_Lisa’s POV_
We couldn’t go back.
We couldn’t go forward, either.
The River of Blood had made sure of that.
I sat beside the water for a long time. I was shaking while watching the place where I had fallen in. The red current rolled on. It was innocent and cruel all at once, as if it hadn’t tried to drown me… as if it hadn’t screamed into my mind and shown me the shadows of wolves with bones for teeth.
My ankle still throbbed. Angry red marks circled the skin like a brand.
“We need to keep moving,” Rylan said gently and crouched beside me. His voice was soft, but there was tension in his eyes. Like he was holding something back. “We can’t stay near the river. Not after what happened.”
I nodded slowly, though every part of me still trembled. I felt like the ghosts were clinging to my
