As dawn began to break, I slipped out of my room in silence. My hood cast shadows over my face, and I avoided every hallway where someone might spot me. I wasn't supposed to be out here, much less heading into the woods to hunt down a banshee. But I was done with being hidden away and told to sit still while others did the real work. Jeremiah was in another endless meeting, strategizing and talking. Meanwhile, people were dying.
Slipping past the distracted guards by the front entrance was easier than I thought; they were all caught up in discussions about defenses, eyes glued to the outer walls. The village was a storm of activity-everyone making frantic preparations for the next attack-but very few actually ready to face it.
Finally, I reached the edge of the woods. Just past the last
