Even though she knew Finnian was in love with Liliana, Elysia had a strange feeling that if he learned Amara''s life was in danger, he would do everything in his power to save her.


    It was an odd intuition, one she couldn''t prove, yet she was so certain of it that Finnian was the first person she thought of when she needed help.


    And he hadn''t disappointed her. Tonight was his mother''s birthday party-a hugely important event-yet the moment she told him Amara was missing, he''de


    with her without a second''s hesitation, his face etched with worry.


    Whatever his reasons, his concern for Amara was undeniably real.


    Seeing that everyone had assembled, Elysia announced, "Based on my analysis, Amara has to be somewhere in this forest. Right now, who took her doesn''t matter. Her safety is the priority, so let''s get in there and find her."


    No one objected. Elysia and Finnian immediately began instructing their teams, dividing the forest into search zones.


    The forest had a signal, and both of their teams had brought radios and high- powered shlights, which made coordinating the search much easier. They split into groups and plunged into the trees.


    Finnian was only wearing a thin suit jacket, but he didn''t feel the cold at all.


    The moment Elysia told him Amara had been kidnapped, a bone-deep fear had consumed him.


    He clutched a shlight in one hand and a radio in the other, sprinting through the woods and shouting Amara''s name.


    Nothing else mattered; his only thought was to find her.


    Today was the day Amara was supposed to leave Wye on her trip, and he had felt


    a profound sense of loss all day—in truth, ever since he''d learned she was leaving.


    But now, all his selfish desires to keep her here vanished. All he wanted was to see her standing before him, safe.


    If he could just find her, he wouldn''t care if she wanted to take a trip across the country. He wouldn''t stop her even if she wanted to travel the world.


    He would give anything he had, everything he was, just to find her.


    He didn''t know who had taken her, but he would find out as soon as she was safe.


    No matter what, Amara must have been terrified today.


    What was she thinking when she was tied to that chair? She must have been panicked, but beyond that... had they hurt her?


    He couldn''t let his mind go there. The very thought sent a tremor of agony through him.


    As he ran deeper into the forest, the air grew colder, a damp chill


    sank into his bones. But his


    thoughts weren''t on himse


    they


    were on Amara.


    Was she cold running through the forest? What was she wearing? Was she shivering somewhere in the darkness?


    He kept shouting her name, his voice growing hoarse, but he didn''t stop.


    Suddenly, Finnian noticed the path ahead of him dropped off.


    From where he stood, the ground looked as if it had been sheared in two. His side was dense with trees, but the other was a ck v?id, devoid ofnd of vegetation. It had to be a steep slope or even à ravine.


    In that instant, an inexplicable premonition washed over him. He was getting closer.


    His heart hammered against his ribs as he cautiously approached the edge, raising his shlight to peer down into the darkness.


    The beam cut through the night, illuminating a slope of jagged rocks and a few small saplings. And there at the bottom, just ter or twelve feet below, sat a lone, frail figure. She was clutching her leg, her body contorted in pain.


    ***