Page 122 of When Death Whispers

The shadows move. Not like wind through trees. Like something breathing. Like the trees themselves aren’t just trees. Their limbs don’t sway—theyreach.

Their bark pulses.

So does the ground.

Something big is beneath us, asleep. Waiting.

But it’s not the worst part.

The worst part is the eyes.

Lurking in the dark. Hidden between gnarled roots and the twisted spaces between trees. Watching. Waiting. Hungry.

Then—the clicking starts.

A deep, guttural clicking sound echoes through the air, vibrating through my bones.

Hudson stiffens. I grin, the danger appealing to my baser instincts.

The clicking grows louder. Closer.

His breath hitches. “What the fuck is that?”

I flex my claws, tilting my head toward the noise. “Something that doesn’t leave enough of you behind to bury.”

Hudson’s heart slams against his ribs—loud enough, frantic enough, that the scent of it hits me sharp and thick.

I breathe it in, the taste of his fear raw and bitter on my tongue.

I slap a hand on his back, claws tapping once against his spine. “Well, shit. Sure didn’t take them long to find you.”

Another click.

This onebehindus.

I turn, baring my teeth.

“We move,” I growl. “Now.”

But as we run, I keep reaching.

Because the silence in my chest where she used to burn?

It’s not just wrong.

It’sunforgivable.

And I don’t care how deep we have to go—how much blood I have to spill, how many monsters I have to break—I will find her.

Even if it means tearing this cursed realm apart at the seams.

45

The Evergloom breathes.

It presses against my skin, slow and heavy, like it’s trying to seep through my pores and settle in my bones. Not air. Not mist. Something older. Something watching.

I grit my teeth and shove the feeling down. The last thing I need is to start unraveling five minutes into this nightmare.

---