CHAPTER 91

EDWINA

The air was filled with smoke, the acrid tang stinging my nostrils. My eyes watered from the smoke that seemed unending, my pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out all other sounds.

My breath came in short, ragged gasps, but I couldn't stop. I had to keep going. I had to save my son!

His cries floated into my ears —thin, terrified, and distant—like a bird trapped in a storm with no way out. 

"Mommy!" His voice cracked, somewhere ahead of me. I ran faster,willing my eyes to see past the smoke, but the harder I pushed forward, the farther away his voice was. 

The ground beneath my feet was soft and uneven, making me stumble, but I didn't care. I had to find him. 

Shadows flitted in my peripheral vision, too fast to see clearly. A chill raced down my spine as a laugh—low and guttural—echoed from the darkness. 

"No!" I screamed, fear clogging my throat. My voice broke as I yelled, but the wind swallowed it whole.