I woke up to the sound of something moving in the room.

  Light filtered through the cracks in the walls, and the faint smell of smoke still lingered in the air. My muscles were stiff, but I was warm—wrapped in the furs from the night before.

  When I turned my head, I saw Will standing by the door. In his hands, he held a tray with a steaming cup of something and what looked like bread.

  "Good morning," he said quietly, almost reluctantly.

  I sat up slowly and blinked sleepily. "What's that?"

  "Tea. And something that resembles breakfast." He set the tray on a small wooden shelf beside me.

  "You make breakfast for people now?" I asked, half-teasing.

  "I don't do it for people. I did it because Amelia asked me. She was here earlier, but you slept like a rock."

  I raised an eyebrow. "And you said yes?"

  He shrugged. "She said she and the women were heading to the lake to wash, so... here I am."

  He tugged at the corner of his mouth but didn't quite smile.

  Of course. It would be too much to believe he was just being nice.

  I took the cup in my hands and felt the warmth spread through my fingertips. I hadn't even managed to thank him before Will already seemed on his way out.

  But then he stopped in the doorway.

  "You'll be seeing Sacra again soon," he said without turning around.

  I looked up from the cup. "She seemed to know more than she let on yesterday."

  "She always knows more than she says."

  He said it in a tone that hinted he didn't entirely trust that.

  "Will she explain what's really going on? With me. With the curse?"

  "If she thinks you're ready."

  I wanted to ask more, but his body language made it clear he was already on his way out. And I didn't have the energy to ask him to stay.

  He opened the door and disappeared into the morning light.

  I remained there, alone in the hut, holding the cup of tea in my hands and with the bread still untouched on the tray. The celebration was over. The night, too.

  And it felt like something new was about to begin.

  When I finished eating, I took the tray with me and stepped outside. The village path was nearly deserted. Only a faint rustle from the trees could be heard, and the scent of last night's fire still hung in the air. I saw neither women nor men.

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  Will had said the women were at the lake.

  But what about the men?

  I turned my gaze toward the edge of the forest. A strange unease crept over me, as if something was moving out there among the trees.

  Why does it feel like I'm the only one left?

  I started walking along the narrow path that led out of the village. It wound through snow-covered trees, and I assumed it would take me to the lake where the women were washing.

  Just a quick walk. Drop off the tray, turn back, return to the warmth.

  But the path split. Then split again. And eventually, there was no path at all—only untouched snow lying between the spruces.

  I stopped.

  Turned around.

  But the trees looked the same in every direction.

  Okay... don't panic. Not yet.

  I kept going a bit farther, following a slight slope where the snow was deeper. The sound of water echoed somewhere in the distance. Maybe it was the lake?

  But then everything went quiet. Uncomfortably quiet. Not even the wind moved anymore.

  I looked over my shoulder, but all I saw were spruces—tall, heavy, and motionless.

  This doesn't feel right. I should've asked someone for directions. Stupid. So damn stupid...

  I turned all the way around and started walking back—or at least in the direction I thought was back. My steps quickened, my heart beat a little faster. The warmth from breakfast was long gone.

  Then I heard it.

  A faint crack. A breath. As if someone—or something—was moving nearby.

  I froze.

  "Hello?" I called, but my voice was swallowed up between the trees.

  No answer.

  I stepped back once. Then twice.

  And that's when I saw it.

  A shadow—dark and low—moving between the trunks.

  I turned to ice.

  It wasn't a person.

  The black eyes staring at me from between the trees were something else—empty, ice-cold, and yet filled with something deep, something... wrong. His body moved stiffly but with a kind of hungry determination. Like a predator that knows exactly when the prey can no longer flee.

  I took one step back, but he raised his hand in a sharp, warning motion. In the next instant, he was right in front of me.

  His face was covered in dirt, scars, and what looked like old, dried wounds. He smiled—a crooked, greasy grin—and leaned in so close I could feel his breath, heavy and rancid.

  "Say one more word, and I'll slice you open from throat to hip," he whispered, pressing something sharp against my side.

  My eyes widened. I barely dared to breathe.

  "So, it's you. The little girl they've pinned their hopes on," he went on. His voice was hoarse, almost spitting. "Do you even know what they've dragged you into?"

  I couldn't answer. My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth. My whole body frozen with fear.

  "They won't save you," he sneered. "You're just a key to them. And keys... get thrown away once the door's open."

  He leaned closer. His eyes gleamed with something sickly, almost manic. "But me? I can make it quick. Painless. Just one cut... and you're free of all of it."

  And he raised the knife.

  I let out a breath, took a step back—and then came the blow.

  A hard, unexpected strike to the side of my head. I fell to the ground, a sharp pain shooting through my skull. Blood began to run down my temple and along my cheek. The world spun, but adrenaline carried me one last time.

  "SAC! WILL! HELP!" I screamed—panic took over, my voice cracked. I screamed again. "HELP!"

  He lunged forward to silence me.

  But in the next second, something burst out of the shadows with a force that sucked the air from the forest.

  I saw Will.

  It was just a moment—but it felt like everything stopped. His eyes burned. His jaw was clenched. There wasn't a trace of arrogance or weary indifference in him now. Only a blazing, raw fury.

  He tore the attacker off me, threw him backward as if he weighed nothing. A dull thud echoed as the body hit the ground.

  I collapsed against a tree, and everything blurred. I heard voices—Sac, Wics, maybe Rex—but I couldn't focus. Blood thundered in my ears, my head pounded.

  Will dropped to his knees in front of me, grabbed my shoulders.

  "Tracy! Can you hear me?"

  I tried to nod. My mouth opened, but no words came out.

  "She's in shock," I heard someone say. Maybe Sac. Someone draped a blanket around my shoulders, someone else took my hand. I wanted to say I was okay—but I wasn't.

  Everything became a haze.

  The last thing I saw before the darkness took over was Will's gaze—filled with something I couldn't read.