The ground beneath me spun like it was alive. My chest tightened, and the air left my lungs in a sharp gasp. I couldn’t hold myself steady anymore. Limene’s growl echoed inside me, deep and restless, but my body betrayed me. My legs gave out.
I collapsed.
The training ground, the fire torches, the eyes watching me they all blurred. The noise became a distant hum. For a heartbeat, I thought I had died.
Then the darkness pulled me in.
I was running.
Not on two legs, but on four. Limene’s paws pounded against the earth. The trees flew past us in streaks of black and green. My heart raced with hers, thudding so hard I thought it might burst. The air smelled sharp, bitter, like poison.
Something was chasing us.
I didn’t see it, but I felt it. The ground trembled behind us, the shadows st
