Chapter 64 Beneath The Fog

SERAPHINA

To break the curse, you had to take it on yourself.

Those were the exact words etched into the weathered leather note I’d read. A sacrifice was required.

“Offer bblood /bto the grave. The spirit will be lured. Once it leaves its host, it bwill /bseek another body–yours. Then you will have bonly /bfive seconds to end it. The spirit that is tied to its grave cannot survive outside itsnd. Fall beyond the mountain’s boundary–beyond the cursed mist–and the evil dies with you.”

That was the way out..

To save Finn, I had to binvite /bthe curse into me…and then throw myself off of the cliff to die.

The wind howled like a chorus of des, cutting around me as I fell. Cold. Sharp. Suffocating. The mist rose to meet me like ghostly hands, curling against my skin, dragging over me bas /bthough it already imed me as its own.

Inside bme/b, the curse screamed..

A guttural wail echoed in my bones–thousand–tongued and ancient–desperate to flee, but bound. It wed at the walls bof /bmy soul, a furious beast trying to break free. bOnly /bit couldn’t.

I was no longer on itsnd.

The instant I pierced the densest curtain of fog, a bsharp /bpain shot through my entire being before it died.

A violent, soul–ripping silence filled me. bA /bbvoid/bb. /b

And then came death’s embrace with the fall.

But 1, Seraphina Nightbane, was not ready to die yet.

Below the cliff was no bed of rocks, but a forestb–/bbwild /band ancient. Its canopy was thick, its branches gnarled band /bvines tangled likes. If Inded just right, if the angle aligned…they might catch bme/b.

I had only one chance.

strong.

Branchesshed at my arms. Vines grazed my sides. 1 twisted mid–air, grasping bat /bbvines/b, snagging on whatever I could. The impact mmed against my ribs. Still, I kept falling–buntil /bba /bbtight /bbmesh /bbof /bbranches seized me. They groaned under my weight, cracked, but held.

“AHHH..” a painful cry left my lips. It bhurt/b. Hurt more than I had been ready for.

I gasped, lungs bheaving /bbin /bthe damp, moss–scented air. My whole body shook bwith /bbpain/b.

“Goddess, it hurts,” I bhissed/b, heart hammering wildly.

Suspended in that tangled of branches, my limbs btrembled/b. I shut my eyes to bear bthis /bagonizing sensation, but then. Ronan’s face burst into my mind. The look in his eyes when I lied…band /bbjumped/b.

I knew I should not have lied to bhim/b, however I did not have a bchoice/b.

My fists clenched. My heart quickened like a wild horse.

“Don’t tell me he tried to jump after me,” I muttered. His violent eyes bwhen /bI bjumped/b. Why why did he bhave /bbthat /blook in his eyes? As if he lost something important bHunsell /b

Above, the cliff was already swallowed by the fog I couldn’t see Ronan, but I felt bhim/bb. /bAs if his gaze still burned through the mist trying to find ne

“No,” I bwhispered/b. “Asher must’ve taken both Finn band /bRonan.

I’d exined it all to Asher. Once the curse was broken, the path bwould /bbopen/b. They would be able to exit the mountain, and

11:52AM T T –

Chapter 64 Beneath The Fog

I

+8 Pearls

This fog–covered forest bwas /bstill part of the mountain, just beneath the ce I’d fallen should reach the exit around the same time as they did.

With a deep breath, I carefully climbed down from the tree band /bscanned my surroundings.

Fog. Trees, Vines. Everywhere looked the bsame/b. But bas /bI examined the terrain. I spotted a narrow rill–barely a trickle, but sloping downward. That had to be it. If I followed the waterline, it might lead me out.

“We need to hurry.” bPhina /burged in my mind. “They’ll reach the bbase /bof the mountain in bhalf /ban hour!”

Half an hour. I had to match their bpace/b.

No time to bwaste/b. I took off down the rill, my steps wide band /bbfast/b. My back throbbed bfrom /bbthe /bfall, and my bhead /bbspun /bslightly, but rest wasn’t an option. This forest was foreign, and something about bit /bunsettled me.

Every sound, every movement made my nerves twitch. I listened closely, trying to track time by instinct, counting the seconds in my head.

Then bI /bnoticed something strange.

No animals.

Not a bird in the canopy. Not a snake on the ground. Not beven /ba whisper of wings in the trees.

No sounds,only silence. Heavy, watching silence.

“What kind of forest is this?” I whispered, a bchill /bbcrawling /bdown my spine.

The fog wasn’t natural either. It wasn’t just mist–it was suffocating, almost… sentient. Like it was watching me,

“Fifteen minutes,” Phina bsaid/b, as I bnced /bup at the Moon–bveiled /bnow behind thick, ghostly clouds.

“Shit,” i hissed. “Without the moonlight, I can barely see.”

I’d been relying on Phina’s senses to guide me through bthe /bfog and bdark/b, but bwithout /bthe Moon, even that was faltering

“We have to shift,” Phina insisted, burgency /bsharpening her tone. “This forest won’t end at this pace. Then everyone failed the

trial because of us!”

She was right. The rules didn’t say we bhad /bbto /bexit together, but bit /bbwas /ba bteam /btrial. An unspokenw. If I returnedte… we all bmight /bfail. Worse, I could bbe /bexpelled for dragging them down.

My pulse quickened. I reached bto /bunbutton my shirt, preparing to shift

I had to.

But then–a sound.

A sharp, distinct crack, like bsomething /bsnapping in the undergrowth.

1 bfroze/b, ulting my head btoward /bit. “What was bthat/b?” I asked aloud.

“I bdon’t /bknow,” Phina answered, bjust /bas unsure.

Shaking it off, I resumed my pace–only for another sound to breach /bme secondster. A different bsound /bSubtle. bStrange/b.

My skin prickled. The hair on the bback /bof my bneck /bbrose/b. A bchill /bbthreaded into /bbmy /bbonesb. /bbI /bhalted bmid/b–step, bevery /binstinct

screaming.

My eyes lucked on the fog ahead. Dense. Pale Oppressive.

Something wasn’t right

I took ba /bstep back, heart bpounding/b, and turned to leave–only to stop cold.

The path I’d been following.

Chapter 64 Beneath The Fog

It looked the same as the one I’d just turned from

I spun again.

Same path.

Every direction,

The same.

A cold sweat broke out across my brow. “How is this possible?”

Was I lost? Trapped?

Or bwas /bI going bmad/b?

+8 Pearls

I had no choice but to move bforward/b. Each step was hesitant, my body tense with bdread/b. My heartbeat thundered in my bears/b. Panic simmered in my chest.

There was something deeply wrong here.

I didn’t want to go any farther. The energy ahead was terrifying–heavy, like death.

Thenb, /bas 1 rounded a tree I hadn’t seen before, the fog thinned bslightly/b.

And there it was.

A river.

With a figure standing beside it–tall, bfamiliar/b.

My breath caught. “Dante?” I gasped.

He stood still, his back to me, hand raised to his face touching it?

“What bis /bhe..”

Before I could finish, he moved.

He ripped his bhand /bacross his bscalp/b–tearing hair and skin with it

I pped a hand over my mouth to stifle the scream. Blood cascaded bdown /bbhis /bbody as he peeled his face away like it was a

I stumbled back, horrified.

Then–lus head tilted. Slowly. Deliberately.

His eyes met

et mine.

As if he’d bknown/b! bwas /bthere all along.

And then… he smiled.

bThat /bslow smile as he whispered, “Seraphina bNightbane/b… byou /bbshould /bbhave /bbrun/bb./b”

Send Gifts

When The Moon Hides Her Crown

+8 Pearls