I am going to die. But I am glad he is here with me.
Holding me closely, delicately, Callum looks at Blake once more. Confused. Or perhaps he is conflicted about leaving his savior alone with his physically stronger brother.
“Now!” roars Blake.
Callum turns, and he runs.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
The air is thick with the scent of pine and darkness.
Somewhere, an animal is whimpering.
I push through the undergrowth toward it. Thorns snag my clothes, and brambles squish beneath my bare feet. I emerge into a moonlit clearing.
A wolf the color of moonlight lies in the center, but blood tarnishes her fur. She is injured. Her foot is caught in a trap.
She snarls as I approach, but I cannot leave her to die.
“Shh,” I whisper. “It’s going to be okay.”
I prize open the jaws of the trap, my fingers bleeding and slipping on the harsh metal teeth.
The wolf cries. She stumbles free, turning to face me.
For a moment, we stare at one another.
“Don’t go,” I say. “I need you.”
She turns. She flees.
“No!”
I’m plunged into darkness.
“Come back!”
The wind no longer whispers through the trees, and the moon is snuffed out. Shadows creep through the undergrowth, and slither through the grass like snakes.
“Don’t leave me!” I scream. “Please!”
I am lost.
I am empty.
I am alone.
The darkness swallows me.
But I hear a voice in the distance.
“Stay with me.”
***
“Stay with me, Princess. Please.”
Pain crashes through me. I force my eyelids to open but they are heavy.