Ayla
I looked around, trying to steady my breathing as my heart pounded against my chest.
“Where did she go?” I asked, confused. “Where are you?!”
My voice echoed through the woods, and something screeched in the distance. I slapped my palm over my mouth when I remembered her warning about waking the torturers.
I was already dealing with enough anxiety and emotions I could barely put labels to; the last thing I wanted was to make things worse by waking whoever could make this experience even worse than it already was.
The sound of a wolf howling in the distance sent shivers through my body as I moved around the clearing with slow, steady steps, trying to see if she had walked down a different path. But my gaze fell to the spot where the lightning had struck.
I stared in awe as smoke
