Chapter 44. Claws

Xerina’s POV

I opened my eyes and found myself in a dense, shadowy forest.

Again.

Like I had been drifting in and out of this same place for a hundredth time.

Confused, I looked around. The same flames licked my skin, and I felt the burn in my bones.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I realized I was running, my feet pounding against the uneven ground. Each step sent sharp, searing pain shooting up my legs, and when I glanced down, I saw thorns embedded in my bare feet, blood trickling in thin rivulets.

What—what am I doing here?

I gasped, confusion clouding my mind.

Where—where am I?

Despite the agony, my feet wouldn’t stop moving, driven by an instinctual fear that gripped my heart. And it was unlike my previous nightmares; it was worse.

As if I stop, I’d be dead.

The forest around me seemed to close in, the trees towering like ominous sentinels, their branches extending as my eyes widened and I stumbl