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“No, I don’t hear her,” Elias answered. “Because she’s not here.”

“Let go!”

“Aura,listento me. The magic wants to lead you away from Zolmara. It will pull you around and you’ll walk aimlessly in madness until you die of exhaustion or starvation.”

Everything he was saying made sense, but the spell overpowered all logical thought. When I heard my mother’s voice call to me again, that was that. I used one of the many maneuvers I had learned weeks ago when Elias trained me. I twisted my arm out of his grasp and brought my leg up to kick him in the chest. He stumbled backwards, taking a moment to find his footing. Then his eyes widened as he glanced toward my hand.

I looked down too, and saw that I held my mother’s knife, ready to slice. I froze.

“Aura, look at me.”

I didn’t. My eyes remained fixed on the knife I hadn’t remembered pulling out.

“We’re almost there, I can feel it. Don’t give up now.” He took a step closer, but I backed away.

“Stay back,” I warned. “I don’t want to… I wouldn’t… Please.” I couldn’t form words as the magical madness fought with my true mind. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I finally forced out.

“Aurelia,” my mother’s voice haunted me. “Come to me.”

And so I did. I turned, knife still in hand, and sprinted away from Elias as fast as I could, determined to find my mother who wasn’treally there.

“Aura, wait!” Elias’s voice already sounded so far behind me. But I kept running, far and fast.

When I turned around, expecting to find him chasing after me, I was surprised to see that there was no sight of him. And the forest looked…different. Like I had been transported somewhere new. Somewhere darker, where the shadows grew larger and the sunlight poorer. It was the same forest, but different. Colder. And deathly quiet. I didn’t even hear my mother’s voice anymore, and the madness momentarily subsided when I realized I was completely and utterly alone.

Oh gods, what had I done? I was lost and alone in a magical fucking maze that moved. One that was peeling away my sanity. What the fuck was I going to do?

Focus. Elias’s earlier words centered me.Don’t trust your senses.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, mentally blocking the madness from creeping back in.Trust your instincts. That was one of the last things Elias had said. I couldn’t trust my senses, but I could trust my instincts.

My instincts were telling me I was close to Zolmara. My mother’s voice wouldn’t have lured me away if I wasn’t.

Gods, her voice…it was so real. Exactly as I remembered it. My chest tightened with the pain of her loss. I would never hear that voice again. I fell to my knees and sobbed.

Fuck, I had to keep moving. Had to get out of here before the forest swallowed me whole.

I couldn’t turn back and look for Elias, my instincts told me that. I’d find Zolmara before I’d find him.

So that was it. Keep moving, and hope I made it on the other side of the wards in one piece. And that Elias would find me there. I only hoped he was faring better than I was. But which way did I needto go? I looked around, feeling hopelessly lost. I felt the madness try to creep its way back in, but this time I momentarily blocked it out, creating my own mental wards. I began to feel terrible for how I spoke to Elias. I couldn’t control myself. But I wouldn’t let it happen again.

I took a few deep breaths, grounding myself with the earth beneath me, when I felt a tug at my back. Not a physical tug, but an invisible energy that wanted to pull me in that direction. This energy felt different than the madness. It felt lighter, more…breathable. I took that as a sign, and just like Elias commanded, I followed my instinct.

Another weird instinct took over that I could not explain. Something in the back of my mind told me to close my eyes and walk. So, as crazy as it seemed, I did. I closed my eyes and took slow, even steps towards the direction of the invisible tug.

A few minutes passed, my eyes still shut, then a few more. Then, it suddenly felt like I was walking through a giant spider web. I almost stopped, but kept moving, the bits and pieces of the spider’s web leaving tingly feelings along my skin.

Then, out of nowhere…noise. The flapping of birds wings, a cricket chirping, a small creek flowing. My eyes shot open, and I was met with a sight I was starting to think I’d never see. In front of me was an ancient city in ruins.

Zolmara.

CHAPTER THIRTY

As soon as I stepped through the spider web of magic, I felt like I could breathe again. I turned around to see the web for myself, but was surprised to only be met with dense forest. The wards were still invisible, even though I felt myself pull through them. And for the first time since entering those wards, my mind felt clear.

Gods…Elias. I couldn’t go back for him or I’d be trapped all over again.

Through the bond, I did not feel that he was in trouble – albeit, I may have felt a numbed sense of dread as he searched for me.