Elurra was sprinting beside a river, trying to outrun the current, but she wasn’t fast enough. Something dreadful was about to occur, but she feared she wouldn’t arrive in time to intervene. She spotted someone ahead and quickened her pace. She wasn’t sure who she was looking for, but she knew as soon as the figure turned to make eye contact that he was the one. The prince of Amora.

She tried to scream a warning, but it was too late.

Nitiri appeared out of nowhere, silent as the mist at dawn. She raised a shimmering dagger above her head, then drove it through the prince’s heart. He clutched his punctured chest and looked at Elurra helplessly as he crumpled to the ground, his dark emerald eyes reflecting a desperate plea. Nitiri laughed at Elurra, who was running as fast as she could.

Why can I not reach them? she wondered in despair.

Nitiri blew her a kiss and vanished in a puff of smoke. Elurra finally closed the distance, but to her shock, the body at her feet was not the handsome prince’s. His skin was about the same color, but the hollow eyes staring up at her were the color of violets. His hair was like raggedly cut onyx.

There was no mistaking the body in front of her. It was Terrin.

“You are going to have to make this choice. Will you sacrifice the peasant in order to stop me?”

Elurra looked up to see her aunt smiling down at her.

“I would never do such a thing!” Elurra hissed fiercely. Nitiri cackled as she looked over Elurra with contempt.

“Then we are more alike than you are willing to believe. You will follow in my footsteps unless you let him go. Your attachment to him will corrupt you, and your morality will crumble under the weight of your desire to protect him from the evil.”

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“I will never be like you!”

Nitiri chuckled dryly and vanished once again in a puff of dark mist. Tears streamed down Elurra’s face, and she tried to wrap her arms around Terrin, but the ground split apart in front of her so she was reaching for empty air. A vast ocean stretched in front of her, separating her from Terrin’s body. She stood at the edge of a towering cliff, looking out over an endless monster-filled sea tinted red with blood.

“Terrin!” she screamed, but it was useless.

He was gone.

“Snow! Wake up!”

Terrin shook her until her eyes fluttered open. She was lying on Terrin's lap. Her head felt like someone had smashed it with a rock a few times.

“Ouch," she moaned as she tried to sit up.

“Don't move yet. Eat these.”

Terrin put some bitter leaves in her mouth, and she forced them down her throat.

“You were screaming in your sleep. Guess whose name you were saying?” he asked with a mischievous tone.

Elurra rolled her eyes.

“Whose?”

“Mine. You were like, ‘Terrrrinnnnnn! Oh Terrrinnnnnnnn!” She whacked him on the shoulder, and her face flushed in embarrassment. He doubled over laughing.

“Shut up, moron. I was having a nightmare.”

He spared her any further ridicule.

“Would you like to walk, or should I carry you?”

She sat up carefully and winced as her headache screamed complaints.

“I'm going to walk. You would drop me every four feet if you carried me.” She gave him a wide smile to cover her growing unease as she gently lifted herself off the ground.

They had a quick meal before packing up their things and taking up the map to determine their direction. As soon as she oriented herself, Elurra started a light jog. The suffering was immense. Every bounce created new waves of agony. She tried breathing in and out at intervals, which helped a little.

“Snow! What do you think you're doing? You can't run or you'll give yourself a concussion!”

I'm pretty sure I already have one, she thought without stopping. No matter what the price, she had to hurry to Unérith. She heard Terrin sigh in exasperation and his clumsy footfalls echoed behind her.

Such a reliable companion. Images from her nightmare appeared in her mind, and her stomach twisted. I cannot lose him, too.

She sped up, pushing away fresh bouts of torment. Despite her efforts, the rock settling in her gut told her that she was already too late.