In Your Footsteps Adventure Time Novels & Stories

She hops out, motioning for us to follow as she heads to the rear of the truck. “Welcome to Marvinda,” she says, sliding open the back door. “This is as far as the truck can take you. The rest of the journey will be on foot.” Luka scrambles out eagerly, his eyes darting around the dim alley with excitement. For him, this is still part of the adventure, a secret mission through tunnels and hidden paths. I watch him, my heart swelling with a mix of pride and worry. He’s handled so much already, and yet, he carries on with the resilience of someone far older. His small hand slips into mine, and I squeeze it gently, offering him what little comfort I can.

"You failed Noah." Grayson clenched his fists. "I didn't abandon them." "No?" The reflection laughed. "Who held Noah when he cried?" "Who watched him take his first step?" "Who taught him to fish?" Every word struck harder than a punch. "You weren't there." The water rippled. The reflection disappeared. Only then did Grayson realize something. Someone had left footprints along the stream. Small footprints. Five-year-old footprints or so. They led deeper into the valley.

Be good, Carrot. Then, I step out of the tiny room. Carrot smacks her lips and pushes herself off the bed, following me out of the room. Without a word, she falls into step with me as we step out of the hut, her tiny shadow trying to match my stride. We walk past the training fields where I had found my wolf again, our footsteps leaving faint tracks in the damp soil. And there ahead lies a waterfall.

Three hours. We have an extra hour. When Nelson and Travis hear those words, they actually chuckle with glee. “We can do this,” Nelson whispers, and I nod. I know the boys won’t wait for me because it’s too much of a risk. I’ll be slower. My legs are shorter, and I’m just not as strong. But they’ll leave me footprints I can follow to the church, so I am confident I can find my way there.

All I can do is keep going. By the time I reach the next split in the path, I know Calder has had plenty of time to finish counting. He'll be on my trail soon, if he isn't already. I kick off my shoes and leave them in the dirt at the head of the path I choose. At the following fork, I shimmy out of my jeans. I'm laying them down on the ground when I hear Calder's footsteps for the first time. He isn't far - on the other side of the hedge I just came around. I have to hurry.

“Hello, my name is Cyllina Ivybow. My mother was Deruna Ivybow. And this is my mate, Luca…” I gulped, waiting. Sure enough, not long after I said it, we heard something from the bushes. The thorny bushes slowly moved to open a small path that we could pass through. "Thank you..." Adam said under his breath. "Come on..." He walked first, while Luca immediately carried me back. Actually, I want to walk alone. But I looked down and it turned out that Luca was walking in a fairly shallow swamp, the same thing as Adam. His feet were submerged in water mixed with mud, higher than his ankles.

That scanning for weapons and exits is second nature to me, that I never go anywhere without memorizing the way I’ve come. Just like when Prince Owen led me from his tent to Ava’s. I know every stone and tree trunk between here and there, and based on the trickle of the nearby brook, I know I’m about a third of the way back already. I’m starting to think I can really make it back to the tent before the wolves catch up to me when I hear the rhythm of four giant paws approaching. I glance quickly over my shoulder, almost eating it as I trip over a root when I do. I turn forward again, picking up my pace just a little as I focus on where I step.

Tristan answered. We stepped off the stone and into the dust, the first beat of boots and paws setting the pace that would carry us to Silver Haven’s door. I walked between my mates with ward-bearers at my back and healers in our shadow. Armor kissed my ribs with each breath. The knot warmed at my wrist, steady as a second pulse. I did not look back.

"Yes, they did. They couldn't find a specific spot in the West and they had to travel to the east after following some kind of weird footsteps." With his hands still on mine that were on his shoulders, he leaned forward and clicked on a picture. "The footsteps." I leaned forward and looked at it. Those didn't look like human legs. They look like something that belongs to a big and wild animal. The footsteps were printed on a narrow snowy road. "Those don't look like human legs to me." I stood up and folded my arms. It could be something they had snapped and attributed to the legs of a Frostborn.

Declan was now at a security office in a park, clutching a guard's phone and repeatedly dialing my number. The moment my phone buzzed with an incoming call, I answered, and his voice, no longer angry, came through faintly. "Did you switch our bodies? Hurry up and switch us back." I couldn't help but laugh, though I pretended to be confused. "Wait, has that been bothering you? But I thought you loved Camilla! Shouldn't you be thrilled about this?" I started singing, just to annoy him a little more. "Take you back to every memory, hold you close like it's meant to be, through the highs and all the lows, I'll never let you go…