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TWELVE | WOODLAND
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2021-06-07 01:01:03Lily
Dusk spluttered across the horizon, dripping between the trees, the last vestiges of sunlight pooling across the uneven ground. Lily watched her step as she strode through the undergrowth, wary of everything from fallen branches to malevolent creatures lurking in the shadows.Her pack thumped against her back and, exhausted, she drooped against the trunk of the nearest tree. Darkness trailed her, swallowing her whole as she crumpled onto a carpet of moss and twigs. Brushing strands of stray, wavy hair from her face, Lily bit her lip.
Uncertainty stole her breath. Had she done the right thing? Though she was well trained in combat, she had never spent a night alone in the woods – let alone tried to make her home there.
Yanking her pack to her front, Lily dug through its contents and pulled her canteen free. She had to ration her water intake until
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LilyLily stared down at the letter, a tiny smile tugging at her lips. There had been something nagging at her, ever since the battle, and at last she understood what it was.Lily,Or I suppose I should refer to you by your proper title. Luna Lily,I always knew you would grow to be a completely insufferable pack leader. We last met at the Great Battle, as it is already being termed – and, really, should we not wait until longer than a few months have passed before we name things with such grandiose titles? – but you did not seem to recognise me. If I were another, I may have been hurt by that. Then again, you never were very good at seeing through my disguises.Therefore, I have decided to be blunt. I have lost everything. My home and my people are gone. I took that Alpha wolf you had a soft spot for, Atticus, to bargain with Blood Moon. To no avail, might I add. He was more irksome than he was useful, so he has been deposited back in his rightful home. The issue is this: I have no
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ElijahElijah stared up into Lily’s beautiful face. “Elijah?” she breathed. He gazed at her, feeling like he was staring straight into the sun. Her warmth enveloped him, bringing heat into his frozen limbs. Elijah flexed his fingers and toes, waiting for the dark to swallow him once more.But it did not. He waited and waited, his heart in his throat, but nothing happened. He took a breath, then another. And life went on. His life went on.“I’m alive?” he whispered, raising his bloodied hands to the morning sun. “I think so?” Lily laughed; it broke, becoming a sob. Gently, he was lowered to the ground. They fell into each other, their hands clutching desperately, their bodies pressed flush. Elijah dropped his forehead against Lily’s, just breathing for a moment, relishing in the way his chest hollowed and filled with air. “You’re alive,” she whispered, pulling back to stare at him with wonder swimming in her eyes. “How? I saw you. I,” a hiccup cut her off, and more tears filled h
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LilyA howl shattered the clearing. It tore apart the chants, reverberating through each of the elements swirling through the darkness.The blade froze a hair’s breadth above Lily’s chest. She let out a ragged breath, though her eyes remained fixed on the glint of the blade. It shimmered in the moonlight, trembling in Peverton’s shaky grip.“Potentia grym,” he muttered, shaking his head. Then, again, louder, he said: “Potentia grym!” and raised the blade anew. Before he could slam it down into her chest, though, a huge black wolf smashed into him. Lily gasped, twitching away from the blade as it fell. It caught her foreleg, slicing down towards her paw, her blood dripping down onto the earth before she could tear away.The wolf towered over her on her altar, its fur alight with all four elements. The ends of its black fur were tinged red by the flames; air made its hair sway; ivy coiled up its legs; water slicked down its back. A loud sizzling noise drew her attention away. Her bloo
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