I wince as a blood-curdling scream leaves the boy’s lips. Seeing the damage on someone other than myself has me turning away—but I still can’t help a perverse glance back every few moments.
“And they question if I’m worthy of being here,” I huff.
“Sabrina has always been like that,” Rory notes, pointing to the leader. “She barely passed the Light’s determining examinations. But I’ve always said she belongs to the Dark. No offense.”
I smirk. “None taken. But she’s not Dark material. She would have been killed off long ago.”
A spine-chilling scream sends fear across my skin and adrenaline through my veins. My body grows tense as I bounce on the balls of my feet. But I don’t run—not yet.
“Serena?”
Pressure on my shoulder. Claws sink into my flesh. My power rises like a tsunami ready to destroy whoever dares touch me. My hand shoots out in front of me, sending a stream of green mist that wraps around my assailant.
“Mistress. You are not in the Forest. Release the boy!”
I blink. The haze falls from my eyes and Rory’s fear-ridden ones stare back at me. Lore hoots from the ground, drawing my eyes downwards where I see Rory’s arm, extended in front of him, holding my shoulder. My green mist remains wrapped around his throat, ready to constrict, ready to squeeze the life from him.
“Serena, let him go.”
Declan stands behind Rory, his hand raised and his aura flaring. My mouth drops open, and I release Rory, stepping back and sucking my power back into my body. I feel its complaints, its evil desires left incomplete.
“I… I’m sorry, I don’t know what—” I stare into Rory’s eyes, the constricted feeling in my chest loosening as he nods with a small smile, a small amount of fear still lingering in his expression. “Please forgive me,” I whisper.
“There’s nothing to forgive…” he says, then after a moment adds, “But whatever that was, you should probably talk to someone about it. About whatever happened.”
I stiffen at his words. But it’s the understanding in Paxton’s eyes that allows me to draw my first deep breath. His lips curve upward slightly when I exhale.
Declan exhales deeply and relaxes. “As much as this has been a boatload of fun, we need to finish this.” He holds up the scroll before nodding to Sabrina’s group, who are finally unraveling theirs, and then to the others following suit. “Do you feel up to running?” he asks Rory and me, and we nod in unison.
“Good. Let’s move. And Serena, if you attack one of us again, you won’t be getting off so easy.” His eyes harden, and the other’s nod.
I salute him, “Noted,” and we set off. I drop the barrier surrounding us, and Lore takes off to fly above the treetops as we shift into a jog.
We reach the edge of the clearing, and I pause to look back. Several of the groups have paused in their examination of their cryptex to watch us go.
“Hold up!” I call to the guys. When I turn around, they’re already among the trees, but have stopped to look back at me. “Everyone’s just going to follow us. We need to throw them off if we want to keep a good lead.”
Declan nods slowly, stepping out of the trees and back into the clearing. Rory follows close behind. Paxton remains deeper in the trees, partially concealed by shadow. Dane, who still stands closest to me, says, “How about we split up? We all know where to go, right?”
The five of us exchange glances and nods. “See you there, then,” Declan says.
Paxton shoots off into the forest first, quickly disappearing between the trunks. Declan waits a moment before sprinting a little farther across the clearing, then through the trees in a different direction. Rory goes next, running all the way to the other side of the clearing. Dane and I follow him halfway, then split up and run in separate directions.
I reach the tree line at a lonely section of the clearing and pause to look over my shoulder at the groups we’re leaving behind who are looking around, absolutely baffled. I smirk and sink into the shadows myself.
I run a fair distance before calling up to the canopy above. “Okay, a little help here would be nice!”
“Veer left, Mistress. You’ll encounter a stream. Follow it.”
I follow Lore’s instructions and adjust my direction, crunching over the leaf litter toward where I can hear the trickling of a stream under the constant rustle of leaves overhead.
“What do you make of them?” I ask as I reach the thin line of water. After a quick glance down at its movement, I follow it downstream.
She hums. “They are strong. Close-knit. They have obviously known each other for a long time. They appear to be respected. We have already established they can trust you, but if we can become friends with this group, this may serve us better.”
I nod, agreeing with her assessment as we exit the forest, the midmorning sun illuminating the lush green grounds around us. Lore descends a moment later to land on my shoulder, and we both let out a whistle at the sight of the gleaming, white marble temple. With its rising columns and elaborately carved design filling the triangular space between the columns and the roof, it looks like it could be the Parthenon. More columns encase a smooth brick walkway leading to the temple’s steps. I spot four figures standing short of the path and speed up to a jog to approach them.
“And the scroll. Do you think it has a hidden meaning?” I ask Lore.
“No, it was obvious. ‘To find all the things you’ve left behind, look for the marbled divine.’ A simpleton could figure it out. Though, I will admit the ease of the clue is suspicious.”
“So… a trap?” I huff out as we near the temple. The guys grow alert
