The cold greeted me before my eyes did.
It crawled beneath my jacket, settled into my ribs, seeped through my gloves until my fingers ached with every heartbeat.
For a long moment…
I simply listened.
Wind.
Trees.
The distant creaking of old wood.
My eyelids finally obeyed me.
The sky above was dull and gray, broken apart by the branches swaying overhead.
Snowflakes drifted lazily through the air.
I stared at them.
One…
Two…
Three…
Where…
My thoughts dragged themselves together painfully.
The hunters.
Lila.
Blood.
Not being able to move.
Watching her fight while I lay there like…
Like a corpse.
After that…
…
Nothing.
A hole.
A complete, terrifying hole.
I frowned.
"What…"
Even speaking hurt.
My throat burned.
My chest felt raw.
"…What happened?"
"…Adrian?"
I turned my head.
Lila stood a few feet away.
She wasn't smiling.
She wasn't crying anymore either.
She just…
Watched me.
Like I was something she'd never seen before.
