Chapter 67

“Birds, squirrels. The usual forest creatures. It took the rest, but maybe the deer was too heavy for it.”

“So, it can kill something of that size but can’t drag it away?”

The question hung in the air and had her contemplating. “Maybe.”

Hands on her cheeks turned her attention to him, where he peered into her eyes. “You weren’t affected?”

“I was. I closed my eyes. I think it broke the trance or whatever that was.”

“I’m glad,” he said, pressing a kiss on her cheek. “Not about the situation, but that you were awake. You saved us, Maya.”

“You would have done the same. Any of you.”

And she believed it, this faith that Reese and Daria wouldn’t have let her fall to her demise, either. The two eventually caught up to them and Reese examined the deer, too, then described it to Daria in detail. When he was done, tension hung in the now-peaceful forest.

“What the hell was that?” Reese muttered.

No one could answer.

***

“It stormed again after that whole fog incident. We had fog outside our terr