The forest was a living maze of thorns and betrayal.

We had been running for six hours straight when Prince Marcus suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me sideways into a hollow tree trunk.

"Quiet," he hissed, pressing a hand over my mouth as the others crowded in behind us. "Tracker hounds. Three of them."

I heard it then—the baying of creatures that were not quite dogs. In the original timeline, King Aldric had never unleashed his Hunter Corps on anyone. They were reserved for the worst ...