Chapter 178: Blood on the Leaves

Elira

The dense forest swallowed me whole. The air was frigid and thick with mist, the ground uneven and jarring beneath my bare feet.

Sharp branches whipped against my face, tearing at my hair, but I did not stop my desperate flight. My legs screamed with pain with every step, and fresh blood slicked my arm from the reopened, raw wound in my shoulder.

My lungs burned fiercely, each breath sharp and painful as a knife, but I kept running. I held one singular ...