Rena froze behind the door, her heart pounding.

The warning note and the dark pen were still on the bed, where she had left them. The blue ribbon tightened around her wrist. Outside, Darien's deep voice echoed again among the trees.

"Rena. It's me."

She didn't open the door. She couldn't, not after the note, not after the light had almost betrayed her twice. Her fingers hovered over the doorknob, trembling.

Then a strange sound broke the silence of the night: shouts coming from the east gate, t