14

Max's POV

As I was going to my father's office, I felt as if something was off.

'MAX!! I don't sense Phoenix anymore!'

'WHAT?!'

Instead of going into his office, I ran back to Tazanna's room.

Throwing open the door, all I found was an empty bed.

"Where did she go?! She was just here!"

Glancing around her room, I noticed that there was no sign of entry or exit. Sighing, I sat on the edge of her bed.

Suddenly, there was a rustle outside her window. Looking out into the yard, I saw a doe, staring back at me. Surprised, I watched her for a minute. Then I remembered what Phoenix had said.

Rushing out of the house, I ran toward the doe. Just as I was about to reach her, she ran off into the forest.

'Follow her. She might lead us to where we need to go.'

Following Po's orders, I quickly told dad what I was doing and sprinted off after her.

~

After running for what seemed to be hours, she stopped in a clearing of roses. Amid the roses, stood a stone monument.

"Why did you bring me to my mother's gravesite?" I questioned the doe.

She merely walked up to it, nuzzled the roses surrounding the stone, and dissipated into the wind.

I stood there, dumbfounded.

'Well, she was helpful, what are we supposed to do now?'

'Let's look at what she did. Maybe it will be a clue'

Po scoffed but seemed curious. Walking up to the stone, nothing appeared to have changed.

Walking up the hill, nothing seemed to have changed. Upon closer inspection, the roses had folded themselves into an arrow. It was pointing south.

´ What does that mean? ´

´ I think we should follow it. Maybe this is the clue the riddle was talking about.´

' No shit Sherlock'

Ignoring his comment, I looked south. To our surprise, there was a woman, peeking out from behind a tree.

"Who's there?!"

No response.

Looking back toward the woman, she had disappeared.

'Let's follow her.'

I followed Po's advice and started to walk in the direction of the mystery woman.

Ezera's POV

After getting dressed, I slipped out into the corridor.

' Her scent is so intoxicating… I need to mark her…'

' We have to focus on finding her first. Don't you think that I wanna claim her too? I am just worried about all the pain she is in.'

' Me too. I just hope I can control myself.'

' How will we find her? We have no idea where she is?'

' We should try following her scent. It is very strong as if she was right next to us…'

Allowing Leo to take over, we followed her scent. It led us into the forest.

This was going to be a long journey.