Vale's POV
Pain shot through my head from my sleep and I jerked up gasping for air. My cheek pressed against something rough and cold. Wood. A floor made of old, splintered wood that smelled like wet dirt and something else I couldn't name.
Something bad.
I tried to sit up, but my body screamed in protest. Every muscle ached. My arms were covered in angry red scratches that looked like claw marks. Dark bruises painted my skin in purple and blue patches. Blood dried on my palms where I must have scraped them against something sharp.
What happened to me?
I pushed myself up on shaking arms, looking around frantically. The room was small and dark, with thick wooden walls that seemed to press in on me. No windows anywhere. Just solid wood and shadows that danced in the weak light coming from a single bulb hanging overhead.
The door across from me looked heavy and mean, with three different locks running down its length. Big iron locks that looked old and strong. Someone really didn't want me getting out.
My heart started beating faster. Where was I? How did I get here?
I tried to remember something, anything about how I ended up in this place. But my mind was empty, like someone had taken an eraser to my memories and wiped them all away. I couldn't remember my name. I couldn't remember my face. I couldn't even remember what I ate for breakfast or if I had breakfast at all.
The silence around me felt thick and dangerous. Then I heard it.
A howl.
Long and wild and full of hunger. It came from somewhere outside, drifting through the wooden walls like a ghost's cry. The sound made every hair on my arms stand up straight. It didn't sound like any dog I'd ever heard. It sounded bigger. Meaner. Like something that hunted in the dark.
Another howl answered the first one. Then another. Soon the night was full of their calls, surrounding the cabin like they were having a conversation about something important. About me.
I scrambled backward until my spine hit the wall. The wood felt solid against my back, but it didn't make me feel safe. Nothing could make me feel safe with those sounds outside.
What kind of animals made noises like that?
I looked down at my hands, trying to find clues about who I was. My fingernails were broken and dirty, with what looked like bark stuck under them. Had I been climbing trees? Running through a forest? My clothes were torn and stained with mud and something dark that might have been blood.
Whose blood?
A memory tried to surface in my mind, but it slipped away before I could grab it. Just a flash of silver eyes and the smell of pine trees. Then nothing.
I stood up on wobbly legs and walked to the door. Maybe if I could get out, I could find help. Find someone who knew who I was and why I couldn't remember anything. The first lock was old and rusty. I grabbed it and pulled, hoping it might be loose.
It didn't budge.
Neither did the second lock or the third. They were all locked tight, and I didn't have any keys. I was trapped.
Panic started building in my chest like a bubble getting bigger and bigger. I pounded on the door with my fists, even though it hurt my already injured hands.
"Hello!" I yelled. "Someone help me! I'm stuck in here!"
My voice echoed in the small room, but no one answered. Just more howling from outside, closer now. Like whatever was making those sounds had heard me and was coming to investigate.
I pressed my ear to the door, listening hard. Past the howling, I could hear other things. Footsteps crunching on leaves. Branches snapping under heavy weight. Something big was moving around out there. Multiple somethings.
Then the howling stopped.
The sudden silence was worse than the noise. At least when they were howling, I knew where they were. Now they could be anywhere. Right outside the door. Getting ready to break in.
I backed away from the door, my heart hammering so hard I could hear it in my ears. Maybe if I stayed really quiet, they would go away. Maybe they would forget I was in here.
That's when I noticed the scratches on the inside of the door.
Deep gouges in the wood, like something with very sharp claws had been trying to get out. Or get in. The scratches were too big to be from a normal animal. They looked like they came from something with claws the size of kitchen knives.
My mouth went dry. What kind of place was this? What kind of things lived in these woods?
I heard a new sound. Footsteps. Not the quick, light steps of an animal, but the heavy, measured walk of a person. Someone was walking toward the cabin. The steps were slow and careful, like whoever it was didn't want to make too much noise.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door.
I held my breath, pressing myself against the far wall. Maybe if I didn't make any sound, they would think no one was inside. Maybe they would go away.
A key turned in the first lock. Click.
Then the second lock. Click.
My hands started shaking. Someone was coming in. Someone who had keys to all the locks. Someone who had put me in here in the first place.
The third lock opened with a loud click that seemed to echo forever.
I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. The room was too small, and there was only one door. I was trapped like a mouse in a box, waiting for the cat to come get me.
The door handle turned slowly.
I tried to make myself smaller, pulling my knees up to my chest. Maybe if I looked helpless enough, whoever was coming in wouldn't hurt me. Maybe they would take pity on me and let me go.
The door opened just a crack, letting in a thin line of moonlight from outside. In that pale light, I could see a shadow. Tall and broad, like a man, but something about the shape wasn't quite right. The shadow seemed too big, too solid, like it belonged to something more than human.
Then came the voice.
Deep and rough, like rocks grinding together. It sent chills down my spine and made my stomach clench with fear. The voice sounded dangerous. It sounded like it belonged to someone who wasn't used to being told no.
"Time to wake up, little princess."