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Lyle stops thrashing. I press a hand to my mouth as a tear rolls down my face, a sob trapped in my throat. His eyes meet mine and instead of the white of the chimera, I’m met with the beautiful hazel eyes I miss so much.

"Oh, Lyle—" I move toward him, unable to stop myself, knowing he's right here. I need him to know he isn't alone, that he'll never be alone again.

Emotions swim in his eyes, so many I can't pin one down before the next is there, and then he's gone. He turns and runs into the forest without so much as looking back.

I move on instinct, unable to watch him leave again. Watching him walk away almost killed me last time. I don't care where we are or how dangerous it might be. I won't let him leave me behind if I can help it.

"Lyle, stop!" I sound hysterical even to my own ears, my voice echoing around the darkness until it distorts and sounds like the call of a monster.

Regardless of how quick I am, I still lose him in the darkness. He's bigger and faster, and I'm left standing, heaving and alone as I turn in a circle, hoping to see or feel something that might draw me back to him.

Go back to the others, Serena, you're not safe here... you're not safe with me.

Tears well in my eyes, blurring the world around me as I continue to search for him, but I swallow them down, unwilling to let them fall, to let him get away again.

"Lyle, please. Let me help you." My voice shakes, cracking on the last word, making me sound sad and pathetic, but I can't bring myself to care.

You can't help me, Serena; all you're doing is putting yourself in danger.

“I don’t care!” I'm shaking my head even before he's done talking… thinking? I don't know what it is, but I know he's wrong, and I tell him as much.

You need to leave, forget about me, and go be with the guys. Don't come back. I can't promise I'll be as aware next time, and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you...

It feels like he has more to say, but he remains silent, and after a second, I know I'm alone.

“I’ll never stop, Lyle. I won’t give up on you, just like you never gave up on me.”

He's gone, the pull to him disappearing, leaving me sad and confused.

Why bring me all the way out here just to break my heart all over again? There had to be a reason.

"Serena!"

I spin around, excitement filling me for a moment before I realize that it isn't Lyle calling me this time, and it's not in my head but from behind me.

"Serena!"

I don't understand what would possess her to be out herealonein the dead of night. She knows it's dangerous enough so that it's forbidden for the people of the kingdom to venture out here.

She's been sneaking out for a little while now, but I didn't dare confront her. I didn't need us fighting about something else when it felt like that’s all we'd been doing for the last few weeks. When she was sneaking out of bed after Sol's injury, Blair said she was training in the yard.

Was that a lie, or is her venturing out into the woods something new?

It doesn't matter.

She whips around, her deep blue hair in a braid that cuts through the air like a whip with how fast she spins. Her eyes search the area where I stand, and I see the moment her eyes adjust and she registers that it’s me.

I'm not who she was expecting or who she wanted to see.

That stings, but I shove the feeling down. I don't care who she was expecting; we can talk about that later. Right now, we need to get back to the castle. I'm strong, and so is she, but I'm not sure if even we can go up against the chimeras and twisted spirits that roam the Forgotten Forest.

Serena makes no move to come to me, so I stalk toward her as she turns once again, giving me her back as if I'm nothing.

"Sere—" I cut myself off as the wind shifts and I smell him. The scent is fresh, and familiar.

Lyle.

Fuck, no wonder she looked so damn sad when she saw me here.