With his face dark yet distinct in the dim candlelight, the successor's icy glare pierced through the clearing. The forest around us felt alive with tension, every rustle of the leaves echoing his steady, deliberate strides. Like a predator closing in on its prey, he moved with unnerving calm, the flicker of the lantern casting sharp shadows on his angular features.
"You've led me on quite the chase," he said with a cool, almost humorous tone, his voice smooth but venomous. "However, every game must end at some point."
I could feel Ethan's weight pressing against my back, his shallow breaths rattling in my ear. He leaned heavily on the tree for support, his body trembling with the effort to stay upright. My heart hammered against my ribs as I calculated our odds. They weren't good. My gaze darted around the clearing, searching desperately for any way out, but the dense forest had closed in around us, the successor's men blocking any obvious escape.
