Page 116 of Owned

Desperate thoughts twisted in my mind, but the grimoire’s whispers were quiet.

“Say something,” I hissed. “What do I do?”

Silence.

Just the creaking of trees and the soft rush of wind far above.

“Please,” I murmured as I cast desperate glances at the shrouded foliage that surrounded me.

It had to be here.

Where could Valen have hidden it?

But every moment I spent searching felt like a betrayal.

What if hehadlied to me?

A shadow between the trees made my heart leap in my chest.

The bike.

With a strangled cry, I rushed toward it.

But as I approached, the shadow shifted and moved.

The forest morphed into a nightmarish labyrinth and as I reached the edge of the trees I felt a shudder ripple through my body.

What was that—

Shadows stirred among the trees, coiling like serpents, and from their depths emerged dark shapes, hunched and grotesque. I choked on a scream as icy tendrils of fear curled around my spine and forced adrenaline into my veins that electrified every nerve.

I stood frozen for just a heartbeat—one agonizing moment that stretched into eternity—before instinct kicked in and launched me into a flight of primal terror.

I tore myself away from the sinister figures that loomed behind me and tried to ignore the foreboding whispers thatechoed in my ears. They called my name, but their voices were twisted with mockery and each syllable dripped with malice.

“Aaaaa-vril…”

“Leaving so soon—”

The chilling words from my dream.

“You can’t escape,” they taunted.

Dread churned in my gut as my feet pounded against the damp earth. I wove through the trees and branches clawed at my skin like desperate hands trying to pull me back. There was no time to think, only to move, to evade the darkness that hungered for my capture.

Roots snaked across my path, threatening to trip me, but I leapt over them.

My lungs burned as I gasped for air and the world narrowed to a tunnel of shadows and moonlight. My nerves were on edge, and every sound was amplified to a terrifying level—

They were behind me.

In pursuit.

And I was alone.

Helpless.

Where are you?

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