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I didn't remember dreaming. To point out a very irritating fact, it felt as if I hadn't been asleep at all! I was still tired, though not as much as before.

Opening my eyes, I could see that my instinct–which was telling me I had just fallen asleep–was terribly wrong. Hours had gone by with me unconscious, and I immediately realised that by how much darker my surroundings were. I scrambled around in my mind, trying to remember where I was and why. It didn't take long.

I was in Cleito's Cave, all alone except for a paranoid mare and the lonesome Lovers' Nest. Just thinking about it made a shiver run down my spine. Gathering strength in my arms, I pushed myself into a sitting position with a loud groan. My whole body ached from lying on the hard, uneven ground, and my clothes were damp from the moist air.

Shuffling hooves echoed faintly in the dark cave, and the damp smell of moss and wet horse invaded my nostrils. I blinked rapidly, making an effort to collect my bearings.

I was still here, and nobody had discovered me yet. I was alone, and it was dark.

No, I thought when I glanced at the cave entrance. It was just dusk, with the smallest hints of red to see by. I'd been asleep for hours.

"Okay," I breathed, shivering from the clammy cold. "Now what?"

Was I seriously talking to myself? Somehow, it made me feel better to hear a voice even if it was my own. It made the isolated feeling inside of me fade a little.

My horse was standing near the pool, which made me slightly nervous. As if feeling my eyes on her, the mare lifted her head, looking curiously at me. She then lifted her nose in the air and lifted her upper lip, scenting the air. Whether for danger or treats, I didn't know.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself up to my feet, my muscles protesting with the action. I ran a hand through the jungle of my hair, annoyed for a few seconds.

I so didn't want to think about the previous day, because my mood was already turning sour, and I wasn't a morning person–or a night person, apparently. A chill went through me. No, I wasn't a morning person, and as a result, I could feel my nerves rattling. Last night I'd been too exhausted to worry about the repercussions of my actions.

Of course, it hadn't been my fault that I'd ended up in the beautiful cave that was attached to a creepy legend. The horse had carried me here. I thought about it. No, something had cornered us here—intentionally—and Topaz and I had had no choice but to hide in this cave. Damn, I changed my mind. I was glad not be out there in the wilderness, especially after dark, but who knew? If it was a really small monster, it could enter the cave and eat me alive.

Yet, if that were the case, I would be dead right now, wouldn't I? I shook my head at myself. I wasn't dealing with some alien monster threatening to dissect me; the worst thing, in reality, was getting stranded on an ancient, mythical island. I really wished that Atlantis had sunk into the ocean...

I winced when I felt a soft muzzle nudge my dirty sleeve, and, upon realising it was my horse, I lifted my hand wearily and smoothed it over her poll. She pressed her head against my hand as if she, too, wanted to be elsewhere.

I wanted to go home, creep into my familiar bed, and sleep with a world record. I'd already made my mark here, figuratively speaking—a mark that was more of a scar—and I was never going to live this down. Plus, I didn't know how to get out of here, the cave or Atlantis. I couldn't remember the way back from here to the Brooke house, and I didn't want to go out now.

Stepping away from the horse, I yanked at my hair in frustration, tears forming at the back of my eyes, and I started pacing. Reiterating my previous thoughts, I strode around the cave, careful to keep a far distance from the entrance and the pool, which made my circle tiny and claustrophobic. I didn't know what to do, I was lost, and I was in so much trouble! I didn't like to think about how disappointed Kylon would be, but my own disappointment kept reminding me.

Ugh!

I yelped when I collided with a big, warm body. Jumping back, thinking "Oh hell, they found me. Now they're going to throw me in a cell!" I realised that it was my horse. She'd moved, right into the invisible track I'd been pacing, and her body language all but screamed "Danger!"

I frowned, thinking the mare was having another temperamental fit when I remembered what had happened in the forest. If that wasn't vital proof that she had a good set of instincts, then I didn't know what was. I looked towards the entrance, saw nothing but shadows, and waited. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, since it was probably fully dark now, though it wasn't nearly as dark as it should have been. I could still see shadows, which meant that something was wrong. The walls weren't illuminating light like the first time I had been here. Weird, that I just realised that now.

A strange sensation crept over my flesh, and I turned around. Since it wasn't the walls that were casting the shadows, the light had to be coming from somewhere else that wasn't outside.

White light blinded me for a moment, and as my eyes adapted, my thoughts scrambled for an explanation. The light was coming from the middle of the cave, reflecting in the water of the pool, and I immediately thought "Flashlight."

Yet, when my body got over the shock, I was engulfed by terror and wonder.

It didn't do that last time, my mind reasoned. It's so pretty!

It was the Lovers' Nest; it was the flower that resembled a remarkable Casablanca lily with no leaves. It was still blood red, each petal chiselled perfectly, its beauty still a shock to my mind, even though I'd seen it before. Yes, it was definitely alive, and it was shining!

What should have been the white veins that curled around the outside of the red petals were now blazing with silver light. I squinted at it, at the outlines of the glowing veins. The patterns then registered in my mind, burning into my brain. I'd never noticed it before, but the veins had grown in the form of natural swirls—of symbols. Yes, those were definitely symbols, and the naked eye would never have discerned their outlines if it hadn't been for them glowing.

There was something peculiar about the way it was shining; it didn't exactly evoke a sinister atmosphere but was reminiscent of the soft bioluminescence of fireflies. Something was triggering the lily, and I wondered if it was related to the horse's behaviour. Could be, considering that the thing was alive and could move! I still shuddered when I remembered how the flowers' roots had nearly drowned me.

A shriek of fear sounded from behind me, abnormally loud as the sound bounced off the walls. I whirled around so fast that I was dizzy, clutched my head for a moment, and focused on Topaz.

The mare was rearing, pure fear in the whites of her eyes. Her hooves thrashed wildly in the air as she stood on her hind legs. The ceiling in the middle of the cave was just high enough that her head barely missed it. I flinched when the horse's feet touched the ground, and in the next breath, she was rearing again.

There was another horse in the cave; he was as white as snow, with a silvery mane that almost touched its shoulders and a tail that practically dragged on the floor. When it wasn't lifting its tail, of course, which it was doing now. The horse's unnatural black eyes focused on me—it had already been watching me, actually.

The stallion—there was no doubt now, not when I could see it up close—bowed his head low, his nose almost touching the ground as if he were a bloodhound and was catching my scent. Which it probably was.

At a distance, I hadn't really been able to guess his size, but he was huge! His back was almost as tall as I was! He took a step towards me, then another. He kept this up until he was about ten feet away from me, nose still to the ground. I swear he was asking for something; it was almost like puppy eyes.

I reached out, my hand trembling slightly. He stayed immobile, not even blinking, and was so calm he almost seemed tame. I hesitated when my hand was centimetres away from his magnificent neck, half convinced that I was dreaming. I could have sworn that he'd had that terrible fury inside him, stripped of all humanity. And here he was—I was almost touching him. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to close that hairbreadth between us and feel his silky mane. Maybe it was intuition, or it was fear. Either way, I couldn't do it.

It turned out that I didn't need to make that decision; the stallion lifted his head until my palm pressed against his broad shoulder. I curled my hand slightly and flattened it again, marvelling at the glossy texture of his coat.

I couldn't help myself. Stepping closer to the stallion, I began running both hands over his neck, tangling them in the knotted mane. I started untangling some of the knots, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Giving up, I released his mane and traced an invisible track towards his face, rubbing his muzzle. The stallion uttered a low, deep snort, looking intently into my eyes. They were almost... human.

A strange column of calm enveloped me like a lover's arms, and I sighed, closing my eyes. My previous fears faded to a background memory, and I smiled slightly, my throat constricting tightly. It was almost as if sadness was radiating from this creature, and it had such a profound effect on me that I felt myself reflecting it.

My mare must have calmed down because there was no more screaming, but I could hear her shifting uneasily.

Damn, I'd never felt this great in my life. It should have been impossible to be touching this stallion, considering his fiery spirit and wild attitude. Stallions liked mares, so maybe he'd been attracted to Topaz. It made a little sense, but I didn't dwell on it.

It occurred to me that the thing that had been following us in the forest must have been the white stallion. The mare must have seen this as an intrusion and gone with her instincts for shelter. The stallion seemed quite harmless now, though.

I opened my eyes to look straight into the stallion's abyssal eyes, and let out a startled gasp. It wasn't completely black anymore. As I watched, I saw the black irises swirl, and I was completely certain that a pint of amber was fused in between, like water and oil.

My whole body froze, my fingertips feeling like chips of ice, while my whole body burned. My heart leaped into my throat and my emotions wavered on the point of anxiety.

Something was burning in my chest, my heart pumping too fast for the blood to keep pace. His eyes were warm as if the stallion was delighted to see me—as if this were the first time he was seeing me. Those eyes saw right through me, intelligent and soulful. He could sense the emotions tearing through my veins—emotions fueled by a rush of adrenaline, by a bolt of excitement. I couldn't stop staring at those powerful, amber eyes...

Altogether, I realised that something was wrong. Not bad wrong, but just unlike how this situation should be. And that's when everything went from the loving atmosphere to the world of chaos.

I blinked—only once—and then I was staring at cold, swarthy irises. It terrified me. My fingers, which had been so cold and tingly, felt like it had just been crushed by stone.

I snatched my hands back to my chest and fell back when the stallion started rearing to his full length, stretching up and up until his head was seconds away from hitting the ceiling. I screamed when I saw the hellish fury in his eyes, and I hardly felt it when I crashed into my side, the adrenaline numbing the pain that would have spread from my arm. I scrambled backward, panicking, another shriek building in my throat. My face was wet—I hadn't realised I was crying.

The stallion was lashing his head up and down while he balanced on his strong hind legs, and it wasn't out of fear. This was a stallion ready for battle, with fire in his eyes, ears so flat they practically melted into the strands of his mane. He bared his teeth at me.

I looked around frantically, knowing I wouldn't get any help, but hoping nonetheless. Damn, my horse had bolted, and I was all alone with a crazy psychopath horse that wanted to tear me into shreds with his hooves and blunt teeth.

Why did this always happen to me? It was like the night when I'd been caught in the thrall of the Lovers' Nest, but somehow I knew this was much worse.

The stallion's front hooves crashed back to the ground. He charged.

I scrambled to my feet, scraping my knees and arms, screaming on and off. I stumbled backward, watching with terror as the horse sprinted towards me with a jerking head.

I sucked in a painful breath when he suddenly stopped with a half-rear. He lashed out with his teeth, missing my arm by an inch. I couldn't exhale; I was too scared that it would be my last breath.

Turn around! A voice shouted in my head, cutting through my panic stricken consciousness.

I didn't hesitate to obey. I turned, already taking my first step to sprint. I realised my mistake too late, and I cursed my stupid genius of a subconscious that had just deceived me. I was already stepping into empty air, and before I could regain my balance, windmilling my arms like a crazy chicken, I was already falling forward.

There was a splash for a flash of a second, and then water rushed into my ears, nose, and mouth. My flesh burned where it had connected with the water, and my eyes would have watered if I hadn't been submerged.

My eyes stung along with my lungs, and I started swimming to the surface. Something grabbed me around my ankle, and the last of my oxygen escaped as I automatically gasped.

Not again!

I flailed around frantically, clawing at the root around my leg. I felt the familiar sting of its teeth slicing into my skin, and despite my lack of air, I felt a sob building from my very soul.

I was going to die drowning—or by being sucked dry by a vampiric plant! I didn't want to die, I really didn't want to...

My dark eyelids lighted up with a reddish hue, and I opened my eyes. The flower was still shining beautifully, but by being underwater now, I could see that the light extended from the circular veins on the petals to the roots buried deeply into the muddy ground. It was so blinding to my eyes now that I closed them. The teeth retracted from my skin, and warmth spread throughout my leg.

I began to feel dizzy. A ringing sounded rhythmically through my head, and the light beyond my closed eyelids brightened.

I felt all my emotions seep away as I accepted my fate. My mouth slackened, and water rushed into my throat.

An abrupt flash of blinding light jumpstarted my senses for mere seconds; it was like someone had just captured a photo of me with a flash.

I was being dragged downward, but I no longer felt anything gripping me to be the cause. And then—

What now? Stay tuned to find out!