Blood and Bone | 1

6 | 3

My heart sank lower as I drove the rental car down the road. The number of other cars had lessened as the trees became more and more thick in the woods around us. The last time I'd seen another vehicle had been almost an hour ago. We were deep within the central Romania forest, alone and underprepared. The thought did nothing to ease my nerves.

"Are you sure you know how to get where we're headed?" Kane asked me. Because he was usually the driver, he sat next to me in the passenger's seat.

"I'm sure." I knew the way to the fortress better than I knew the way to my own house.

I took my eyes off the road for a split second to glance up at the sky through the overhanging trees. We'd landed first thing in the morning in Bucharest. It was now late afternoon and the shadows cast by the trees were getting longer.

I had never been one to shy away from the dark, even as a child. Maybe it was deep in my bones to love the darkness. But the last thing I wanted right now was to go to the place at night. It was bad enough in the daytime.

In the rear view mirror, I could see the rest of my crew sitting in silence. The things I'd told them had made them somber and grave. Even Arlo and Jaxon, who were usually lighthearted, made no attempt at humor.

The car was silent for almost another whole hour. I wished that someone would say something, anything to take my mind off the horrible guessing game I was playing with myself.

Then, we were there. I turned off the ignition after parking the car in front of a bend in the road.

"We've arrived," I warned them. "Follow me."

Crossing the street to the left, I plunged into the thick forest. The crew followed closely, not wanting to be lost in the trees.

"Where exactly are we?" Riley questioned me as she stepped over a large rock covered in moss.

"We're in the middle of Transylvania."

"Aren't these woods supposed to be filled with monsters?" Jaxon said, attempting to lighten the mood as we traveled deeper into the woods.

"They are," I said gravely. "Just not the kind that you think."

No one spoke; the woods were quiet again. Only the occasional bird chirping and the sound of the wind whistling through the trees broke the silence. The lack of sound was deafening, like it was being forcefully shoved into my ears.

My eyes darted every way, looking behind every tree and into every slight shadow. I felt like we were being watched. It made me feel bare, exposed, to know that someone could be following our every move.

Automatically, my hands drifted to my twin daggers. I swept my fingers over the polished metal hilts, but for once, it didn't reassure me. I carried them in my hands from then on.

"We're getting close," I notified the other seven quietly, feeling like I should be whispering. "Be prepared."

"For what? Isn't this place supposed to be abandoned?"

"Be ready for anything."

"Are you sure you're not just being paranoid?"

I turned to give Jaxon a narrow-eyed look. "No. But be my guest if you want to head back to the car now."

Deep down, I knew that I was being paranoid. But I needed to be sure. If I didn't check, it would eat away at my soul. I couldn't wait any more. I had to know.