Dawnlark Plains the pit and the pendulum

i will release you.

the words mean nothing. Avicus stares at her, face contorted in confusion—and then the world shifts under her paws as the woman advances, fangs bared.

any other time in her life, the girl would have met this challenge head-on. as it is. . .

Avicus turns tail and runs, lanky limbs churning up dust and prairie grass behind her. she will not have the strength or stamina to last for very long, but if she can at least outrun the woman, find a place to hide—

hunted

she is being hunted.

for the first time in her young life, Avicus is not the hunter;

but the hunted

though the woman is haunted —

she runs.