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Rocks scattered by my feet, tumbling down from above. A relieved sigh shook my sore body. They’d heard me. It would be all right. I had no idea what we’d do from here, but at least they’d found me.

Heavy feet thumped against the ground to my right, and a strange, uneasy chill swept across the back of my neck, making every hair stand on end. I couldn’t see whoever had joined me on this boulder, but still, I knew. This was not Kalen.

My shoulder shot with pain as I slid my sword from the sheath on my back. Tears stung my eyes, less from the fear of whatever lurked inside the thickened mist than from the pain that scraped through every inch of my body. The world blurred before me, and yet I stood my ground.

A feral shriek sounded from my right. I knew that sound. I heard it in my worst nightmares—in my deepest, darkest dreams. Terror gripped my heart as I slowly turned toward the beast that stalked closer. Memories replayed in my mind. A five-year-old girl, screaming as she ran from the monster bearing down on her, its jaws snapping at her back.

My arms trembled as the beast slowly crept into view, the shadows parting around its long, sweat-drenched snout. It sniffed at the air, and its black eyes zeroed in on my head where blood trickled from the fresh wound.

I shuddered. It had smelled my blood, and now it had come to feast on my flesh.

It took another step closer. Claws scraped against stone.

“Stay back,” I whispered, angling my sword sideways to protect my chest. “Don’t come any closer.”

The beast widened its jaws and screamed, its hot breath billowing against my face. I braced myself against the sound and tightened my hold on the sword. My muscles trembled from the weight of it, and my mind begged for me to lower it to the ground, for just a moment of sweet relief.

And that little girl inside my mind cried, pleading with me to turn around and run. She didn’t want to face this. She couldn’t. Not with her father’s angry face flashing in her eyes. Not with his shouts making her cower on her knees. She whispered at him to stop, to just let her be.

The shadowfiend lunged.

With a scream, I held up my sword to protect myself, but its claws hit my legs and sent me tumbling across the stony ground. My teeth clattered together and sent another wave of blinding pain through my skull. I scrabbled backward, still clinging to my sword as the beast loped toward me.

It would trap me again, just like it had back then. Only this time, I did not know if I could find it within myself to kill it with my hands. I’d spent most of my life in Teine, and like my father, Oberon’s protective barrier would have dampened whatever magic I had over the years.

The power wouldn’t work.

Steeling myself, I rolled over and jumped to my feet, dodging the beast’s lunge. I raised the sword and swung wildly at its head, but it merely whistled through the air, missing by at least a foot.

The beast thundered forward, and I forced myself to focus on everything Kalen had taught me.Use your legs. Ignore the pain. Focus on your breathing, on the beat of your heart beneath your ribs.His voice echoed in my mind and soothed away the throttling terror.

Roaring, I swung the sword. At last, it made contact, slicing into the monster’s flesh. Blood streamed from the gaping wound as I ripped the blade out of its body.

It screamed, jaws widening and exposing its razor-sharp teeth.

I couldn’t let those teeth rip through me. If the venom stormed my veins, it would stun me long enough for the beast to kill me.

I stumbled to the side when it raced for me once more. I barely got out of the way. It whirled on me and sliced its claw at my leg. I danced out of the way just in time. Gritting my teeth, I bent my knees and thrust my sword upward. The beast’s paw hit the blade, pushing it down toward my face.

I strained against its weight, desperately trying to fend it off. Sweat pooled on my forehead and dripped down the back of my neck. The pain in my head was so great that I almost passed out.

“Give up,” the little girl cried in the back of my mind. “Run!”

I wanted so badly to listen to her. I couldn’t do this. I wasn’t strong enough. I never had been. Tessa Baran was nothing but a rage-filled, colossal failure who ruined everyone’s lives. She couldn’t protect herself. She should just cower and hide and wait for her death. The world would be better off without her in it.

I ground my teeth together, and then shouted into the mist, “No!”

With a strength I did not know I had, I threw all my force into my legs and arms andshovedthe shadowfiend across the boulder. I stumbled back as it growled at me, its paw dripping with blood.

Pulling air into my aching lungs, I raised my sword once more, ignoring the pain-drenched protests of my body. And then I swung.

The sword sang, steel through air. It collided with the beast’s flesh and sliced deep into its throat. The creature’s wail rose up all around me as blood gurgled from its open neck. Its eyes went distant and dark, just as they had back then. With one last gasping breath, the shadowfiend hit the rock and then stilled.

I dropped the sword. It clattered against the rock. And then my knees gave out.

* * *

“Tessa, love.” Kalen’s soft voice wound into my ear, and the scent of snow and mist surrounded me like a gentle cocoon. He pressed his fingers to my neck, and the sigh that scraped from his throat echoed my own relief, even though I could barely open my eyes. Cold seeped into my skin, causing my entire body to tremble.