Briar
The night air was cool against my skin as I made my way through the darkened forest. Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting eerie shadows that seemed to reach for me with grasping fingers. Every snapping twig and rustling leaf made me jump, my nerves stretched taut as a bowstring.
"We can still turn back," Ivy whispered in my mind, her voice tinged with fear and longing. "It's not too late."
"We can't," I murmured, tightening my grip on my backpack straps. "This is the only way to keep Damian safe."
As I approached the old willow tree, its drooping branches swaying gently in the breeze, I saw a figure emerge from the shadows. Selena stood there, her blonde hair gleaming silver in the moonlight.
"Well, well," she drawled, a smirk playing at her lips. "I wasn't sure you'd a
