Page 188 of Daughter of the Serpent

Where are you?

She sent the thought through the bond, low and urgent.

But all she was met with was silence.

Ever since he’d left that afternoon, his walls had been slammed shut - and now she had been illuminated to why.

She reached for it anyway - reached for him. If he was willing… if he opened himself, even just a crack… he would hear her. He would find her.

He always did.

Her heart ached as she crept beneath the shifting canopy, leaves rustling above like the whispering of nature spirits, reminding her of when they had appeared just two nights ago. A crow called once, sharp and solitary, as if to warn her back. But she pressed on, a certain dread and yet determination mingling within. She wanted to find him,neededto - and yet, she wasn’t sure what she’d do when she did.

All she had was her heart - and the fragile hope he wouldn’t break it.

Because she’d already given him everything.

He had already become like home, her home.

And it was terrifying to think of what could happen next. That with only a few words, what they had built - could be dashed to pieces forever. That he might be parted from her, forever.

The thought twisted inside her like a blade. She gritted her teethand swallowed hard against the sob clawing its way up. Not here. Not now. She needed to hold it together long enough to hear, to understand.

Axel.

Please.

She crested the cliffside, boots crunching against frost - hardened earth. The sea raged below, wind catching the salt spray and hurling it up into her face. Her eyes scanned the forest edge, shadows and rock, broken only by memory.

Screams.

Bjorn’s laughter, cruel and guttural.

The wheeze of breath as Axel closed his hand around the man’s throat.

He deserved it - he did. But she couldn’t have watched him die. She didn’t even want him to die because of her.

You shouldn’t be here.

The voice slithered through her thoughts, measured like the edge of a blade.

She turned sharply. A shiver crawled up her spine.

He stood half - hidden beneath the boughs, the bark and shadow cloaking him so naturally it was as if the forest itself had forged him, and she realized now maybe it did.

Her breath caught.

He was beautiful, even now - bare - chested, streaked with dried blood and moonlight. His eyes glinted from the dark like a wildcat, but she knew now it was something more.

Had she walked right past him?

Her pulse thundered.Of course she had.

He was nature. The forest. The wild that lived just beyond reach. He would only be seen, if he wanted to be found.

She swallowed hard.

The blood on his shoulder had dried in crusted rivulets, flaking slightly where the skin was already knitting itself back together. Andit became glaringly clear that he wasn’t like the rest of them. Not anymore.