LOGIN“Run?” I repeated, because my brain was still buffering. “Run where?!” Neither Kieran nor Rowan answered. Kieran grabbed my wrist, Rowan grabbed my other arm, and suddenly I was being yanked between two of them and we were sprinting like track stars on steroids. “Wait! What the hell is happening?!” I half-screamed, half-wheezed, my bare feet slapping against damp earth as I tried desperately to keep up with them. “Wait, what was that howl? Who the hell was that? Oh my God, what's happening?" I had died, died by the hands of a Dorito chip of all things, and woken up in this medieval nightmare hellscape, and now now I was being chased down to my death by a bloodthirsty God knows what. “Quiet,” Kieran snapped without looking back. “Quiet?!” I tripped over a root, barely caught myself. “You can’t just drop me into the middle of Twilight but with rabies and tell me to be quiet!” Rowan shot Kieran a glare over my head. “You’re scaring her.” “She should be scared, fear will keep her m
He froze halfway, his eyes taking in the loose ropes on the floor, and the bare skin of my shoulder where the dress slipped down again. For a second, he didn't move. Instead, he just stood there, shaking his head in disbelief while staring at me like he was trying to decide if he should scold me or laugh at me. "Relax," I said quickly, straightening up trying to fix my sleeve back into place. "I wasn't running away." That was the worst, most obvious lie I'd ever heard in my life, even though I knew it, but what the hell else was I even supposed to say at that point? I had to at least try, right? The smiled slyly, "No? You just took your untied yourself because you're allergic to ropes?" "Where would I even go? Your camp is surrounded by werewolves on one side, and your wonderful, welcoming committee on the other." I gestured vaguely toward the camp. "Not exactly the best odds for a grand escape." "And yet you still freed yourself." He took a step closer, his boots crunchi
Every time I tried to stay focused, something was bound to come up and distract me. I reminded myself I had only one goal, to leave this place forever and never come back. And to do that, I had to stop making these people my problem, because what exactly was I going to do about their god-damned mole? I'd already tried the library earlier with no luck, but it looked like I had to try again. There had to be something there about a way out of here. I took the familiar path to the dusty library and I slipped inside, hoping no one would notice me sneaking away from all the hammering and growling outside. It wasn't like I was doing anything useful out there anyway. If anything, I decided the most useful thing I could do was figure out how to not die in this world. But before I could start going through the shelves, I heard a strange shuffling sound, like someone was trying to cover their tracks. I stopped to listen, but then the sound stopped. Then, after a long pause, the door cre
"No. I will never let you reject me for this nobody."Lyra's voice shouted, pointing her finger straight at me.She stepped fully towards us with her chin high and her red hair catching the light. For once, the elegance in her every movement couldn't hide the rage rolling off her.Rowan shifted, but his hand stayed wrapped around me. "Lyra...""Don't," she snapped, her voice trembling just enough to betray the crack beneath. "Don't you dare pretend this means nothing. I've stood by your side, I have carried the bond the goddess forced upon me, and I have endured your coldness. And now I find you..." she gestured at me, "...throwing it all away for her?"I bristled. "I'm right here, you know. If you're going to call me names, at least have the guts to do it to my face."Her gaze shifted to me. "Fine. You don't belong here. You don't belong with him. You are a mistake the goddess will soon correct.""Funny," I shot back, folding my arms, "because last I checked, your bond hasn't stopped
"Well?" Mattias's voice cut through like a blade. "Have you?" I opened my mouth but nothing came out. My throat had gone completely dry. How the hell could anyone possibly expect me to choose?! Kieran turned toward me, and god, his face. Worry and fury and confusion were still there, but underneath it was something that made my chest hurt with guilt. "Iris," he said, and his voice was softer than I'd ever heard it. "Tell me you haven't fallen for his lies." "It's a little more complicated than that. Okay? I just..." Suddenly Mattias whistled three times, like he'd done a couple of times before. Then he straightened, looking satisfied. Like he'd just done something he was proud of. "Wait... What did you--" "Thank you so much, Elowyn. I couldn't have done any of this without you." Kieran's eyes cut to me, "Elowyn. What have you done?" Out of nowhere, humans poured out of the darkness—dozens of them, maybe more, faces smeared with mud and something dark that made them look like
Every time I tried to stay focused, something was bound to come up and distract me. I reminded myself I had only one goal, to leave this place forever and never come back. And to do that, I had to stop making these people my problem, because what exactly was I going to do about their god-damned mole? I'd already tried the library earlier with no luck, but it looked like I had to try again. There had to be something there about a way out of here. I took the familiar path to the dusty library and I slipped inside, hoping no one would notice me sneaking away from all the hammering and growling outside. It wasn't like I was doing anything useful out there anyway. If anything, I decided the most useful thing I could do was figure out how to not die in this world. But before I could start going through the shelves, I heard a strange shuffling sound, like someone was trying to cover their tracks. I stopped to listen, but then the sound stopped. Then, after a long pause, the door cre







