Page 71 of Golden Star

I take a steadying breath, my eyes scanning the darkening forest. The icicles hanging from the branches make the trees feel like a vast, glittering maze designed to trap any fool daring enough to enter it.

That’s what I was when I got lost on the night of themeteor shower. A fool, ignorant of what I am, and of the truth of the world around me.

But I’m not ignorant anymore. I know I have magic. And while I’m not exactly practiced at using it, at least I’m prepared to call on it whenever the time comes.

“We’ll give you a fifteen-minute head start,” Riven continues. “Then, we follow.”

“Like some sick game of hide and seek?” I ask.

“Hiding will make this boringly easy for us,” he says, and the knights fan out behind him, weapons ready, their expressions as cold and unforgiving as the harsh winter air. “And I don’t have the patience to stand around watching you stare out into the woods. So, the trial begins now.”

Zoey grabs my arm andtugs,nearly pulling my shoulder out of its socket.

“Let’s go,” she hisses, and without a second to spare, we sprint into the forest, ducking under low branches and weaving around icy trunks.

The world blurs around me, every sound amplified in the tense silence, overloading my every thought.

“Where are we going?” I ask, barely managing to avoid getting smacked in the head by a branch.

She glances over her shoulder, as if she thinks the knights might already be able to hear us. “The silver tree,” she says. “But not straight there. The knights willassume we’re going straight there, which will make us too easy to find.”

“We also won’t be going straight there because I have no idea where we are, let alone where the silver tree is,” I say, taking an occasional glance over my shoulder as we continue to run.

There’s no sign of Riven and the knights.

Yet.

We continue to run, and I hold onto my magic, using it to push us forward like I’ve done a few times before. Our feet are touching the ground so lightly that I’m unsure we’re leaving a trail.

“Then we’ll go in random directions,” Zoey says, and my magic pulls under my skin as we dart through the forest, changing direction every few minutes, doubling back and zigzagging when we can.

Zoey’s breathing is heavy, but she doesn’t complain. She just tightens her grip on my arm and matches my pace, helped by my magic propelling us forward.

“Left,” she manages between breaths, and we veer left, dodging a twisted tree.

Has it been fifteen minutes yet?

I have no idea. All I know is that we have to keep going—get as far away as possible before we can’t go any further. Then, once we’re somewhere they hopefully won’t be able to find us, we can take a break to strategize the best way to the silver tree.

We’re still going strong when the air shifts, colder and thicker, pressing in around us in a way that makes us slow to a stop.

Something’s wrong.

“Do you feel that?” Zoey’s eyes dart around, searching for whatever’s out there.

I nod, my heart pounding with a new kind of fear.

Is it the hunt? Have they closed in on us already?

I don’t know. Because it’s quiet.

Tooquiet.

Then, a scream tears through the night.

It’s shrill and piercing, like a blade scraping against my bones. Quickly, it spirals into a wail. I clutch my head, staggering and falling to my knees as the scream burrows its gnarled fingers deep into the recesses of my mind.

Zoey also collapses, clutching her head, her face twisted in agony.

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