Leah Carter's Point of View
The scent was out.
I pressed the last of Briggs' herbs to my skin, my fingers trembling as the brittle leaves fell apart in my palm like ash. Gray dust scattered across my nightgown, the final remnants of my protection crumbling to nothing. It was over. Whatever veil of safety I'd managed to carry through this realm was dissolving before my eyes, and I could feel the weight of hungry suspicion settling just beyond my door like a predator circling wounded prey.
The shadow in the corridor hadn't moved. I could see the darkness where feet blocked the thin line of torchlight bleeding under my door. My heart hammered against my ribs as I heard the unmistakable shift of a body leaning closer, inhaling deeply, sniffing the air the way a wolf tests for the scent of f
