*~Young Lilith's POV~*
The forest swallows us while...My chest burned with every breath, my legs aching from running, yet I didn't dare stop. Alice had my hand in a death grip, pulling me forward with surprising strength. Normally, she was the quiet one, the timid one. But tonight? She was the reason I was still moving.
The hand on mine felt like a block of lead, dragging me down, yet her hold gave me just enough strength to push forward.
"Do you… Do you know where we are?" I whispered, my voice breaking under the weight of exhaustion and fear.
"No," she admitted breathlessly, "but I think we're lost."
"Lost?" I echoed, panic rising like bile in my throat.
She didn't slow. "It's better to be lost than to be found by them. Goddess knows what they'll do if they catch us."
Her words made my blood run cold.
That's when a flash of light pierced the darkness.
