I spent an hour mucking around yesterday when I should've been studying, and this is the result. The trailer for Shadows of the Night!

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20.

The atmosphere when we meet on the beach is tense. Malik, Cassia and Eric are already there when I arrive, talking in hushed voices. Elias isn't far behind me, his backpack slung over his shoulder and his hair shoved back from his forehead. He doesn't look at me. I can tell he still doesn't want me here, but I don't care. I don't look at him, either.

"Ready?" Eric asks, eyes scanning over each of us. He pauses on me. "How does your arm feel?"

"Fine."

He nods. "We'll need to stop to change the bandages each day."

"Healer Abrams gave me a cream that should make the burn heal faster," Malik says. "She said to apply it when you change the bandage."

I force a tense smile. It's hard to think that less than an hour ago, they were all planning on leaving me here. The thought of waking up in this place all alone is enough to make me want to curl in on myself.

"Let's go," Elias says, staring ahead. "We need to make sure they're on our tail by midnight."

I look away from Eric and Cassia as they drop their packs, their bones clicking and breaking as they change forms. Malik takes a second longer before his huge wolf stands ahead of me. And even though all three of them are still there, it feels like it's only Elias and I. Eric nudges my hand with his nose, and I climb onto his back. And then we take off, sand skidding beneath their feet as they run around the bend, Elias a blur behind us.

~

It takes significantly less time to reach the shoreline that meets the island where we found Elias, probably considering they were able to run as wolves this time. We keep to the trees, Malik leading the group and keeping watch for any hollowers, and Elias lingering slightly behind, leaving an obvious trail, the shadow tucked safely in his bag. We reach the coast line by lunch time and head in land a couple of kilometres before stopping by a cliff face. When Cassia volunteers to get water, I go with her, antsy to keep moving. Unlike them, I've been sitting on Eric's back for the past few hours.

Cassia and I take the near empty bottles and head off into the forest, both armed with a dagger. I follow her trail, sticks crunching beneath my feet. I've learned to walk more quietly in the forest, but there's no comparison to the way a shifter moves—graceful and lithe, as if they can predict which leaves with crunch and which sticks will snap.

Cassia pauses for a few moments, lifting her chin to listen. Around us, birds sing, their calls echoing through the trees like a melody, but Cassia's hearing is more advanced than mine, and after a few moments, she nods and take a sharp turn to the right.

"How far now?" I ask.

"Just a few more minutes in this direction."

"I mean to my old village."

She pauses to look at me over her shoulder, sleek hair brushing her shoulders. "It's closer than our village, we could be there by tomorrow night if the hollowers pick up our trail soon."

As she said, we approach the stream. It's thin and winding, slithering through the forest like a snake. I kneel down and twist the bottle cap, holding it sideways to collect water.

"Are you nervous?" Cassia asks.

"Huh?"

"About seeing it again. You haven't been there since..." Since you betrayed me? Since Elias was taken? Since I murdered Charles? "Since before everything."

The last time I saw it, it looked war torn, but that isn't how I remember it. When I picture my village, I picture a warm spring morning. Emerging from the tunnels to the dewy grass, pollen lingering in the air, lounging by the stream with Flo in between chores.

Cassia's eyes are back on me, awaiting an answer.

"Honestly, I haven't really thought about it," I admit. "It doesn't really feel that important right now."

She nods and we resume in silence. There's something comforting about being in her presence, not saying anything. We've come a long way since the early days of our friendship. Cassia was the first shifter I ever trusted, the first shifter who was kind to me, who made me feel like I was safe. And there's a part of me, a big part, that misses her. That misses the way things used to be before her betrayal led to a deep mistrust.

"What about you?" I ask. "How are you feeling?"

She seems surprised that I've asked, turning to face me, her expression softening. "Okay, I guess."

"Really?"

"Honestly? No." She sighs. "I'm terrified, Milena. Everything feels so uncertain. Our plan is underdeveloped and so much of it depends on things that are beyond our control. Eric's being an asshole, as usual, Elias is causing himself suffering, as usual, and to top it all off Malik is clearly very interested in you which I'm sure doesn't help with the former two issues—" She lets out a nervous laugh when I look at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that."

"There's a lot going on," I agree, offering a small smile. "And Malik's just being nice, that's all." She twists her lips but doesn't say anything. "And okay, I lied. I am nervous to go back to my village, but what choice do I have?"

"These days it feels like we never have much of a choice," she murmurs, pushing to her feet. "Come on, let's get back before Eric starts a manhunt."

I laugh before following her back through the forest to the others, feeling a weight lifted from my shoulders. It's the first time in months we've laughed together, or even shared a conversation that wasn't tense. It feels good to be honest again.

Eric and Elias are gathering piles of sticks when we get back, dumping them in the middle of the clearing. It isn't cold, and even if it was, none of them would need the warmth. But the swirl of smoke will do wonders for getting us spotted. I look to the sky, wondering how far away they are. How long will it take for them to find us? How will we know when they have?

"What now?" I ask.

"Now, we wait," Elias says.

"We have to give the hollowers time to catch our trail," Eric explains. "As soon as they're near, we'll head off again."

"Where's Malik?" Cassia asks.

"Went to scope out the coast, see if there are any signs of where that hollower girl went off to," Eric says. "This could all be avoided if we could find her first."

I slump down the trunk of a tree on the opposite side of the clearing and watch Elias. He's focused on the pile of sticks, eyes narrowed and fingers stretched out. The clearing is merely the size of my bedroom in the shifter castle, and yet, I feel worlds away. Gone is the moment we shared on the beach—the euphoric laughter, the innocent stares, the brushing of fingertips. The divide between us is clear.

I look up to the cliff face. It's steep, but with decent footholds that lead up to the ledge peering over the trees. I stand up. "I'll take the first watch."

"What?" Eric says.

"You guys are the ones who've been running, I've barely done anything. I'm just going to climb up onto that ledge there."

"Absolutely not," he says, almost immediately.

"You can see me from here, and I'll have a good vantage point. I'll be able to tell you if I see anything."

Eric opens his mouth to protest, but Elias holds up a hand. "Leave it, Eric."

I lift my chin when Elias meets my gaze. He hasn't started the fire yet, and suddenly I realise I'm the reason why. I spin on my heel and start up the hill to the boulder. Up top, I can see them in the clearing, just out of ear range. I sigh, looking out at the view. In one direction, I can see the mountains in the distance, rising like jagged lines in the landscape. In the other direction, the ocean, stretching vast beyond the eye can see. I can't spot the hollower island because of the low cloud, but I can see the beach we'd stopped at on the way.

It feels like such a long time ago.

"Hey." I turn to see Malik scrambling up the cliff face, a bag slung over his arm. He hoists his over over the ledge and kneels beside me. "Let me have a look at your arm."

I hold it out for him and pull up my sleeve. Blood has prickled through the white bandage. Malik starts to unwrap it slowly, gently placing it to the side. I cringe when he reveals my arm. The skin is angry and red, my upper arm beginning to blister and blood bubbling to the surface.

"Did you find anything?"

"Any trace of her stopped at the beach," he says, rifling through the bag. "There's a very high probability that she's gone to the island."

"Which is good for us, right? That means they'll be looking for us and we can lead them away."

He looks up at me and smiles. "Good probably isn't the word I'd use to describe being tracked by hollowers. But you're right, it's what we wanted to happen." He turns my wrist, his fingers now covered in a white cream. "This might sting a little."

He cradles my arm with his left hand, and with his right, presses his fingers gently across the burn. I tense, the initial pain like a sharp, hot, sword. But after a few seconds, it gives way to a soothing coolness.

"What is this stuff?"

"Malarix. It's mostly used to soothe, but there are healing properties, too," he says, wrapping a fresh bandage around the wound. "All done. In a few days, it should fade."

I smile. "Does this mean I'll get a cool scar like the rest of you guys?"

"Only time will tell."

I look over his shoulder, down in the clearing. Elias is looking up at us, the fire growing bigger beside him. When our eyes meet, he looks away and says something to Eric. I sigh. Malik follows my gaze. "He was just doing what he thought was best, you know, to protect you," he says.

I tug my knees to my chest and rest my back against the cliff face. "I'm tired of being protected."

"For what it's worth, we wouldn't have left without you."

"That's not what it looked like when you all had your bags ready."

"I wouldn't have left without you, Milena," he says seriously. "Not like that."

And when our eyes meet, I can't help but believe him. But it's so much more complicated than he can ever understand. To Malik, it's just a matter of Elias doubting my ability to protect myself. He doesn't understand that Elias is trying to keep me away from himself. Perhaps that's the most frustrating thing of all—that his motives are understandable even if they do hurt. It's just another blatant reminder of the reality—Elias and I can only hurt each other.

"Do you miss your home?" I ask, wanting to change the subject. "Elias said you're from a village on the other side of the mountain."

"Yeah." He smiles. "It's smaller than Elias' village, but it's really beautiful, even if it is freezing most of the year."

"Are your family there?"

"My mother was an elder, but she passed when I was just a boy," he says. "My father is still there, but he's getting older each day." He grins at me. "He'd like you, you know. He always liked the brave ones."

A flush rises to my cheeks. I wonder if Malik would still think that if he'd met me when the other shifters did. Not that much has changed. I haven't gotten braver, just better at hiding my fear. "He sounds nice."

"Someday, when this is all over, maybe you could visit," he says.

I return his grin. "Yeah, maybe."

He opens his mouth to say something but gets distracted, eyes narrowing over my shoulder. "What is it?"

"There." I follow his gaze. In the distance, there's a group of people on the beach, gathered around a wooden boat and pointing towards us, where the smoke rises and swirls in the air. I turn back to meet Malik's gaze, heart pounding. "We've been spotted."

I don't know if Eric, Elias and Cassia can hear our conversation or if they've picked up something themselves, but the three of them leap to their feet, immediately striking into action.

Malik and I climb down from the cliff face and join them, gathering our things. "Ready?" Elias says. "Eric, you go ahead. I'll stick behind and make sure to leave a trail."

Eric nods. We all exchange glances, mine lingering on Elias' moment too long. "Let's go."

And we head off towards the place I never thought I'd have to see again—the place where it all started. Charles' village.

~

DISCUSSION:

1. How are you guys feeling about Milena and Cassia's friendship? Do you think Milena should still be holding a grudge?

2. What do you think they might encounter at Milena's old village?

3. What're you guys doing at the moment? In High School, college, working, being a parent? I'd love to hear about it! I'm currently studying towards my master's degree.