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The stories of my world warned of creatures lurking deep in the woods—ones with glowing eyes, horrendous strength, and massive, inhuman bodies.

They called this world cursed, and it was. It was a place where life itself had fangs and claws and could tear you apart.

But I’d never feared the storybook monsters. It was the human men who hunted me, the ones with greedy eyes and cruel hands. They only saw me as a currency.

That’s what made me run. That’s what sent ice through my veins.

Tonight, they nearly caught me.

Raiders had ravaged the village I last settled in, destroying everything, killing anyone in their path, and taking women asbreeding captives and men as workers. But I had been picking berries when I heard them.

I wanted to help my fellow villagers, but my fate would have been in the pillagers’ hands if I’d gone back. My only option had been to run to save my own skin.

Nevertheless, they were fast on my trail, coming out of nowhere, shadows cutting through the mist. I had managed to take out one. I’d fought him, clawed and bitten until I spilled his blood. But it hadn’t been enough.

I panted and ran harder, faster, yet I was suddenly sideswiped and tackled to the forest ground. I felt searing-hot pain and knew instantly that my attacker had plunged a blade into my side.

My survival instinct took over my body, and I kicked and fought for my life. He lost the grip on his knife, and I grabbed it. Without thinking, I plunged it into his eye. Shock and horror washed over his face before he grunted and howled, and then sagged forward onto me.

I pushed him off and was on my feet in seconds, slipping through the trees like an injured animal needing to find somewhere safe to lick my wounds. I’d never ventured this deep into the woods. While I was unafraid of the monsters, thriving away from civilization, that were ingrained in our folklore, the stories had done their job of keeping me close to other people and what I was familiar with.

But tonight, I never stopped, not even a hesitation, when I heard the men give chase.

The forest pressed in, the gnarled branches curling like fingers that were reaching for me. My breath came in ragged gasps as I stumbled forward, each step heavier than the last. My vision blurred, the darkness around me shifting, moving.

Watching.

I didn't know how long I ran, but when I couldn't any longer, I collapsed to my knees, my hands digging into the damp earth as I tried in vain to catch my breath.

The coldness seeped into my bones. I had nothing left. No fight. No strength. But if I didn’t keep moving, I’d become prey to those who chased me—or to whatever lived in these woods. I would succumb to the cold, and if not that, then later, starvation.

And as time moved slowly, as the shadows thickened and the air trembled with something unseen, it was then I realized I wasn’t alone.

I could feel it watching me. I swore I even heard it breathing.

Something inhuman was here.

And it was coming for me.

2

FREYDIS

Iwas accustomed to running for my life—in the literal and figurative sense.

But this time was… different.

Ever since I ran from those raiders, several days ago now, killed one of them in my escape, and then sensed something watching and tracking me, I’d only slowed to rest and eat. Because whatever stalked me hadn’t made itself known, yet it hadn’t harmed me.

I told myself it was probably to give me a false sense of safety and security, so I should keep alert.

I’d been moving for hours, deep in the thick woods that spanned this magnificent land. I could continue walking it for days, weeks, probably in any direction, and I’d only get deeper within its tangled limbs and suffocating darkness.

I sat on a small boulder and stared at the large creek that was before me, dipping my toes in the calmness of it. The water was cold, a sharp bite against my bare skin, but I welcomed it. It had been a couple of days since I had the luxury of washing off the dirt and sweat of survival.

Although I knew better than to let my guard down, I couldn’t resist the pull of the water. The world was cruel, this place unrecognizable, so when I could take the smallest amount of pleasure for myself, I grabbed onto it.

I hadn’t felt the monster nearby for at least a day, and it allowed me to actually breathe. I stood, stripped out of my tattered and filthy clothes, and stepped into the frigid creek. The water slicked over my skin until I dunked myself fully, submerging my body and allowing myself to be weightless for a moment.