”
Ignoring the white-hot agony pulsing through my injured ankle, I lurched to my feet. I had to get out of here. I had to keep moving before–Another guttural snarl, far too close, froze me in my tracks. Slowly, trembling like a leaf in a storm, I turned.
There, in the shadows between the trees, a pair of glowing red eyes met mine.
Despair crashed over me, threatening to bring me to my knees. They had found me. The voices, the growls, the stench of rotting flesh and unspeakable evil… it was everywhere now, surrounding me, suffocating me.
I refused to die here. Not like this.
Gritting my teeth against the pain, I spun on my heel and ran like the hounds of hell were snapping at my heels. And for all I knew, they were.
Low-hanging branches raked across my face, drawing blood. Thorny vines caught at my skirts, shredding the delicate fabric. But I barely registered the fresh wounds. All that mattered was putting one foot in front of the other, running faster, harder, as far and as fast as my battered body could carry me.
The voices were everywhere now, high-pitched and keening, uttering words in a language I could not comprehend. The growls grew louder, closer, until I could feel the breath of the beasts on the back of my neck.
“Leave me alone!” I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. “Please, just leave me be!”
But still I ran, even as my lungs seared and my muscles quivered with fatigue. I would not let them take me. I would not become another set of bones littering this cursed stretch of wilderness.
I had to survive. For Rafe. For Addy and Connor. For myself.
I could only pray that somehow, someway, I would find a way out of this waking nightmare…
*****