Forest of Secrets

The forest around Klet was alive with the sound of animals stirring, leaves trailing across bark as they tumbled to the ground, and the footsteps of twenty or so assailants dressed completely in black winding their way up a steep incline in search of a wayward friend—and maybe their worst nightmare.

Cadence knew she wasn’t herself and that Aaron was worried. The flight from Budapest had brought many questions, none of which had been answered truthfully. Yes, she was fine. No, nothing was bothering her. Sure—she was just concerned about the hunt. Whatever she’d needed to say to make him feel better, she’d said it. The idea that she was carrying another person up the mountainside along with her was a constant distraction, one she didn’t need on the cusp of probably the hardest fight of her life. But there was no pushing it out of her mind at the moment. As she tried to avoid piles of fallen, crunchy leaves, her mind wandered to what the futur