Chapter 23

The creature laughed.

A sound that didn't belong in this world warped, stretched, wrong.

"Still fighting, even now?"

Riley's grip on the branch tightened, her heart hammering against her ribs. It was watching her, not as prey, not as a girl who had made a reckless decision but as something it recognized.

Somehow, that was worse.

Kieran snarled, moving fast. He grabbed Riley's wrist, yanking her back just as the creature's clawed hand lashed out. The force of it tore the branch from her grip, snapping it in half like it was nothing.

"We need to go," Kieran growled, keeping his body between her and the thing that had spoken with her voice.

The creature tilted its head, almost thoughtful. "Yes, run. Just like before."

Riley's stomach twisted.

She wasn't sure what was worse: the mockery in its tone or the heavy, sick feeling in her chest that told her this thing wasn't lying.

Kieran moved before she could. His hand found her arm, his grip tight but not cruel. "Now."

She didn't argue.

Didn't hesitate.

Because for the first time since she had stepped into the ruins, she realized

She wasn't ready for the truth.

Not yet.

So she ran.

Into the Dark

The wind whipped through the trees, biting Riley's skin as she and Kieran tore through the forest.

The sound of pursuit never came.

No pounding footsteps.

No sharp growls.

Nothing.

That was almost worse.

Kieran didn't slow down, didn't look back. His grip on her arm was firm, guiding her through the twisting maze of trees with a certainty that should have been impossible.

"How do you know where you're going?" she asked breathlessly, dodging a low-hanging branch.

Kieran's jaw tightened. "Because I know what's out here."

She almost asked what that meant.

Almost.

But she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

They ran until her legs burned and her lungs ached.

Until the ruins were far behind them.

Then, mercifully Kieran pulled them to a stop.

Riley bent forward, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. "What the hell was that?"

Kieran's golden eyes burned in the dim moonlight. "Something that shouldn't exist."

Riley let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Well, that makes two of us, doesn't it?"

Kieran flinched.

It was barely there but she saw it.

She straightened, pulse still too fast, body still too wired from the run, from the fight, from the truth pressing against the edges of her mind. "Tell me what's going on, Kieran."

He ran a hand through his dark, messy hair, exhaling sharply. "I don't know."

It was a lie.

She could feel it in her bones.

"Try again."

He hesitated, the muscle in his jaw tightening. "That thing it's not part of the pack. It's not something Tobias controls. It's older."

Riley frowned. "How much older?"

Kieran's gaze flickered to hers. "As old as you."

Her stomach dropped.

"No," she whispered. "No, that's not possible."

But she thought of the ruins. The way they had recognized her. The way the creature had spoken her name was like a prayer and a curse all at once.

She shivered.

Kieran stepped closer, his golden eyes locked onto her. "I need you to tell me something."

Riley swallowed hard. "What?"

He hesitated.

Then softly "Did it say anything else?"

Her breath caught.

He already knew.

Her mind flashed back to the moment the creature's dark, hollow eyes had locked onto hers.

"Still fighting, even now?"

"You don't remember me but I remember you."

Riley clenched her fists. "It knew me."

Kieran closed his eyes, exhaling slowly.

It was like he had been waiting for this.

Like he had already known this was coming.

"Then it's happening again," he muttered.

A chill skittered down Riley's spine. "What is?"

Kieran didn't answer.

Instead, he took her hand.

Not forcefully.

Not like he was trying to control her.

But like he was asking her to trust him.

"Come with me."

Riley hesitated. "Where?"

"To someone who might have answers."

She studied him, searching his face for anything that told her she was making a mistake.

She found nothing.

Finally, she nodded. "Alright."

Kieran gave a small, almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Then he turned, leading her through the trees, deeper into the night.

Nova's Warning

The last thing Riley expected was for Kieran to take her to Nova.

They found her in a run-down gas station on the outskirts of town, sitting on the counter and eating from a bag of pretzels like she hadn't been up all night worrying.

The second Nova saw them, her eyes widened.

"Oh, thank god," she breathed, hopping down. "I thought you were dead."

Riley blinked. "I was gone for an hour."

"Yeah, well, an hour in Silverwood Time is a lifetime." Nova's sharp gaze flicked to Kieran. "Where did you take her?"

Riley opened her mouth, but Kieran cut in first. "She found the ruins."

Nova froze.

The color drained from her face. "You're kidding."

When neither of them said anything, she swore under her breath. "Riley, tell me you didn't"

"I didn't mean to," Riley snapped. "But apparently, they meant for me to find them."

Nova let out a long breath, rubbing her hands down her face. "Shit."

Riley crossed her arms. "Okay, what the hell is going on? You know something."

Nova exchanged a look with Kieran.

That was all it took.

Riley's patience snapped.

"Enough with the cryptic looks!" she snapped. "Tell me the truth, or I swear to god, I will"

"You're waking up," Nova said.

Riley stilled.

Nova hesitated, then continued, voice softer. "You're not just remembering, Riley. You're becoming something again. Something you were before."

Riley's chest tightened.

She thought of the ruins. The creature. The way the earth had answered her.

"No," she whispered. "That's not"

But she couldn't say it.

Because part of her already knew.

Nova's gaze softened. "I don't think we have a lot of time before you figure out what that means."

Riley shook her head, backing up. "I'm not"

A sharp pain sliced through her skull.

She gasped, stumbling back as a vision crashed into her like a thunderstorm.

Blood on the snow.

Golden eyes full of fury.

A voice her voice.

"This has to end."

The vision snapped away.

Riley collapsed onto her hands and knees, gasping.

Kieran was already there, grabbing her shoulders. "Riley."

She couldn't speak.

Couldn't move.

Because that vision

It hadn't been a memory.

It had been a warning.

Nova cursed. "We don't have time. Tobias is going to figure it out soon, and if he gets to her before we do"

"He won't," Kieran said firmly.

Riley blinked up at them, vision swimming.

And deep in her bones, she realized

Whatever she was before

She was becoming it again

And there was no stopping it.

The realization sank into her bones, heavy and inescapable.

She wasn't just remembering the past she was slipping into it.

Every second, every breath, she could feel the way her body moved differently, the way her instincts sharpened, the way the shadows in the room felt closer than they should have.

Kieran's grip on her tightened, steadying her. "Riley, look at me."

She forced her gaze up, meeting his golden eyes.

There was something there, not fear. Don't panic.

Something worse.

Recognition.

Because he had seen this before.

And if he was afraid now, it wasn't for himself.

It was for her.

Nova swallowed hard. "We have to move."

Riley exhaled, her heart pounding.

She didn't know where they were going.

Didn't know what she was becoming.

But she knew one thing.

She wasn't running anymore.