WILLA

Darkness swallowed me faster than any light could break through.

My eyes fluttered open to gathering storm clouds overhead. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning streaked across the sky in sharp bursts of bluish-white.

"Where am I?" I murmured, pressing a hand to my pounding head.

A sharp wince escaped me as I pushed myself up into a sitting position. My throat burned when I swallowed.

I leaned back against the nearest tree, eyes closed, fighting the wave of nausea rising in my chest.

When it finally passed, I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

Was I in the Forest of Death?

It looked exactly like it — twisted, gnarled branches and deceptively beautiful leaves.

Nyra sighed softly in my head. "I’ll heal you."

"What happened?" I croaked, voice raw. I felt strength slowly surging through me. M

"I saved you from drowning," she answered. "With the goddess’s help, of course."

"You did?" I muttered, brows pulling together.

Almost immediately, fragments of memory slammed into me. I groaned, clutching my head as pain flared.

The dare. Dash tossing me in. His refusal to help. Elliott’s voice...

I should be dead.

"Yes, you should," Nyra snapped, her voice tight with upset. "If I hadn’t come in time, you would have been gone!"

Sure. Maybe that would’ve been for the best.

The worst pain wasn’t in my battered body or burning lungs. It was the ache in my chest from what Dash had done.

He hadn’t saved me. He’d stood there and watched me drown. And he was supposed to be my mate?

My heart twisted at the memory of his nonchalant expression.

"Why do you keep throwing yourself into danger like this?!" Nyra demanded.

"Why do you keep going MIA on me?" I mumbled. Maybe I wouldn’t keep ending up in these situations if she was actually around when I needed her.

Besides, how the hell was I supposed to know Dash actually wanted to kill me?

"I’m afraid you still have a long way to go," Nyra said, beginning to pace inside my head. "No survival skills. Imagine an invasion — you’d be the first one dead. No critical thinking... ugh, and don’t even get me started on how ridiculously trusting you are and—"

"Stop," I snapped, scowling at the carpet of dead leaves on the ground. "You’re in no position to scold me. You disappear the exact moment I need you most. I should be the one mad at you!"

"You think I want to do that?!" she snapped back.

"How would I know what you’re thinking when you won’t even talk to me?" I shot back.

"I’m trying to save you!" she growled.

"And you’re doing a terrible job of it!" I retorted.

"By the goddess, Willa..." Nyra cursed softly.

I tuned her out as she continued ranting.

After sitting there a few more seconds, I tried to push myself to my feet. Halfway up, my knees suddenly buckled. I slid back down the tree trunk, landing hard on my ass.

My legs started shaking violently, like invisible hands were yanking at them.

"Whoa," I let out a weak laugh, clutching my knees.

A dull, throbbing ache settled in. I checked my ankles carefully, making sure nothing was broken, then tried standing again.

This time there was no warning.

I pitched forward, nearly smashing my face into a jagged rock. I caught myself at the last second and rolled onto the damp, foul-smelling grass.

"What the hell?" I muttered, breathing hard as I stared down at my trembling legs.

"We need to get out of here," Nyra said.

"Yeah," I replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I’ll just crawl and roll across the grass like a damn reptile." I grunted, dragging myself forward on my stomach toward the nearest tree.

"We need to get out of here," Nyra repeated, urgency bleeding into her tone.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her. If I could just get up and walk, I would’ve done it already. My legs had completely given out on me for some reason I couldn’t figure out.

"Willa!"

I opened my mouth to snap at her, but a scream cut me off. Loud, piercing, and strangely familiar.

"You heard that?" Nyra asked.

"Yep," I murmured.

"That’s exactly why we need to leave!"

I kept crawling toward the tree, but another scream echoed through the forest.

My heart stuttered.

I stopped and pushed myself up into a sitting position, frowning as I scanned the twisted trees around me. I tried to pinpoint exactly where the voice had come from. West side, maybe?

"Help me!" the voice cried out again.

It was definitely coming from the west.

I shot to my feet with a burst of speed I didn’t know I still had. My knees held. My legs worked again.

Odd. But thank God.

Before Nyra could stop me, I sprinted toward the sound.

It didn’t take long to reach a small clearing in the middle of the forest. The ground was covered in sand and dirt, and in the center stood someone else.

A girl about my age, wearing a pink dress with yellow ribbons tying her white hair into a high ponytail. Her head was bowed, so I couldn’t see her face clearly, but the intense pain radiating from her hit me even from where I stood.

She was bound with thick silver chains. Blood soaked her clothes, dripping steadily onto the dirt. She needed help. Badly.

Without thinking, I took a step forward, but Nyra slammed a mental wall in front of me. I jerked backward.

"You can’t be here!" she seethed.

"Why not?" I frowned. "She’s hurt."

And for all I knew, this could be a kidnapping. I didn’t see any captors around. I could still save her.

"We need to leave. Now!" Nyra shouted.

I wanted to argue with her but decided against it as the girl slowly lifted her head. I forgot how to breathe.

My eyes widened in shock as our gazes locked.

She was... me?

"You should have never lived!" a deep, venomous voice snarled behind her.

A tall man in a black cloak appeared, hood shadowing his face. He raised a massive spear in his hands.

"Watch out!" I shouted, bolting out from my hiding spot.

An unseen force slammed into the back of my head with brutal force. Pain exploded through my skull, shooting down my spine and into every nerve.

My ears rang violently. The world dimmed.

I lost my balance and stumbled forward, hitting the ground hard. The impact knocked the air from my lungs in short, ragged gasps.

I fought desperately to stay conscious, but darkness kept pulling at the edges of my vision.

"You should never have seen that," a vicious voice sneered inside my head. "Now you’ll die!"

Strong hands clamped around my throat, cutting off my air.

I wheezed, eyes bulging, fingers clawing frantically at the invisible grip.

"Die!" the voice hissed. "You little witch — die!"

My strength drained away. My struggles grew weaker. I couldn’t breathe.

My eyes rolled back as I slipped into the cold grip of death. I felt myself falling... deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Then a hand suddenly grabbed mine and yanked hard.

"Wake up, Elyse!"

The command cut through the darkness.

My eyes flew open, locking onto a pair of striking sea-green eyes.