Chapter 51

OPHELIA I scramble through the trees, the sensation of impending doom growing heavier with each step I take, but every second I’m even more convinced that the boys are in some kind of trouble and that I need to help them. I stumble over a broken branch and fall to my knees. “Ouch!” I hiss as a sharp piece of bark tears open my skin. Hushed voices and footsteps draw near, and I hold my breath, willing my heart to stop racing. Vampires will be able to hear me from hundreds of yards away no matter what I do, but perhaps they are my vampires. The noises grow ever closer, and I push myself to my feet, squinting to see any figures dipping between the trees, but there’s so little light. I take a deep breath and make a run for it, repeatedly chanting Axl’s and Xavier’s and Malachi’s names in my head in the hopes that they’ll hear me if I’m close enough, despite the magic they told me about. But the noises grow closer, and I instinctively know that the source isn’t friendly. They seem to circle