She was running, the air thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. Her small legs ached, but she didn’t stop. Someone was holding her hand—warm, strong, pulling her forward through the towering trees.
“Don’t let go,” a boy’s voice pleaded.
She turned her head and her eyes caught his golden eyes glowing in the darkness. It was a boy, barely older than her. His face was blurred, but his grip was tight. Desperate.
Something was chasing them. She could hear it now—heavy footfalls, snapping branches, something too big, too fast.
“We have to hide,” she whispered, but the boy shook his head, his dark hair falling into his face.
“They’ll find us.”
Fear clawed up her throat. “Luca—”
A sharp pain cracked through her skull. She stumbled, the boy’s hand slipped from hers. And suddenly, she w
