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Chapter One

Darkness

Tessa had been afraid of it one to bed dreading nightfall, looking under the bed, double-checking her nightlight

As if a lightbulb the size of a lit htmares

But tonight, she prayed for the blackest of nights For theclouds For the shadows to make her invisible

The darkness had changed sides Head spinning, lungs screareatest fear could now be her savior Her miracle

That’s what it was going to take to keep her alive until the sun rose

“Tesssssa” The voice floated over the forest “You can’t get away”

Where is he?

Evergreen boughs grabbed at her arh the forest like a panicked deer Her heart beat with the frantic staccato of a prey ani the abuse of little-used muscles She passed the scorched carcass of a burned tree Its blackened branches pointed upward like a charred hand reaching for the sky She ducked behind the shelter of a towering oak Bark scraped her back as she pressed against the trunk and listened

Where did he go?

A ht, she could hear the sounds of the forest that surrounded Scarlet Lake The stillness of the night sharpened her senses Frogs croaked Crickets chirped An anih the underbrush nearby The air was thick with the scents of pine, lake water, and fear

Not for the first time, she wished she could shrink and disappear into a rabbit hole

Hoot! An owl landed on an overhead branch

Tessa startled, a gasp slipping from her lips She covered her open ers, and when she lowered her hand, it came aith tears—and blood She touched the corner of her mouth, where his fist had split her lip Other parts of her face and body ached froed to land a kick to his groin

Then he’d dropped her, and she’d run Blindly

The owl took flight, slow flaps of its wings sending it soaring through a break in the canopy The clouds parted, andFor a few seconds, the raptor was silhouetted against the inky sky And then it was gone

Sliding down the tree trunk, she sat on her heels and huddled

Despite the coolness of the Septeas and sed a flame She panted; the sound echoed in her ears and seeh the trees

Quiet!

He was going to hear She was out of shape, and her otten far He had to be close

“Tesssssa”

The dru of her heartbeat muffled his voice She couldn’t tell which direction it was co from

She pressed her lips together, but her lungs demanded more air Red ri her ed gasps weren’t as loud as they sounded echoing in her own ears

Minutes passed

Nothing happened

Maybe he’d gone in the other direction

Her breathing eased Her legs began to tre countless ti looked the same in the dark

She’d lost track of her location

She glanced around the trunk Twenty feet ahead, ht cast a trail in silvery shadows Was that the path that led to the e, the trees closed in, and darkness smothered the forest

Sweat ran down her spine and pooled at her lower back, soaking the waistband of her jeans She squinted What choice did she have? She couldn’t stay here long