Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view
- - -
As I moved through the forest, and I didn't find a single Bleeding Snaberry, dejection grew inside me.
What would Duke do in this situation? Whenever we had a school trip out of the city limits, Duke would drag me into the wilderness and show me something amazing; a pond, a waterfall, a breathtaking vantage point, or a meadow speckled with wildflowers… and then we would return safely. Somehow, Duke always found what he was looking for and he would never get lost. And me? I was only good at following him.
I looked at my hands and the spiky measuring device I was holding onto. It showed eight.
I took a few deep breaths to stabilize my mood. I barely started and other than this dingy forest, nothing was scary, and I was already on the verge of failing. Pathetic.
