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CHAPTER 22: THE BITE
The snake lunged. I didn't think. I didn't plan. I just ran. My legs were already burning from the chase, my lungs already screaming for air, but I pushed harder. The rabbit was a warm weight against my chest, her small body pressed tight against me, her heartbeat rapid and frantic against my own. I could feel her trembling, could feel the fear radiating from her tiny frame like heat from a fire. Behind me, the snake pursued. The sound of its massive body sliding over rock and earth was unmistakable, scales scraping against stone, the heavy thud of its coils as it propelled itself forward with terrifying speed. It was fast. Faster than something that size had any right to be. And it was gaining. I risked a glance back. It was closer than I'd thought. Its body stretched behind it like a river of darkness, coiling and uncoiling as it pursued me. Its head was raised, swaying slightly, its one remaining eye fixed on me with cold, patient hunger. The other socket was a bloody ruin a
CHAPTER 20: THE GUARDIAN
I stood frozen, my torchlight trembling in my hand.The symbol stared back at me from the creature's shell—the same symbol I'd seen on the expedition records. The same symbol that had marked the route into the mountains. The same symbol that had been carved into the old documents like a seal of something ancient and dangerous.How? I thought. How is it here?The snail slowly turned toward me. Its massive body shifted, the ground trembling beneath its weight. Its antennae swayed, sensing the air around us. It was watching me—not with eyes, but with something else. Something older.The rabbit didn't run.She hopped forward, her cloudy eyes fixed on the enormous creature. She moved with purpose, without hesitation, as if she'd done this before.I reached for my knife."Don't," I whispered. "Don't—"But she kept going.The snail lowered its enormous head until its eyes—small, ancient, unblink
CHAPTER 21: THE FIRST HUNT
The snake lunged.Its head shot forward like a striking arrow, jaws wide, teeth gleaming in the faint moonlight. The air whistled as it cut through the space where I'd been standing a heartbeat before.I threw myself sideways. My shoulder slammed into the rocky ground, pain exploding through my arm like fire. I rolled, scrambled, pushed myself up with my free hand while the other clutched the rabbit against my chest. Stones dug into my palm, sharp and unforgiving. My boots slipped on loose shale, and for one horrible moment, I thought I was going to fall.I didn't. I caught myself on a jutting rock, hauled my body upright, and ran.The snake's jaws snapped shut on empty air behind me. Its hiss of frustration was a sound I felt in my bones—low, rumbling, ancient.It's hunting us, I realized. It's not defending territory. It's not protecting young. It's hunting.I ran.The ground was treacherous, a nightmare
CHAPTER 19: THE GUIDE
I stood frozen, my breath caught in my throat. The rabbit's cloudy eyes were fixed on the darkness behind me. She wasn't afraid anymore. She was staring. At something I couldn't see. I slowly turned around, my torchlight cutting through the shadows. Nothing. Just trees. Just darkness. Just the oppressive silence. I moved the torch left, then right. The light danced across the gnarled trunks and twisted branches, but nothing moved. Nothing breathed. Nothing watched. Or so I tried to tell myself. For the first time since leaving the academy, I wondered whether I had made a mistake. Not a small mistake. Not the one Jace would laugh at and call reckless. The one that got people killed. Four dead. One survivor. Those numbers suddenly felt very different when I was standing alone in a forest where I couldn't even see ten feet ahead of me. I swallowed hard. "What is it?" I whispered. The rabbit didn't answer. She hopped down from my arms, landing softly on the fores
CHAPTER 18: INTO THE DARK
The corridor was narrow, the walls rough stone.I moved forward, one hand trailing along the cold surface, the other pressed against my chest where the rabbit lay hidden. Her warmth was the only comfort in the suffocating darkness.The passage was old. I could feel it in the uneven floor, the damp air, the way the walls seemed to close in around me. Every few steps, my foot would catch on a loose stone, and I'd freeze, my blood roaring in my ears, waiting for the sound to echo back at me.But nothing came. Just the silence. Just the dark.I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. The darkness was absolute—thick and heavy like water. I kept my other hand on the wall, using it as a guide, trusting it to lead me forward.The air smelled of wet stone and something else—something older. Mold, maybe. Or decay. I tried not to think about it.The rabbit pressed closer to me. Her body was still, but I could feel her breat
CHAPTER 17: THE WATCHERS
The door clicked shut behind Darian. Jace stood in the darkness, his hand still resting on the wooden frame. He pressed his forehead against the cool surface and let out a long, shaky breath. He's really gone. He'd known this moment was coming. He'd seen it in the way Darian's eyes grew distant, the way his jaw tightened when he thought no one was watching. But knowing and watching were different things. Jace closed his eyes. The silence pressed against his ears. Please come back. Please be careful. --- He remembered the last time he'd watched someone walk away. He had been eight years old. The academy grounds had been his playground back then. His father was a groundskeeper, which meant Jace had the run of the place when the students were in class. He knew every hidden corner, every secret passage, every place where a small boy could hide and watch the world go by. That's where he'd met Ren. Ren was a student—a C-rank boy with a small hawk and a bigger smile. He
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