Chapter 9
Regina’s eyes snapped open, her chest heaving as if the air itself were fighting her. The nightmare still clung to her like icy chains, images of darkness and blood seared into her mind. Emma’s name had been a scream lodged in her throat, one she couldn’t force out.
The room was suffocating, its four walls pressing in on her with malicious intent. She couldn’t stay here. Wouldn’t.
She threw the blanket aside and lurched to her feet, her legs weak but driven by raw, unyielding panic. Her hands trembled as they reached for the door’s handle. When it wouldn’t budge, her desperation exploded.
“Damn it!” she snarled, slamming her shoulder against the door. Wood groaned under her assault. Another strike, harder this time, and the door flew open with a splintering crack.
She stumbled into the hallway, half-blind from the rush of adrenaline. Her shoulder throbbed from the impact, but pain was a distant, irrelevant thing. All that mattered was putting as much distance as possible between herself and this prison.
She shoved past a narrow table, sending a vase of dried flowers crashing to the floor. Pottery shattered, fragments skittering across the stone. Regina barely noticed. Her bare feet pounded against the cold ground, the rough texture tearing at her skin with each desperate step.
Something clattered behind her—a door slamming open, voices rising in alarm. But she didn’t slow. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her breath ragged and uneven.
The hallway twisted and turned, shadowed corridors feeding her panic. Everything blurred together. All she knew was the need to escape. To find Emma. To survive.
She burst through a side door and stumbled out into the frigid night. The cold air slammed into her like a fist, stealing the breath from her lungs. But she kept moving, her body fueled by sheer desperation.
Snow crunched underfoot as she barreled through the wilderness, half-blinded by darkness and tears. She could feel the world around her tilting, the line between reality and nightmare fraying at the edges.
And all the while, a voice whispered at the back of her mind: Run. Run until your legs give out. Because if you stop, you die.
But even as she ran, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something far worse was hunting her.
Regina's heartbeat roared in her ears as her feet pounded against the uneven ground. The world around her was a blur of snow and shadow, the bitter cold sinking its teeth into her skin. She stumbled, her knees striking the frozen earth, but she forced herself to rise, to keep moving.
Every breath burned. Her lungs felt like shattered glass, each gulp of air laced with agony. The wound along her side throbbed with each movement, fresh blood staining the shredded fabric of her tunic. But pain was an afterthought. Survival was all that mattered.
Branches lashed against her arms as she pushed through the tangled underbrush. Above, the sky was an oppressive grey, clouds swirling with unnatural force. The kind of storm that meant magic was close. Too close.
She didn’t dare look back. She could feel the presence behind her, its hunger a living thing that made the air grow heavy and thick. The darkness pursued her relentlessly, its intentions clear.
She was prey.
Regina’s thoughts raced, a fractured kaleidoscope of panic and determination. Images of Emma’s face tore through her mind, her smile, her eyes—everything that gave Regina’s life purpose. She couldn’t die here. Not when Emma was still out there. Not when there was even the slightest chance Morrigan had lied.
The underbrush gave way to a narrow ravine. Jagged rocks rose like fangs on either side, and the ground dipped sharply into a frozen stream. Regina stumbled down the incline, her boots skidding against ice-slicked stones. Her vision swam, dizziness threatening to swallow her whole.
“Keep moving,” she hissed to herself, her voice shredded by exhaustion.
The darkness was closer now. She could feel its chill threading through her bones, seeping into her mind. Whispers clawed at her thoughts, urging her to surrender, to give in to the inevitable. But Regina fought them off, her will forged in the fires of too many battles to count.
Then she heard it. A voice. Familiar and taunting.
“Regina,” the word slithered through the air, carried by the wind like a lover’s caress. Morrigan’s voice. Always Morrigan.
Regina’s legs buckled, her knees crashing against the icy stream. Her hands plunged into the freezing water, and the shock of it jolted her senses, clearing away the fog of despair.
“No,” she growled, forcing herself to stand once more. Her fists clenched at her sides, nails biting into her palms until they drew blood. “You won’t have me.”
The shadows thickened, the air pressing against her chest. Regina’s gaze darted around the ravine, searching for anything, any weapon she could use. But the darkness was everywhere, twisting and writhing like living smoke.
Something slammed into her back, throwing her forward. She hit the ground hard, her face scraping against ice and rock. Pain flared through her body, and for a moment, her vision went black.
When she opened her eyes, the world had shifted. The shadows had taken form—skeletal figures with hollow eyes and claws that gleamed like obsidian. They circled her slowly, savoring her weakness.
“Get up,” she whispered to herself, her voice trembling. “Get up.”
But her limbs refused to obey. Cold seeped into her bones, draining the strength from her body. She could feel the darkness pulling her under, dragging her down into the abyss.
Then, a flash of light. Blinding and sudden. The creatures shrieked, their forms scattering like ash in the wind. Regina’s eyes adjusted just in time to see Selene standing above her, arms raised, tendrils of silver fire swirling around her like living serpents.
“Move!” Selene shouted, her voice cutting through the roar of blood in Regina’s ears.
Regina scrambled to her feet, nearly collapsing from the effort. Selene grabbed her arm, practically hauling her upright as they stumbled away from the ravine. The forest blurred around them, trees rushing past in a fevered haze.
When they finally stopped, Regina collapsed to her knees, her breaths coming in shallow, broken gasps. Her entire body trembled, muscles twitching uncontrollably.
“What—” Regina choked out, her throat raw. “What the hell was that?”
“Something Morrigan sent after you. To drag you back to her. Or tear you apart. Probably both,” Selene said, her own breathing labored. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed. “We need to move. Now.”