The hunters were closing in, and the children realized that they had to act swiftly. They needed someone to pose as a decoy to attract the hunters away from the settlement. Maria understood what had to be done. She consented to lead the hunters away, believing that it would afford the children enough time to escape. She set off, hobbling through the jungle, with the hunters hard on her tail. Yet she understood that she couldn't let them capture her. —somewhere she didn't recognize. "You're secure now," the elderly lady murmured, a little grin on her lips. "But you won't be able to return to the world outside." "You are one of us now." Maria felt a combination of relief and terror. She had evaded the Hunters, but at what cost?
The elderly lady revealed to her that the Children of the Forest were being hunted, just as she had been. They were outcasts, hidden from the rest of the world. Maria understood that she couldn't go back to the life she had known. She was one of them—she would have to establish a new life for herself in this weird, secret realm. When she stared out over the rolling hills,
Maria understood that she had discovered a new family. Yet the old man's beast was still out there, in some place, ready to be released free onto the world. And Maria realized that she was the only one who could stop it.