Becky POV
The forest felt smaller.
I stood behind this old man, holding onto a coin that buzzed with energy.
Was I too trusting of a stranger? I wondered how this old man had appeared again in such time, but I had no choice if I was to win the duel and save Kenneth.
Leaving Atlas…
For two days.
It sounded simple.
Except nothing about my life had ever been simple.
"This person who wants to help me should have come by himself." I murmured.
"You better start walking," he muttered, scanning the shadows like they were alive. "We don't have up to a minute before they reach this place."
I tightened my grip on the coin.
It was still pulsing slow and steady, like a foreign heartbeat trapped in my palm.
"Old man…"
"Move."
He grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the trees. His grip wasn't gentle; it was firm, urgent, and desperate.
Branches slapped my arms as we moved deeper into the forest, faster than I thought he could run.
