NINETEEN

LAUREL’s POV

The door creaks open and we both step in.

“It’s rude not to knock, you know?” a voice calls out from the corner of the hut and our heads Iimmediately turn to see an old man in royal blue pyjamas on a rocking chair. It is the exact same chair that I had hidden behind when Jamie tried to hunt me down. Only this time, the rocking chair looks brand new.

The chair is tucked in the corner of the hut and is so far away from where we stand that the old man’s face is obscured in the shadows. But as he rocks back and forth, I notice that his snow-white hair is all dishevelled. It is a mess and dried tree leaves are sticking to them. And it seems as if he has not shaved in years for his beard reaches the ground. And like many old men who have lived past their prime, he looks scrawny and frail.

Helios and I would be fools not to know that this man is no ordinary old man.

We hear a soft intake of breath and a low chuckle. Then, the rocking chair comes to a halt and the old man leans f