We ran from the cave as fast as our legs could carry us.
Every muscle burned with effort, but we didn't dare slow down. The ninth Primordial's voice echoed behind us through the darkness, following us like a physical presence. His tone was cold and terrifyingly calm.
"I am awake now. The darkness is coming for all of you."
We didn't look back even once. We just ran with everything we had.
We crashed through the dense forest, leaping over fallen logs and dodging between trees. We splashed across cold rivers without pausing. The days blurred together into one long, exhausting journey. We stopped only briefly to eat whatever we could find. We slept very little, maybe an hour or two at most. Fear pushed us forward relentlessly, not letting us rest.
When the familiar borders of Nightshade territory finally came into sight, relief flooded through me. But that relief was short-lived and quickly faded.
Drake met us at the border, and his face looked deadly serious. Something was wrong.
