“Girl?” Rhyas called from the darkness.
I glanced over my shoulder, unsure if I should run toward or away from him. No. He was no protector. I wouldn’t be safe with him. Before I could linger longer, before I could see what hunted me, I took off, feet barely meeting the mossy ground as I ran for the cave.
A snarl reached my ears as I gasped, pushing myself forward.
“Where are you, girl?” Rhyas shouted, his voice growing closer, almost concerned.
Light stretched into the forest at my back as their torches painted the forest in a warm glow. Whatever pursued me shrieked, but I didn’t look back, didn’t risk falling or being captured. The trees parted before me, and the cave came into view. My heart soared.
Home!
Run faster, little one!
Moss turned to stone as I entered the cave, that terrible magic reaching for me as I neared what I could only assume was the veil—the border between the Mortalrealm and the Godsrealm.
“Stop!” Rhyas’ voice echoed through the cave.
Would he follow me this far, or would he give up? Would he chase me into the Mortalrealm? I couldn’t be far from the veil. Its presence danced over my skin like a whisper of wind. As I began to feel hope that I might escape, icy dread washed over my skin, instinct flaring so hard and fast, my body nearly collapsed on the cave floor.
A hiss echoed from the dark depths of the cavern, and I stopped breathing as something slid into view through the tunnel, blocking my path. I couldn’t move, my body frozen.
The pounding of Rhyas’ feet was nearly drowned out by my pulse pounding in my ears as the massive creature met my gaze. Its body was a mass of scales and shadow, its tongue slipping from its lips as it sized me up, its six slitted eyes—the eyes that had watched us as we’d passed through earlier that day—promised death.
The creature’s head rose, lips parting to reveal fangs as it hissed at me, ready to strike.
Rhyas slid to a stop in front of me, his hand rising as the creature’s head shot forward. “I have Eris’ blessings, Scylla!” he shouted, his voice echoing to every corner of the cavern, fear painting each word as it left his tongue. “Eris’ blessings!”
The creature halted before it could crash into us, stretched jaws inches from devouring us both. Its six glowing eyes roamed over him, as if assessing him, before it lowered its head, coming so close that I stopped breathing as I gripped Rhyas’ shirt with trembling hands.
Scylla’s tongue slipped from its lips briefly, flicking against Rhyas’ extended hand, which I noticed was inked with something. His body was tense, chest heaving as he stared down the beast. A hiss slipped from its throat before it turned and slithered back into the dark depths of the cave.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe as I stood frozen behind him.
Rhyas whirled and grasped both my arms. “You fucking idiot. What were you thinking? Do you have a death wish?”
My vision blurred, my knees threatening to give out beneath me.
“I told you to stay with me! You’re safest with me!” When I didn’t answer, he groaned, his head falling forward as he let out an exasperated sigh. “Come on, we need to get back to the others.”
He took my hand, and I couldn’t bring myself to fight him as he led me out of the cave and back toward the camp. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I stumbled at his side, my attention latched onto the cave as it slowly vanished from sight.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’d let you go back if I could.”
His pace seemed to slow, as if he was considering something, and he glanced down at me before kneeling to my level. “Do you remember your name?”
I frowned. Why would I not remember my n?—
All thoughts eddied out of my mind as I tried to recall my name. The name my parents had given me was...gone, as if it had never been mine to begin with. My hand slipped from his as I clutched my head, racking my brain, scrambling for the name.
L—
Ly—
Oh Gods. How could I not remember my name? Rhyas winced at the look of terror on my face.
“They took your name,” His pity-filled eyes lingered on me, as if he understood my fear. “There’s no going home for you. You belong to Arden now.”
Dread crawled over my skin at the thought of what awaited me.
