His shadow stretched across the woodland floor like a predator closing in on its prey, and the successor's sneer grew as he moved closer. I knelt further behind the boulders, holding the knife in my shaking hands while my heart thumped in my chest. Ethan's weak breaths, each a frail promise of life, filled the quiet beside me.
The replacement called, "Olivia," in a teasing, seductive voice. "I'm aware of your presence. You're only making things more difficult for yourself.
Fear coiled like a vise around my ribs, making my stomach turn. There was nowhere else to go, even though every muscle in my body begged me to go. Once huge and boundless, the forest now felt confining.
My gaze was drawn to the left by the crack of a limb. Another of the successor's men emerged, his stance clearly threatening but his face hidden by shadows. As he looked about, his gun's barrel glinted dimly in the moonlight.
We're confined.