Loma's eyelids cracked open as the sound of a scream faded in her ears.
She couldn't remember where she was or why she was flat on her back, but she knew she needed to wake up.
A sharp pain lanced through one side of her rib cage as she sucked in a breath. The earthy-sweet scent of dead leaves and dirt washed over her, stirring her memory through the haze that wanted her to sleep.
She was in Rowan's woods.
The scream belonged to one of the novices. She was pulled away from them when the woods reacted to her father's poison.
Loma groggily turned her face to the side. Something sparkled in the decay of the leaves, just out of reach.
She had to find the novices…she had to at least try to keep them safe.
There was Mara, Aiden, and Clio to worry about, too. And Nicasi was out there…
A rush of fear that followed the jumbled thoughts battled with the haze that lingered in her head, jolting her the rest of the way awake.
