Chapter 30. The Curse and the Cure

Lotus’s POV

Levi stayed with me through the rest of the day and into the night. He never let me go, holding me close to his chest, even while we had dinner. Tingles spread beneath my skin wherever he touched me and soothed my racing heart.

Tucked into his side, I close my eyes and listen to his breathing until I fall asleep.

Wind whips around me, stirring me awake. My eyelids flutter open, and snow is falling from the sky. Snow soaks through my clothes, forcing me from the ground. With my arms wrapped around body, I realize that I don’t know where I am.

“Levi,” I call out. “This isn’t funny.”

I wait for his response, but I am met with an unearthly silence.

My bare feet burn against the snow, and I know I will freeze if I stay here. Forcing myself to move forward, I try to remember when I have seen trees like this before. Their bark glitters like silver, glows faintly under a blood-red moon.

Echoes of memories whisper on the breeze, an