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CHAPTER SEVEN

Author: Bella Lore
last update Last Updated: 2023-06-14 21:11:09
Winter

"Which way to the river?" I look around the dark forest.

"That's ... the thing." Damon scrunches his face. "Remember how I said things are constantly changing here?"

My stomach drops. "Yeah."

"The landscape can change at a moment's notice. Sometimes the river is there, and sometimes it's not. I'm sure there's a pattern to it, but I haven't been able to figure out what that is."

I chew on my lip. "Okay. No big deal."

Alec climbs on top of a fallen tree and looks around. I can tell he's using his heightened senses to listen for any danger, but Damon doesn't know that. We still haven't told him where we're from or what we are.

Then again, in my case, I don't really know what I am. People at Hawthorn either treated me like I was something special or a freak. No one ever gave me a concrete answer.

"Let's try this way." Alec points.

I nod. He must have picked up on the scent of water or something.

"Sounds good to me." Damon starts walking, his hands on his backpack straps.
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    AlecI barrel into Winter, shoving her out of the way. We both land hard on the ground, my forearms breaking my fall and her landing on her side. The pebbles rain down behind us, their impact on the ground making booms that rattle the canyon.Elena, Hank, and Damon stare at us with dropped jaws."Don't move, anyone." I carefully sit up.Winter is frozen, her brow furrowed. "What happened?""You almost got hit by some pebbles. Remember what they're like here? How heavy they are?""Oh, yeah." She shakes her head, and I can tell she's disappointed in herself. "I wasn't thinking.""It's okay." I offer her my hand. The moment she slips her palm into it, it’s like the rest of the world disappears.I pull her to standing, and she blinks at me. Heat spreads through me. I want to pull her closer, to press my lips to hers, to hold her tight until the end of time.Instead, I just stand there like a dummy."Glad you're okay." I release her hand and look away, but not before I see the d

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