Elsie ran toward The Velvet Haven's secret exit, tears streaming down her face and scattering in the wind. Hans had let her go! Did this mean he really was Hubery? That his true self was still there, just hidden beneath lost memories?
Filled with a surge of adrenaline and hope, she ran as fast as she could, desperate to find Evadne and share the evidence and this incredible news.
After exiting the tunnel, she found herself alone on the dark, overgrown mountain.
Suddenly, she stopped, her body rigid.
Cold, piercing white lights shot out from all directions, trapping her slender figure in their glare. The brilliant beams formed a net of light, pinning her in the center, completely surrounded.
Her heart pounded like a drum. Cold sweat soaked her pale skin, and the veins on the back of the hand gripping the dagger throbbed.
Six assassins dressed in black emerged from the undergrowth, their flashlights trained on her as they closed in like a pack of hyenas. The combined light was as bright as day, leaving her with no place to hide.
There was only one way out: to fight.
Her eyes turning crimson, Elsie lunged, her dagger slashing at the throat of one of the assassins. She put all her strength into the attack, moving with lightning speed. The man, caught off guard by her ferocity, hesitated for a split second. His flashlight dropped to the ground as blood gushed from his neck.
Seizing the opening, Elsie bolted without looking back. This might be her only chance.
Not a chance to escape. A dark premonition was growing stronger, twisting in her gut like a cold blade. She knew there were likely more ambushers on the mountain. She wasn't going to make it back tonight.
But this was her only chance to get the information out.
Seeing that no one was immediately behind her, she pulled the evidence from her clothes. She quickly dug a small hole under a large tree with her dagger and buried the package. She carved a cross into the tree trunk as a marker, then continued running as she dialed Evadne's number.
Evadne answered after two rings, her voice tired but still gentle enough to make Elsie want to cry. "Elsie?"
Just as Elsie opened her mouth to speak, a gunshot rang out.
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